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Google Base

Google Base is a free Google service that helps you publish virtually any kind of information. Simply describe your items on Base to make them as easy as possible for people to find when they search. You can use the AbleCommerce Data Feed to import all your items through the bulk upload feature.

You'll need a Google Account to use Google Base. A Google Account lets you sign into Google Base and most other Google services.

A newer version of the Google Feed is now available.
It does not have an interface like this one, but it does have an auto-scheduler for the feed, as well as a number of bug fixes. The new feed can even be customized!

Download and Installation Instructions

Overview of the Data Feed Process

Data feeds are a convenient way to create multiple items in Google Base. Feeds are assigned an item type, which classifies the feed according to what sort of items it contains. Once you've created your file, you'll upload it to Google Base. After your file is processed, your items will be added to Google Base. Creating and submitting your feed with AbleCommerce can be done in just two easy steps:

Step 1 - Register Data Feed

Register a feed in your Google Base account. This lets the Google Base system know to expect your file, and what item type it is.

Step 2 - Create and Upload Your Google Base Feed File

Once you've registered your file, you'll need to create and upload it to your Google Base account. This is done from within AbleCommerce. Your items will be added to and appear in Google Base after your file is successfully uploaded and processed. In general, this takes up to 24 hours.

Register Your Data Feed

Follow these steps to register your data feed. After you register your feed, you can create and upload it. Google Base will use the information you supply here to process your feed. Your items will appear on Google based on relevance.

Go to Google Base and create an account or login.
From the top menu, click the "Data feeds" link.
Your first task will be to register a new feed.
Click the New Data Feed button.
Select the target country as shown on the screen.
Select the type of items you will be uploading. Select "googlebase" for the type of data feed.
Specify the data feed filename. This file name must match the name of the file created by AbleCommerce.

In AbleCommerce, the default value is "GoogleBaseData.txt" or "GoogleBaseData.txt.zip" if using a compressed file format.
When finished, click the Register data feed button. Your new feed will be displayed.

Create and Upload your Google Base Feed File

After you have registered your Google Base Feed, you can create and upload the feed directly from AbleCommerce.

From the Product Feeds page, click the Google Base Feed link, or from the top-menu, go to Marketing > Feeds > Google Base.
From the Google Base Feed page, you will see a variety of configuration options.
Enter a name for your Feed File Name. This is the name of the file that is created on the AbleCommerce server.
The default value is "GoogleBaseData.txt"
When you create multiple feeds, choose whether you want to Overwrite Existing Feed File each time a new feed is created. The default value is "Yes".
The Product Inclusion option allows you to select which products to include in the feed.
- Do not include products marked for feed exclusion
- All Products (ignore product feed settings)
  
  To exclude a product from the feed, you need to go to the Edit Product page, find the Display Options section, and check the box Exclude From Feeds.
Enter a name for your Compressed Feed File Name. AbleCommerce supports compressed files that have a .zip file extension. It is typically used for large sized feed files. The default value is "GoogleBaseData.txt.zip" and will only be used if you select the option to create a compressed feed.
When you create multiple feeds, choose whether you want to Overwrite Existing Compressed Feed each time a new compressed feed is created. The default value is "Yes".
Enter the FTP Host name or IP Address. Google Base FTP server is "uploads.google.com"
Enter the FTP User Name.
Enter the FTP Password.
The Remote File Name will typically be the same as the feed file name. This is the name of the file that is uploaded to the remote server. It MUST MATCH the name of your Data Feed file specified when you registered your feed in Google Base.
Click the SAVE SETTINGS button before continuing.
Now, you will perform one of the Tasks available.
- Create Feed - this creates the feed file (.txt) on the AbleCommerce server.
- Compress Feed - this creates a compressed version of the feed file (.zip) on the AbleCommerce server.
- Upload Uncompressed Feed - this uploads the feed file (.txt) to Google Base.
- Upload Comressed Feed - this uploads the compressed version of the feed file (.zip) to Google Base.
- Create and Compress Feed - this creates and comresses the feed.
- Create and Upload Feed - this creates the feed file (.txt) and uploads it to Google Base.
- Create, Compress, and Upload Feed - this creates and compresses the feed (.zip) and uploads it to Google Base.
After making your selection, click the GO button.
If successful, you will be shown a SUCCESS message indicating the tasks completed. If you have trouble with the feed creation or uploading, then please review the next section.
Your items will be added to and appear in Google Base after your file is successfully uploaded and processed. In general, this takes up to 24 hours.

For more information on the data feed submission process, please visit Google Base Help.

Troubleshooting Feed Issues

To create a successful feed, make sure the ASPNET user account (Network Service/Asp.Net) has write and delete permission to the feed file folder which is located in \Admin\Marketing\Feeds\Data\ folder.
To upload a feed, make sure the FTP server, username, and password are correct.
The default TCP port for a FTP connection is port 21. Sometimes a local Internet Service Provider blocks this port and this will result in FTP connection issues.
Some hosting providers run their server in a medium trust environment. Unfortunately, the option to FTP upload a product feed will not work, but you can still manually upload the feed outside of AbleCommerce.
Google Base allows you to upload up to 100,000 items per data feed, with a maximum file size of 20MB.

Required Attributes

Attributes define the characteristics or qualities of your Google Base items. Each attribute consists of a name and one or more values. The attributes that are required vary depending on the type of information you are sending. AbleCommerce sends the following required and recommended attributes for a Product type of feed.

Google Base Attribute	Required	AbleCommerce equivalent
description	yes	Product Summary: The description attribute comes from the product's summary description. This is different than the product description.
id	yes	Product ID: This is the identity of the product as it's created in the database.
link	yes	Product URL: This is the product link, or URL, that AbleCommerce generates.
price	yes	Product Price: This is the value you enter into the product price field.
title	yes	Product Name: This is the text you enter for the Product Name.
brand	optional	Manufacturer: This value is used if the product has a manufacturer listed.
condition	optional	By default, AbleCommerce sends the value of "new" for each product.
image_link	optional	Product Image: If a product image is available, AbleCommerce generates the link to the standard, full-size, image.
upc	optional	Product SKU: If available, the product SKU will be included.

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