Google Products Feed with Actinic

[grant]

Hi everybody!

Received this email from Google about updates to their product feed at the end of the month.

We would like to let you know about an important change we are making to the Product Search data feed requirements. As you know, you can help shoppers find your products by including high quality, frequently updated product information in the form of attributes. In order to provide shoppers with the most useful information, we will be making the "condition" attribute required starting on 30 June 2009.

In order to keep your feeds active past this date, please remember to include the "condition" attribute for all of your items if you are not already doing so. Please include one of three values to describe your product: new, used, or refurbished.

For more information on formatting the condition attribute, please visit http://base.google.com/support/bin/a...&answer=148684

By the looks of it, feeds generated will have to include a "condition" tab. Does Actinic put this in automatically? Or it's something we'll have to shoehorn in?

[grantglendinnin]

Google Products Feed Condition - another thread opened on the subject. Unfortunately even with the latest build - 9.0.4 - you'll need to edit the file and enter this info manually.

[EdHarrison]

Oh no - it does look like you have to edit EACH product to include the condition manually - that's hundreds of edits every thirty days...

I hope Google allow a single check box for condition on all your feeds...


Ed

[brucet]

You don't need to enter the field manually for every product. We have a Knowledge Base article that shows you how to add a Condition field for all your products, and include it in the Google feed:
http://community.actinic.com/showthread.php?t=44817

We will add this new field as standard in a future release.

[v4fun]

Hello Bruce,

I did follow your intructions from the guide you did, but I arrived at step 4. Click the “Choice” button, I have the following message:

"Empty values are not permitted for the variable condition."
The only thing I couldn t get compared to your screen was the "new group" close to the Group { Product} Under name description prompt.

[v4fun]

I managed to do it, by just downloading the latest version of V9 (Actinic v9.0.4 JFJA) and followed your procedure. Thanks

[JoJo]

Re: Googlebase Product Feed

Hello Bruce

I followed the steps in the link you provided for the new 'Condition' attribute and everything worked fine when I uploaded my feed.
I have today tried to upload an updated feed and I have an error from Gbase saying there should now be a 'Weight' attribute? so the upload has failed.

Is this another new attribute that now has to added, if that is the case would it need to be added in the same way as the 'Condition' attribute.

Thanks

Johanne

[grantglendinnin]

I wouldn't have thought so - Google's Products Feed Specification documentation states 'weight' is optional but recommended.

[JoJo]

Re; Googlebase product feed

Yes I read that which is why I thought it was even more strange that I received the error. I have now resubmitted the feed and it's now worked. Must have been a glitch with Googlebase.

[Jan]

The weight field is optional but recommended, I've had a couple of people ask about it now because Google are putting a note in the feed submission results saying that it is missing (although the feeds do go through).

Regards,

[active workwear]

Values and Conditions

Does anyone know where i can find the values and conditions that are required for a data feed.

Thanks

http://www.active-worwkear.com

[brucet]

The Google Product Feed UK specification is here: http://google.com/support/merchants/...?answer=171380

[active workwear]

Google Data Feed

The problem i have is that i have used Extended information option and when i have exported a feed:-

1. Fields are missing
2. I dont know which variables/ fields to import

Im kinda new at this so dont have a clue

I can be emailed here: activeworkwear@gmail.com

http://www.active-workwear.com

[brucet]

Which Actinic version are you using? The Google feed from v9 includes all required fields except for 'Condition'. To add that you have to follow the Knowledge Base article referred to above http://community.actinic.com/showthread.php?t=44817

If you want to add other optional fields, you can do so as described in the Help under 'Adding A New Variable'. Just make sure that for each new field you tick the box 'Include in Google Product Search Data Feed'.

A 'Condition' field is being added as standard in v10.

[Jan]

Your feed won't work on Google if you list it using the standard Actinic feed because you have more than one product on each page. Google requires you to provide a link to a page that includes details for just the product that it is linked to.

You can change your extended information pages to look like product pages and then tell google to link to those pages (details in the advanced user guide on how to do this). The standard Actinic feed cannot export a link to the extended information, but we (mole end software) have an advanced feed export program that can export this detail. You can find more details and a free trial for the product here :

http://www.mole-end.biz/acatalog/Froogle_Mash.html

These are the field required / recommended for Googlebase, I've put *'s by the ones provided by actinic by default but you can add all of them by defining user defined variables for them.

Required
condition
*description
*id
*link
*price
*title

Recommended
brand
ean
*image link
isbn
mpn
weight