Now, with Google Custom Attributes   January 19th, 2007

I have been seeing a bunch of emails about the Google Custom Attributes since we launched the new feature yesterday, basically saying, “great that you have ‘em, but how in the world do I use them?”

Well, let me start off by saying Google Custom Attributes are a great way to improve your ranking (and, in turn, your feed performance) on Google Base… the more information you provide Google, the better.

Using Google Custom Attributes with SingleFeed is SUPER EASY!!

First,

  • Think about what sort of custom fields would add value to your search listings (remembering, more is better, but do NOT spam Google Base with useless content).
  • These field headings within the SingleFeed upload file are unique; each Google Custom Attribute always starts with ‘c:’ (that is see-colon), then includes the attribute, then ends with the type of custom attribute (string, integer, decimal, dateTime, location, URL, boolean). Following are some examples of possible Google Base Custom Attribute column headings. Your attributes will vary depending on what type of products you sell…

c:ski_size:integer
c:operating_temperature:decimal
c:fabric_type:string
c:gluten_free:boolean
c:store_department:string
c:store_location:location

Then,

  • Just like any other product field, enter the information associated with each of your products under the field headings.

“Wait!” you are saying, “is that it?” Yep. We will be adding to the FAQ and blogging about additional ways you can consider using the Google Custom Attributes that will further improve your performance. For more info right now, go to the Google Base custom attribute help page.

A very cool thing that we also built into Google Custom Attributes is that when you do specify a Google Custom field, we automatically check and validate the field values to ensure they meet Google-specific requirements. If we happen to find an invalid field value, we will highlight it and provide you added assistance on the Product Edit page to easily fix.Also, remember, these Google Custom Attributes are special to Google and will only be included in your Google transmissions. No extra work, no worries.

P.S. We are working on updating the FAQ for you to provide more details, information about Google Custom Attribute field-types, and suggestions on how you will be able to make the most of Google Custom Attributes at SingleFeed.

P.P.S. Enjoy!

This entry was posted on Friday, January 19th, 2007 at 12:01 am and is filed under Enhancement, SingleFeed. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response

January 30th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Nathan Decker Says:

Thanks for the great info, there is no doubt about the potential of using custom attributes. The difficulty I have with my product catalog is the grouping of attributes into a child / parent relationship. Most shopping comparison sites in my product categories, including Google Base, list a parent item (e.g. model of ski). Child items, which are usually delineated by size or color, aren’t apparent until you click through to the landing page.

If we list 1500 items to an engine currently, we would have to multiply that by 5 or 6 to list out each individual child item as a separate line. When searching the portal, a particular search for a model of ski might bring up 5 results from our store for that particular item, which is a bit spammy given the current landscape (all competitors list parent products as well, so having 5 or 6 listings with almost the exact title seems off).

Is there a way to list multiple sizes, perhaps with commas? For example, c:ski_size:integer, might have one item with 165,175,185 or another item with 26.5,27.0,26.5,28.0,28.5,27.0,26.5,27.0. Or, is the best option to simply have a row in our feed for every single child item?

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