If you're submitting your products to Google Product Search, you should know that Google is now requiring merchants to verify and claim their Website URL- This step is important to make sure merchants have the right to upload their product listings for their claimed Website.
In your Google Merchant Center, you will see the message: "From May 18th, you will not be able to submit any product listings unless you have previously claimed your Website URL"
So if you haven't already, make sure to register your Website's URL. The Website URL setting is in your Google Merchant Center account and should be done before you can upload and publish your product listings.
You can also read more about this new requirement through Google's Merchant Center article.
Not On Google Product Search?
We always recommend Google Product Search as a must-list engine; it's a free shopping site and it can generate significant quality traffic to your site.
To sign up with Google Base, visit our Supported Feeds Page.
Shopping Channel News and Best eCommerce Practices
Friday, March 26, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
FindGift makes Gift-Giving Easy...In Time for Mother's Day
With one of the biggest gift-giving holidays nearing on May 9th, Mother’s Day, we would like to welcome our guest blogger, Gary, from FindGift.com, one of GoDataFeed's Gift-Specialty Shopping Channel partners. FindGift is a gift giving search engine that helps shoppers find unique gift ideas, making it a great place to list your gift-centric products. Greetings from FindGift!
What is FindGift.com? Findgift.com is a gift ideas search engine. Shoppers typically come to FindGift.com looking for a gift for someone not knowing what to get them. This differs from most shopping engines where people know what they want and they are just trying to find who has it. In essence, FindGift is a personal gift advisor that understands the latest trends.
FindGift leverages a 'Hand-Picking' Editorial Process
FindGift's staff reviews your feed to build a targeted campaign, adding your products to the appropriate age, gender, categories, occasions, holidays and expressions. FindGift doesn't blindly publish your entire feed, it's team hand picks and categorizes products into the thousands of categories. Our "hands-on" editorial process fosters higher conversions for your products.
What you Need to Know about FindGift:
Flat Rate Pricing
We have a simple flat rate pricing model. Merchants that want to send feeds must partner at a minimum of $500.
On a budget? We also have rates less than $500 too for those who do not participate in the feed program or want to initiate a small non-feed trial.
We work with the merchants to discuss the path an account will grow and our pricing is flat rate making budgeting easy. Our rate card may be found at: http://www.findgift.net/RateCard.shtml. Rates are a very competitive flat rate over the entire site for every category, making it simple to forecast your budget.
FindGift's Hands-On Approach
Our staff is actively involved in merchant's accounts. All feeds that arrive are automatically tested and hand reviews as needed for content, photos and appropriate categorization into over 1,400 categories. We find that this hands-on approach gives just the right touch to propel results to higher levels. All products are initially reviewed by an editor before going live.
FindGift Performance
Once live, the feed system automatically tracks each product over time and will call for editor attention as needed based on our proprietary monitoring system. Because our staff is involved in your campaign, it is helpful when merchants provide details on best sellers or hot items so we can best understand your offering.
Qualified Traffic:
We pre-qualify the shoppers before sending them to the merchant's site. Our model is one in which we display the most frequently asked information before the shopper is sent to the merchant's site and before the merchant is charged. We allow the shopper to see large images, the store logos and contact information upfront. In the end the merchant owns the client.
With GoDataFeed's built-in FindGift Template, you can actually create a feed to our exact specifications.
FindGift's Hands-On Approach
Our staff is actively involved in merchant's accounts. All feeds that arrive are automatically tested and hand reviews as needed for content, photos and appropriate categorization into over 1,400 categories. We find that this hands-on approach gives just the right touch to propel results to higher levels. All products are initially reviewed by an editor before going live.
FindGift Performance
Once live, the feed system automatically tracks each product over time and will call for editor attention as needed based on our proprietary monitoring system. Because our staff is involved in your campaign, it is helpful when merchants provide details on best sellers or hot items so we can best understand your offering.
Qualified Traffic:
We pre-qualify the shoppers before sending them to the merchant's site. Our model is one in which we display the most frequently asked information before the shopper is sent to the merchant's site and before the merchant is charged. We allow the shopper to see large images, the store logos and contact information upfront. In the end the merchant owns the client.
