Product feed
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A product feed or product data feed is a file made up of a list of products and attributes of those products organized so that each product can be displayed, advertised or compared in a unique way.[1] A product feed typically contains a product image, title, product identifier, marketing copy, and product attributes.[2]
Product feeds supply the content that is presented on many kinds of e-commerce websites such as search engines, price comparison websites, affiliate networks, and other similar aggregators of e-commerce information. Product data feeds are[3] generated by manufacturers, online retailers and, in some cases, product information is extracted using web scraping or harvested web harvesting from the online shops website.
Applications[]
While product feeds differ in content and structure, the goal remains the same – deliver high-quality (fresh, relevant, accurate, comprehensive) information so that shoppers can make a buying decision.[4]
Product data feeds are often delivered between manufacturers and retailers,[5] and are also used within a variety of online marketing channels that help shoppers locate the product they wish to purchase and drive the traffic to the retailers' website. These marketing channels include:
- Price comparison websites – Feeds are the product descriptive content needed to run sites that compare pricing (price comparison websites), attributes (mostly in vertical search portals) and availability.[6]
- Paid search affiliates – PPC campaigns use API's that receive a range of attributes within product feeds to determine campaign keywords and bidding.
- Affiliate networks – affiliate networks funnel products though their platforms from merchants to affiliates.
- Marketplaces – receive product feeds from their merchants (eBay and Amazon for example).[7]
- Social Networks - can accept product feeds from merchants to list products (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest for example).[8]
Feed formats[]
- After announcing the importance of quality product data feeds,[9] Google has updated its feed requirements.[10]
- Other product listing sites use proprietary formats that are either plain text or XML format.
- Emerging RDF format: Semantic web standards such as RDF are taking root. It is expected product feed will soon adopt this new web standard.
References[]
- ^ "Data feeds overview". Google Merchant Center Help.
- ^ "Products Feed Specification". Google Merchant Center Help.
- ^ "Product Content Cloud". Edgenet. Archived from the original on 2013-08-06.
- ^ "Provide high-quality data". Google Merchant Center Help.
- ^ "Spex Access - Product Data Management for Manufacturers".
- ^ "Data Feed Requirements". PriceGrabber.com. Archived from the original on 2016-07-28.
- ^ Culpin, Ben (14 June 2019). "Ecommerce channels - Which is the right choice for you?".
- ^ "Product Feeds | List of Product Data Feeds". www.productfeeds.org. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
- ^ "Successful Strategies in Increasing Product Sales with Google Shopping". Marketingflows.com. April 28, 2013. Archived from the original on June 8, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
- ^ "Updated Google Shopping feed specification".
- Web syndication