How do I Use Shift4Shop's Automated Google Feed Service?

You can easily generate a feed of your products on Google Shopping by using Shift4Shop's Automated Google Product Feed service. This article will show you how to use the service and generate the feed for your Google Merchant account.

Requirements

Before proceeding with the following steps, please be aware that you will need the following:

• A Google Merchant Account
  Where you will set up your store presence for various Google Merchant services, including Google Shopping product feeds.

• Unique Product Identifiers
  Your products will also need to be configured with unique product identifiers, which will be used by Google for the feed. The product configuration requirements are as follows:

  • Product without Options
    Products without option must have both a Manufacturer Part Number (MPN) and Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) specified for them.

  • Product with Options
    Products with options (variants) must also have the MPN specified, and Advanced Options enabled. Furthermore, the GTIN will be specified in the advanced options screen.

Enabling Google Feeds

To enable Google Feeds in your store, please follow these steps:

1. Log into your Shift4Shop Online Store Manager.

2. Go to Marketing > Shopping Engines.

3. Look for "Google Shopping Feed" (It's the one at the top of the page).

4. Click on the Settings button.

5. Now, click on the Settings button located at the top right of the page and place a mark in the Enable Google Feeds: checkbox.

6. Click Save.

The function is now enabled on your store.

While we're here on this page, let's go over the additional settings found on the page.

• XML Google Feeds Path:
  This is the path to the XML feed that you will submit to Google when you want them to fetch your products.

• Process Feed Time:
  By using the available drop-down selectors, you can specify when you would like the script to be run daily.
  (Default is 1:00 am)

• Target Country:
  Select the target country for which the XML feed is to be formatted. Your choices are the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom.

• Generate XML File
  This button will process the feed on demand if you would like to run the script before the scheduled processing.

Adding Products to the Feed (Manual)

There are two ways of adding products to your Google Feed - Manually and via CSV export/import. These first steps will describe the manual method.

1. Go to Products > Product List.

2. Select an item you'd like to add to the feed and click on its ID or Name to open it.

3. Now go to the product's Advanced Tab.

4. Scroll down toward the bottom of the Advanced tab page and click on the Enhanced Catalog for Feeds section to expand it

5. Next, click on the Edit Settings button to continue.

A pop-up window will appear with the various designations that will be used for the product on the feed. Many of these attributes will be taken directly from your product, while some will need manual selection. These are:

• Basic Product Information

  • id*
    Prepopulated and taken from the product's Product ID table.

  • title*
    Prepopulated from the product name table, but may be edited if so desired.

  • description*
    Taken from the product's short description. It can also be edited as needed.

  • Google product category*
    Rather than being populated by your product's information, this setting must adhere to Google Product Category Taxonomy. Type in the type of product in the field and select the most appropriate category designation.

  • product type
    Prepopulated and taken from your product's assigned category in the store.

  • link*
    Prepopulated by the product's direct listing URL.

  • mobile link
    Prepopulated by the product's listing URL for mobile (same as a regular link).

  • image link*
    Prepopulated by the URL for the product's main image.

  • additional image link
    Prepopulated by the URL for the product's first additional image.

  • condition*
    Select whether the product's condition is New, Used, or Refurbished.

• Availability & Price

  • price*
    Prepopulated by the product's base price.
    (Be aware that this will represent the product's base unit price. If product variations add additional cost, these will be reflected in the XML feed.)

• Unique Product Identifiers

  • brand
    Prepopulated by the product's assigned manufacturer from your store.

  • gtin
    Prepopulated by the product's GTIN information.

  • mpn
    Prepopulated by the product's MPN information.

• Product Variants

  • color
    When applicable, this attribute will pull from your product's color option sets. Select the appropriate option set from the drop-down selector.
    (required for apparel)

  • size
    When applicable, this attribute will pull from your product's size option sets. Select the appropriate option set from the drop-down selector.
    (required for apparel)

  • gender
    Select whether the item is suited for male, female or unisex genders.
    (required for most apparel)

  • age group
    Select whether the item is suited for newborn, infant, toddler, kids, or adult ages.
    (required for most apparel)

  • material
    When applicable, this attribute will pull from your product's material option sets. Select the appropriate option set from the drop-down selector.
    (required for apparel)

  • pattern
    When applicable, this attribute will pull from your product's pattern option sets. Select the appropriate option set from the drop-down selector.
    (required for apparel)

  • size type
    Select whether the product's size types (fit) are regular, petite, plus, big and tall, or maternity.
    (required for most apparel)

  • size system
    Select the sizing standard that applies to the product. Your choices are: US, UK, EU, DE, FR, JP, CN, IT, BR, MEX, and AU
    (required for most apparel)

• Tax & Shipping

  • shipping weight
    Prepopulated by the product's weight designation.

  • shipping weight units
    Select whether the weight unit of measurement is pounds, ounces, grams, or kilograms.

  • shipping height
    Prepopulated by the product's height designation.

  • shipping width
    Prepopulated by the product's width designation.

  • shipping length
    Prepopulated by the product's length designation.

  • shipping height/width/length units
    Select whether the dimension units of measurement are inches or centimeters.

  • shipping label
    if you have a special shipping method configured in your Google Merchant account for this product, you may list its name in this field to map it to your Google method. Otherwise, this field may be left untouched.

• Adult Products

  • adult
    Finally, if the product is of an adult nature, Google Requires that it be listed as such to ensure that it is shown to age-appropriate audiences. This checkbox can be marked to set the product as an "Adult Product."

Once you're done configuring the product's Attributes, click on the Save button at the top to add it to your feed. Repeat for every product needed.