Data feeds are a critical component of any ecommerce solution as it is used in many ways, from powering Comparison shopping engines (CSE) and Affiliate sites to even Google Shopping and now Google Product Listing Ads. Data feeds were once made popular by CSE such as shopping.com to Froogle.com is now a mainstream component for most online store.
For a new merchant getting online, they feel overwhelmed when talking about data feeds and managing it. The thing is that data feeds are nothing more than a spreadsheet you can send out to different vendors or upload to help gain more exposure in the channels you are currently in. In many instances, all you need is a FTP to post the data so that Google, Bing, or CSE will come read that feed.
So why is it important to have the data feed setup correctly?
Other that inefficiencies and resources it cost to fix a corrupted feed, it takes away the effectiveness of a feed. The main purpose is to drive traffic to your site by providing accurate information that is beneficial to the consumer who is actively shopping for the product.
The best example will be a person who is shopping for toothpaste at a grocery store. Imagine that you are selling Brand X toothpaste and you are competing against dozens of brands who are selling that commodity. The shopper will be considering things like price, size of the toothpaste tube, packaging, content and so forth. If your product is selected by the shopper, the last thing you want is to surprise him with some crazy variable like “Oh, there is a 20% tax on your product”, as the user will just drop your product and select a comparable product sold.
With data fees, you want to give the shopper as much info as possible to reduce the surprise factor. So here are some of the bare minimum fields that are required to have a successful data feed.
SKU
A product’s unique stock keeping unit (SKU). It is also the unique identifier for that specific product that you carry.
UPC
A product’s unique Universal Product Code (UPC), Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), or European Article Number (EAN).
Manufacturer Part Number
A product’s unique Manufacturer Part Number (MPN).
ISBN
A book’s unique International Standard Book Number (ISBN). Only applies to books.
Title
The name of the product.
Description
One paragraph that provides information about the product’s most important and distinguishing features and benefits.
Condition
The condition or state of the product.
Brand
The brand, manufacturer, or label of the product.
Manufacturer
The name of the manufacturer or vendor of the product.
Product URL
A product’s web page URL (landing page) on your e-commerce website.
Merchant Category
The primary category structure (taxonomy) that organizes the product on your website. Typically this value matches the breadcrumb navigation that leads to the product’s web page on your website.
Main Image URL
A URL to the primary image of a product.
Standard Price
The regular, default price of the product when not offered at a sale price.
Availability Code
Identifies whether a product is available to order.
Tax Code
Identifies the tax rate of the product.
Shipping code
Identifies the shipping rate for the product.