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Google.com Feed

Google.com Feed 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.

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 the feed directly from AbleCommerce.

From the Product Feeds page, click the Google Feed link, or from the top-menu, go to Marketing > Google Feed.
From the Google Base Feed page, you will see some configuration options.
Choose a Time Interval. This is how often the feed file will be re-generated. The default is 360 minutes, or every 6 hours.
You can specify a Default Brand. This will be used for products that do not have a Manufacturer specified.
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 Search Engine and Feeds section, and uncheck the box Include in Feed.
The Setup and Feed Location section will show a link to the feed file, as well as provide a link to the Google Merchant Center account.
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 when finished.
If you would like to create a feed file before it is created automatically, then click the GENERATE FEED button.
Your feed file will be generated in the location shown above.

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 location.
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.

The screenshot below is an example from the Product Editing page. You can set additional required attributes from the Search Engines and Feeds section.
Check Google's Feed Specifications for more information. The requirements vary depending on the type of products you sell.

Feed Attribute	AbleCommerce equivalent
description	Product Summary: The description attribute comes from the product's summary description. This is different than the product description.
id	Product ID: This is the identity of the product as it's created in the database.
link	Product URL: This is the product link, or URL, that AbleCommerce generates.
price	Product Price: This is the value you enter into the product price field.
title	Product Name: This is the text you enter for the Product Name.
brand	Manufacturer: This value is used if the product has a manufacturer listed.
mpn	Model #: This is the value you enter for Manufacturer Part Number.
gtin	UPC/ISBN: This is the value you enter for UPC/ISBN/Global Trade Item Number.
condition	Condition: The default setting is "new" for each product. You can set the value to "used" or "refurbished"
image_link	Product Image: If a product image is available, AbleCommerce generates the link to the standard, full-size, image.
upc	Product SKU: If available, the product SKU will be included.
google category	Google Category: Enter the product category attribute. For more information, see The Google product taxonomy
gender	Gender: If applicable, select a Gender option "unisex, male, or female"
age group	Age Group: If applicable, select an Age Group option "adults, kids"
color	Color: If applicable, enter the color of the item. Required for apparel.
size	Size: If applicable, enter the size of the item. Required for clothing or shoes.

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