With GoDataFeed's built-in FindGift Template, you can actually create a feed to our exact specifications.
To learn more about FindGift, go to GoDataFeed's Supported Shoppping Channels page.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Get Found on TheFind.com with its Expanded Datafeed Template, UpFront Program
GoDataFeed is happy to host Jordan Keffer of theFind.com, one of the Web's best free comparison shopping sites, to let you know exactly how you can:- Enhance your online visibility
- Update your TheFind Feed according to its new feed specifications through GoDataFeed
- Increase your traffic by an average of 10 percent, just by joining their UpFront Program
TheFind's New Expanded Feed Specifications
TheFind's datafeed revisions lets merchants include more details about their products, through its new "highly recommended" attributes, to improve search relevance and performance. The new format includes new attributes like SKU, UPC codes, Free Shipping, Category, Color, Brand attributes and more.
TheFind also includes a number of Product and Industry Specific Attributes, so if you sell Electronics you can now include product attributes like Format, Battery Life, Display Type, Screen Size, etc... Or if you sell Apparel, you can include details like Age Range, Material, Shoe Size, Sizes in Stock and more.
While these changes are currently optional, we highly recommend you take advantage of TheFind.com's expanded datafeed format to enhance your visibility. GoDataFeed already provides the new TheFind template within its control panel, simply setup this feed through GoDataFeed to take advantage of the new expanded attributes.
Guest Blogger: Jordan Keffer
Hello from TheFind!
Over 17 million shoppers use our site every month, clicking out to visit hundreds of thousands of stores. Here are some FREE ways in which you can make sure you’re fully optimized with us:
- Register and claim your store in the Merchant Center. If you’re not currently registered, you’re not maximizing the visibility of your products on our site. The more information we have about your store, the more relevant your results will be in our search algorithm and the easier it will be for you to connect with the millions of shoppers who visit our site every month.
- Join the UpFront Program Thousands of merchants have already joined. Here are just a few examples: Cymax Stores, Moosejaw, Beach Audio, and Stacks and Stacks. On average, merchants have seen an increase in visibility/traffic of ~10% post joining the program.
- Upload your tax and shipping information
- Submit coupons
- Update your product feeds according to our new feed specification. Lucky for you, GoDataFeed has already been hard at work to make sure TheFind's new feed template is available through the GoDataFeed control panel- simply create a new feed according to the new feed specifications and complete as many attributes as you can about your products
Thousands of merchants have already registered their stores and joined UpFront. So what are you waiting for?
To learn more, go to: https://merchant.thefind.com and http://www.thefind.com/upfront.
Stay up-to-date on the latest from TheFind’s UpFront Program and Merchant Center on our Merchant Blog and Twitter. We follow back!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Volusion API failures - GoDataFeed work-around available
UPDATE (03/08/2010 12:00pm EST): As of this morning Volusion is still working on the fix for this issue, they noted that this might take a day or two to resolve. GoDataFeed has a work-around and so far all Volusion customers experiencing this issue on GoDataFeed have their feeds up and running with our temporary fix. Read more below...
Those merchants importing their data from Volusion into GoDataFeed may find that the Volusion API is not producing complete data for import, the root of this problem seems to stem from a recent Volusion version and/or feature deployment. While Volusion does not have a time-frame for a fix we trust they are working hard to resolve it.
In the meantime, if you are experiencing problems with your Volusion import (not all merchants are) please open a support ticket within your GoDataFeed control panel and we'll guide you through a quick work-around that will allow you to submit complete data feeds while Volusion fixes the issue.
We will continue to communicate with Volusion to find out when they expect a fix.
Those merchants importing their data from Volusion into GoDataFeed may find that the Volusion API is not producing complete data for import, the root of this problem seems to stem from a recent Volusion version and/or feature deployment. While Volusion does not have a time-frame for a fix we trust they are working hard to resolve it.
In the meantime, if you are experiencing problems with your Volusion import (not all merchants are) please open a support ticket within your GoDataFeed control panel and we'll guide you through a quick work-around that will allow you to submit complete data feeds while Volusion fixes the issue.
