Froogle Data Feed

How long does it take?

[jaeden]

I still haven't heard from Froogle as far as the data feed. Is that the same concensus or do I need to send another request in?

[Philosopher]

I'm still waiting to hear on the data feed myself. I'll be sending another email to them about this today and will hopefully get a response this time around.

[rustyzipper]

Sent an email about the feed about a week ago & haven't heard back just yet. Please post info on the process if you've received a reply.

Thanks!

Rob Chadwick

[pleeker]

Add selling slogans ("free shipping", "20% discount") directly into your product images. Normally I frown upon putting text in graphic form, but this is a good opportunity to make your listing (wherever) it apears on the page to stand out from the other (almost always identical) photos.

Very interesting idea. I wonder how Froogle will eventually discover and discourage this kind of gimmick.? I have to assume they will at some point....

[rustyzipper]

FYI -

I just got an email back from Froogle with a username and password and URL to a form to submit and agree to their merchant agreement (pretty generic legal stuff).

The form says that once you fill out the form, they'll email you with instructions for formatting and uploading your feed.

On submit of the form it told me to email them if I don't hear back from them within a week.

[stuntdubl]

I got a the same response as rustyzipper....
it took about a week.

[spinmaster]

I got my reply. I was told I wasn't accepted for a datafeed because I don't accept major credit cards. I have asked for clarification, as I do accept credit cards through Paypal. I was also given a link back to the FAQ as evidence that that was one of the criteria. I went back and read it again but I didn't see that requirement in the FAQ. Is anyone been given the go ahead for a datafeed that only accepts credit cards through Paypal?

[MetaFunk]

I got refused as I am based in UK and only quote prices in GBP. Would be nice to see a UK version.

G,

[Slud]

So has anyone looked at their access logs to see what types of things Google looks at before accepting/denying a site for acceptance into the Froogle feed?

[KevinC]

Not sure what they are accepting but I got my username and password today, about a week later ;). I would say anybody interested should get in now before its jammed with mechants trying to get in.

[Janettadine]

I haven't found any of my pages in Froogle, and I wondered if it's for the same reason spinmaster was given (Google thinks I don't accept credit cards). I have Visa and MasterCard logos on my site, but don't specifically say on my site that I accept those. Guess I'll need to tweak my site and cross my fingers.

[spinmaster]

However, I have seen things listed that have Paypal shopping cart links...I'm thinking it looks for those.

[lgn]

Metafunk. They don't care where you are from, but you must have American prices, or else you will get rejected.

It's not because they don't like people on the other side of the pond, its just that they can't
handle comparision between multiple currencies, as of yet.

[Slud]

Has anyone received thier second email yet (the one with file format details)?

[Namaste]

Hi all, please hear my 2 cents on the subject.

1st of all, I think it might be wiser for all to try and focus on allowing the Google spider finding you than submitting a data feed. Given Googles preference for "finding" stuff on the web, your pages would do better being found than fed. This also means less work for you as you don't have to do uploads. Ofcourse, we'll have to see about how Google goes about maintaining freshness.

Having studied my own pages listed and countless others, here is the froogle formula for getting listed & ranking:

1. One product per page (somewhere on your site)
2. Inward link to this page must be Javascript free
3. Add product name to Metatitle
4. Put $ sign next to price
5. Put product name above description in bold
6. Mention product name in alt-tag on inward link to page (for better positioning)
7. Put price in meta-title
8. Make sure that 1. above can be reached by Google's spider (no forms, drops down etc.)

Here is the screnario:

Shopping for Mobile Widgets returns 8 matches...each of the results must have a link that leads to a page that features the product individually. This link must be Javascript free.

Happy sales.

[spinmaster]

Given that the datafeed would ensure uniformity and a better display and more workability of the search engine, I don't see why Froogle would want to have a preference for items it found vs. got fed.

[deltakits]

They are specifically setting up a feed system, so it seems rather silly to think that they don't want people to use it.

