Google Product Feed

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Google Product Feed Requirements

Google.com Product Feed is a free Google service that helps you publish virtually any kind of information.  Simply describe your items for the Google Feed 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's Product Feed.  A Google Merchant Center Account lets you sign into the Product Feed and most other Google services.

Feeds using Product Variants

As per Google Feed Specifications , variants are a group of similar items that only differ from one another by product details like ‘size’, ‘color’, ‘material’ or ‘pattern’. By submitting variant products, you will help shoppers find what they are looking for more easily by either enabling them to navigate between the different product variations on a details page or helping them discover additional colors, sizes, patterns etc. for a given product.

To submit variants for your products in Google feed:

  1. Mark the product to publish it as variants by checking the checkbox "Publish Feed as Variants" at product edit page.

  2. Create options with names "Color", "Size", "Material" or "Pattern" to match the respective Google attributes as required.

  3. Google feed requires you to submit specific images corresponding to each of variant that differ in ‘color’, ‘pattern’, or ‘material’. You can specify image url's from manage variants page.

  4. You can also specify other details like availability, price, weight, inventory details and GTIN for each variant from manage variants page.

Please check the Google Feed Specifications  for more details.

Overview of the Data Feed Process

Data feeds are a convenient way to create multiple items in Google. 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 Feed. After your file is processed, your items will be added to Google. 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 Merchant account. This lets the Google Feed system know to expect your file, and what item type it is.

Step 2 - Create and Upload Your Google Feed File

Once you've registered your file, you'll need to create and upload it to your Google Feed account. This is done from within AbleCommerce. Your items will be added to and appear in Google Feed 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 primary data feed. After you register your feed, you can create and upload it. Google Feed will use the information you supply here to process your feed. Your items will appear on Google.

  1. Go to the Google Merchant Center and create an account or login.

  2. Go to the Products > Feeds page using the menu.

  3. Your first task will be to register a new feed. Click the blue circle to create a new Primary Feed.

  4. Select the Country of sale and Language as shown on the example image below.

  5. In the next section, select which Google destinations will be used to display items in your feed. Free listings and/or Shopping ads are the available options.

  6. Click the Continue button.

  7. On the next screen, enter a name for your Primary feed.

  8. Select "Scheduled fetch" to connect your product feed to the Merchant Center.

  9. Click the Continue button.

  10. Using another browser, open up the AbleCommerce Merchant Admin and return to the Marketing > Google Feed page.

  11. You will need two pieces of information from the section "Setup and Feed Location" to enter into the Google Feed form.

    - File name = GoogleFeedData.txt
    - File URL = http....../Feeds/GoogleFeedData.txt

  12. Return to the Google Feed setup page, enter the File name, and the File URL as it's shown on your AbleCommerce Google Feed page.

  13. Make any other setting changes as needed. The default values are Fetch frequency (Daily) and time is (12:00 AM).

  14. Unless your installation is password protected (uncommon), you will not need to enter a username or password.

  15. Click the Create feed button to finish.

  16. Your new feed will be displayed. At the time specified, the feed file fetched by Google. Check back after the time has passed to ensure the feed was successful.

Configure the Google Feed in AbleCommerce

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

  1. From the menu, go to Marketing > Google Feed page.

  2. From the Google Feed page, you will see some configuration options.

  3. By default, the Enable Automatic Feed option is enabled. You can disable the feed by unchecking this box.

  4. Choose a Time Interval.  This is how often the feed file will be re-generated.  The default is 360 minutes, or every 6 hours.

  5. The Product Inclusion option allows you to select which products to include in the feed. The next section has information on a product's feed specifications.

    • Do not include products marked for feed exclusion

    • Include All Products (ignore product feed settings)

  6. You can specify a Default Brand.  This will be used for products that do not have a Manufacturer specified.

  7. Use the Default Category to specify a different category that the one used for the products in your store.

  8. When finished, click the Save Settings button at the bottom of the page.

Generate Feed Manually

  1. If you would like to create a feed file before it is created automatically, then click the Generate Feed button.

  2. Your feed file will be generated in the location shown in the Setup and Feed Location section.  

Items will be added to and appear in Google Feed after your file is successfully uploaded and processed. In general, this takes up to 24 hours.

Product Feed Specifications

To exclude an individual product from the feed, you will need to edit the product.

  1. Find a product from the Catalog > Products page.

  2. Edit the product and stay on the default Product tab.

  3. Slide open the Google Shopping Feed section, and uncheck the box Include in Feed. It is included by default.

  4. When finished, use the Save and Close button.

Required Attributes

Attributes define the characteristics or qualities of your Google Feed 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 these additional required attributes from the Google Shopping section.
Check Google's Feed Specifications for more information.  The requirements vary depending on the type of products you sell.

For convenience, there is a link to each attribute which makes it easy to find additional information on each of Google's Feed requirements.


NOTE: When a product has at least two options with at least two choices each, then variants occur. In this case, you may elect to publish the feed using Variants.

 

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 dataFeed.

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.

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, toddler, infant, newborn"

color

Color:  If applicable, enter the color of the item.  Required for apparel.

size

Size:  If applicable, enter a size option.  Required for clothing or shoes.

excluded destination

Option that allows you to exclude the product from a particular feed type.

 

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 Feed allows you to upload up to 100,000 items per data feed, with a maximum file size of 20MB.