We will continue to communicate with Volusion to find out when they expect a fix.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Google data feeds uploaded via FTP receiving the data feed file name error
Update: We can confirm that the Google FTP issue has now been resolved.
Earlier this week we reported that:
As of this morning Google Merchant Center is still experiencing FTP issues, their system is not picking up FTP files and sends out a data file name error email. This is a known issue: http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/base/thread?tid=04c2d685fe982779&hl=en
We believe that this should be fixed sometime today, but while the issue persists the following should be done:
1. Open a ticket with Google notifying them that your account is affected by this issue
2. Manually download/upload the feed from GoDataFeed to Google Merchant Center
Earlier this week we reported that:
As of this morning Google Merchant Center is still experiencing FTP issues, their system is not picking up FTP files and sends out a data file name error email. This is a known issue: http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/base/thread?tid=04c2d685fe982779&hl=en
We believe that this should be fixed sometime today, but while the issue persists the following should be done:
1. Open a ticket with Google notifying them that your account is affected by this issue
2. Manually download/upload the feed from GoDataFeed to Google Merchant Center
Monday, March 1, 2010
GoDataFeed Integrates with SearchSpring's Intelligent Search Solution- Webinar March 11th
GoDataFeed.com and SearchSpring.net team up to help online retailers drive more sales to their site
Increasing Sales with Intelligent Search
SearchSpring makes it easier for shoppers to navigate through your site through an intuitive, easy-to-use search interface that delivers the most relevant and accurate product search results. SearchSpring’s enhanced search solution boosts conversion rates and average order sizes with advanced ecommerce site search and navigation for hundreds of online retailers.
GoDataFeed’s SearchSpring Integration
Online retailers already submitting their products through GoDataFeed’s shopping feed management solution can easily incorporate SearchSpring to enhance sales and searchability. According to MarketingSherpa, revamping a site’s internal search functionality can increase conversions by 270 percent because online shoppers expect to navigate through sites quickly and find products and accessories within seconds. This means that online retailers that have yet to streamline their search and navigation are missing out on significant sales. The problem is many online stores’ search tools are too basic to deliver the accurate search results that could yield higher sales.
Better Search Functionality Enhances SEO
Terms that your customers are using to search your site are valuable terms for which you should be optimizing on the major search engines. SearchSpring automatically discovers thousands of valuable keywords and phrases, and then automatically drives free organic traffic form the major search engines by creating and optimizing search result landing pages.
Driving Sales Higher with Intelligent Search- Webinar
To learn more about SearchSpring, join this Webinar March 11th, 11am Pacific, 2pm Eastern:
Register Here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/914203665
Contact SearchSpring at (888) 643-9043
or visit http://www.searchspring.net/
Increasing Sales with Intelligent Search
SearchSpring makes it easier for shoppers to navigate through your site through an intuitive, easy-to-use search interface that delivers the most relevant and accurate product search results. SearchSpring’s enhanced search solution boosts conversion rates and average order sizes with advanced ecommerce site search and navigation for hundreds of online retailers.
GoDataFeed’s SearchSpring Integration
Online retailers already submitting their products through GoDataFeed’s shopping feed management solution can easily incorporate SearchSpring to enhance sales and searchability. According to MarketingSherpa, revamping a site’s internal search functionality can increase conversions by 270 percent because online shoppers expect to navigate through sites quickly and find products and accessories within seconds. This means that online retailers that have yet to streamline their search and navigation are missing out on significant sales. The problem is many online stores’ search tools are too basic to deliver the accurate search results that could yield higher sales.
Better Search Functionality Enhances SEO
Terms that your customers are using to search your site are valuable terms for which you should be optimizing on the major search engines. SearchSpring automatically discovers thousands of valuable keywords and phrases, and then automatically drives free organic traffic form the major search engines by creating and optimizing search result landing pages.
Driving Sales Higher with Intelligent Search- Webinar
To learn more about SearchSpring, join this Webinar March 11th, 11am Pacific, 2pm Eastern:
Register Here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/914203665
Contact SearchSpring at (888) 643-9043
or visit http://www.searchspring.net/
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