[121focus]

Having a data feed defined by Google minimizes any page randomness or noise (i.e., design, layout, HTML quality, etc.) the algos must account for. In effect, the Froogle algos "explanatory power" increases significantly.

IMO the only reason you see some stores that have not setup a data feed with Froogle is they had to populate their database some how for the launch and the Y! Store data feed did not supply a robust enough data set.

[AmishJohn]

Here is my Froogle timeline:
12/12 sent email request
12/16 received and sent back form
12/17 received data feed instructions
12/18 sent 1st data feed (and email alert)
12/19 sent second updated data feed
12/20 sent third updated data feed

still waiting for this data to appear in Froogle -- all that shows up now is the jumbled results of the Froogle spider that was there on 12/12.

[brina]

I received an email last night with instructions on how to upload my data feed. I did a little test and let them know it was there so they can check my stuff before I do the rest.

My feeling on spidering vs. feeding - I think it's better to feed. You have more control over what is seen by the user and what is indexed by Google.

I will check back in after they check my first feed.

[brandi01]

I received the username-password e-mail in about 27 hours, but the username and password fields were blank :(

We have created a username and password for you, which you will need when filling out the form.
username:
password:

Tried submitting the form with the blank username and password they gave me but they wouldn't buy it :)

Had to reply and now wait again :(

-B

[spinmaster]

Still wondering if anyone was accepted for a datafeed that accepts credit cards only through a third party like Paypal or doesn't accept credit cards at all.

[nell]

Froogle datafeed has one of their extended format fields named "delete". Naming a field "delete" in a MySQL table results in an error. Therefore, I cannot set up a table in MySQL to store my Froogle products.

[bcc1234]

I got a reply and instructions. After that, I submitted the feed twice already, but the descriptions are still old (the ones from googlebot crawl).

[Namaste]

How will Google rank of products submitted via the Feed?
121Focus, your point is well taken, but what does that do for ranking. It is this noise (partly) that Google uses to determine ranking.

We'll have to see, which is better, feed or find.

So far, I find Froogle quite poor as a shopping tool...lets see what happens in 6 months. They have a long way to go.

[spinmaster]

Got a response back from Google that a site using Paypal was OK for datafeed. So now, what's a good strategy for optimizing both webpage catalog and datafeed, while keeping track of inventory, using one data source.

[gillespie]

ummm, did not follow any format but after the hoopla went to froogle and found myself listed. I am a top service Yahoo store and it seems google took some of us to prime the pump. As of today I have not received my feed data that I requested last week to keep pages fresh...some items are already sold out but "the froogle" still has them listed and some prices I have lowered. My froogle pages, seven to be exact, are down to 3 and most of the pictures are missing. I do not show favorably in the searches as I did the first day. It must be a sea of changes at "the froogle" still sorting things out and likely flooded with requests. I am glad there is a thread for the feed....I will need it.

[trailex]

Yes Pay Pal is ok, I was turned down at first and explained that i do accept credit cards VIA Pay Pal and was that allowed? they had a problem finding the individual pages was the other reason I sent the links they then approved, I also corrected any link difficulties in the process. I Received the confirmation that pay pal was ok and then submited letter to receive feed the whole process Started 12/12/2002 and I receved the info today! 12/31/2002.

[Napoleon]

>> still waiting for this data to appear in froogle <<

Indeed. Anyone had any joy with the manual data feed?

I FTP'd the TXT file back on Dec 17th. There is nothing in the index yet though.

I must admit I found the upload rather strange, causing me to suspect error, although I don't see how. Using WS_FTP the right hand box (ie: Froogle) is blank, even AFTER upload. Very strange, considering the upload seems to be accepted OK. Any clues anyone? Is this common? Anyone rolling successfully with regular data feeds?

[Slud]

Don't be alarmed by the Froogle side of you FTP window not displaying a file you just uploaded. This is just Google being super-strict on security (i.e. not allowing directory listings).