All your Google® Base are belong to us.
Google Product Search.
What is it?
Google® Base is an online database where users can submit their documents, images, sounds or anything they wish to catalog for the general public to search. Your shopping cart has a catalog, they (Google) want to organize the world's information and make it universally useful so I think I can see the beginning of a beautiful friendship here.
Formally known as Froogle™, the database has had a name change – it’s now referred to as Google Product Search and is a part of Google Base.
Why do I want it?
More exposure for your products.
If adding your inventory to the leading search engine - therefore making it easier for people to locate your products – isn’t your cup of tea, then I'd like to address the 99.98% of people that have their mugs held out for a refill.
How can I get it?
First you will need to have an account with Google. If you don't have one, a quick search on Google will help you out. :) When logged in, click Post multiple items with a bulk upload file, and proceed through the steps provided by Google® for creating a bulk upload file. Note this file -must- end in .xml and you -must- use the same name within QSC. More on that later.
We use the bulk upload method via FTP, and for this to function, you have to set up an account with Google.
At this stage you should have: a Google account, a filename ending in .xml, and a username and password for your Google Base FTP account.
Head back over to QSC and from the Site Promotion menu, select Froogle Data Feed and enter the information from the prior steps: FTP account information, the .xml filename, and if you wish, a source code so you can track the sales generated by the Google products search. Select Yes to enable the data feed and unless you choose otherwise, from this screen all of your products will be added to Google.
A note on the filename: it has to be exact and end in .xml. For example, filename.xml is not the same as Filename.xml. It can take twenty four hours for this to appear with Google. If you've not seen anything appear after this time, go back into the Froogle Data Feed and check the last upload status for clues on what may be wrong. Failing that, we're a phone call or email away.
I have it! Now what?
You want more than having all your inventory readily accessible to the leading search engine and their users? Of course you do, but alas, I'm all tipped out for the day.
Help! This Froogle/Google Base thing is giving me a headache and finger cramps. I've gone into QSC and Google Base and done all of the registration, but can you walk me through the actual file setup? The QSC end shows "Successful" but the Google Base end still says "0 products available". After I do the QSC setup portion, how do I upload the file (and where is the file?) or is it just magically happening between QSC and Google?
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Greetings Stacy,
The file is stored within QSC and is transferred to Google base via FTP which I'm currently trying to verify is still working since I'm not able to get a ftp login on Google to function outwith of QSC. The process we have in the article / help Is the step by step item though I probably should amend this as two people have now thought that we'd be providing them a file at the end of the process.
Regards
John
QSC team
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I am new to QSC and have tried to get linked to Google but with no luck. I'
m not sure how to create a .xml file and were to keep it for Google to access and I don't know what a FTP is. I have tried to upload a sitemap through Google Dashboard but I keep getting an error message that the file is not correct type.
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Greetings,
There are two Google items that you could be trying to user. Sitemaps or Google Products though I am guessing it's the latter based on the entry title you commented upon. For Google Base Products we create the XML file for you when you set up the process so you never actually see the file we just keep it on our end until Google requests it. To be able to request it we have the store owner set up their "FTP" account '( File transfer protocol ) per the instructions on their site which this article links from. I'm afraid it's not an obvious workflow but we have no control over the latter setup. The sitemap is another item altogether and is not related to the product feed. Once you have the FTP account created with them continue the remaining steps on the article. Please let me know if there are any further issues that arise and I'll provide more detailed information for the step you are on.
Regards
John
QSC team
Reply to this
Greetings,
There are two Google items that you could be trying to user. Sitemaps or Google Products though I am guessing it's the latter based on the entry title you commented upon. For Google Base Products we create the XML file for you when you set up the process so you never actually see the file we just keep it on our end until Google requests it. To be able to request it we have the store owner set up their "FTP" account '( File transfer protocol ) per the instructions on their site which this article links from. I'm afraid it's not an obvious workflow but we have no control over the latter setup. The sitemap is another item altogether and is not related to the product feed. Once you have the FTP account created with them continue the remaining steps on the article. Please let me know if there are any further issues that arise and I'll provide more detailed information for the step you are on.
Regards
John
QSC team
Reply to this