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Google Shopping Various Unanswered Questions in the FAQs

 
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eCrater1junkie



Posts: 27

PostPosted: Mon Oct 08, 2018 9:52 pm    Post subject: Google Shopping Various Unanswered Questions in the FAQs Reply with quote

Hi,

I read over the information posted about Google Shopping, but there is alot left out it would seem.

I've tried to do some further research and I get too much conflicting information. I've read on Google's site and various forums with random people's responses.

I still do not know how to successfully post custom made products and I did discover there are various additional unsupported attributes by eCrater, but I might find useful.

I sell software and I discovered that Google Shopping has more refined categories than simply "software." I cannot specify further via the attributes because eCrater does this for me automatically - I have no idea if it is doing this accurately or inaccurately. I would suspect it is highly inaccurate because I discovered all the software I sell is not being listed to Google Shopping (and this is killing my business).

Is there anyone out there who knows how to successfully post products to Google Shopping, specifically for software that has no GTIN values? I come into contact with many developers who just want their products promoted and they do not have the information Google wants - i.e. There are no barcodes because these people are not selling their products in retail stores (mostly).

For photographs, using only "identifier_exists false" works fine and gets posted to Google Shopping. Same for e-books.

Using attributes:

1. brand EXAMPLE
2. identifier_exists false

for software fails...and this is what is what I'm supposed to use according to Google's help pages.

Using only "identifier_exists false" for software also fails.

So, what to do?
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MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Mon Oct 08, 2018 10:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
1. brand EXAMPLE
2. identifier_exists false


Are you listing them in your listing or on the G page? If you are doing it in your listing on the bottom are you listing them like this?

[!brand:General Electric!]
[!identifier_exists:false!]

Of course, if you are doing them on the G page the words brand and identifier_exists should be in the left-hand column and the words General Electric and false should be on the right-hand column directly opposite each other.
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eCrater1junkie



Posts: 27

PostPosted: Mon Oct 08, 2018 11:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm using eCraters way of using the attributes (clicking the tab Google Attributes), not the manual way of inserting at the bottom of each product (using tags). I can get the attributes set just fine for e-books and photographs, but not software lacking GTIN (or that have no physical packaging).

eCrater shows me some message in red lettering above my attribute list:

"Missing required attributes for this product. Please include:
brand and upc/ean/jan."

...but again, the issue is there is none of this info for my software.

So frustrating.
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MoonwishesStore
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Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Mon Oct 08, 2018 11:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't know what makes the difference for sure. I just checked one of my listings that didn't have a UPC and I couldn't find it on GS, then found another pattern without a UPC but I did have the identifier...etc. thing and it was showing in GS. Then it hit me that the one item I checked first I had forgotten to include the identifier_exists:false in the listing. So I put that in and it didn't want to take it because I am a horrible speller and spelled it wrong so corrected it. Will have to see what happens in the next feed to Google. I was happy to see that the other item was showing in GS as it is a vintage item and a bit pricier than normal.
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eCrater1junkie



Posts: 27

PostPosted: Mon Oct 08, 2018 11:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've tried alot of trial & error, I just can't figure it out. The only things I can do is sell software e-books and hope that's related enough to the software I sell and maybe someone will take a look at the software too. I've also tried various other ways to improve advertising, but my item view count still remain pretty low and I only have one sale to date. I'm not much of a marketing person, so that's probably why this is so difficult for me.
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SheilaDeesPostcards
moderator


Posts: 4614

PostPosted: Tue Oct 09, 2018 7:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Using only "identifier_exists false" for software also fails.
This may seem like a silly question, but how do you define "fail"? Have your items been disapproved by Google Shopping (GS)? In your admin, click on products, select category if you wish, then click "Disapproved from Google". These are items eCRATER has submitted to GS, eCRATER received a message back from GS stating the item is disapproved and giving a reason for the disapproval and eCRATER has added the message to your admin. If you make changes, it can take 30 days (or more) for GS to change to an approval. Sometimes you can check GS and confirm acceptance long before eCRATER gets the message back from GS.

If the only message you are seeing is "Missing required attributes for this product. Please include: brand and upc/ean/jan." that doesn't mean the item failed. That is just a reminder note from eCRATER that GS wants "brand and upc/ean/jan". You will always get this message if your item is new (or like new) and you don't list the 2 attributes. If you use identifier_exists with a value of false, at some point eCRATER will get a notice from GS and the message will disappear. It can take up to a month for the message to go away. If you are selling new software that has no "brand and upc/ean/jan" and you've added identifier_exists false, don't worry about it. I checked some of your software titles, some were in GS and some were not.

Quote:
I'm using eCraters way of using the attributes (clicking the tab Google Attributes), not the manual way of inserting at the bottom of each product.
Both are "eCRATER's way". When GS starting requiring attributes, the system of coding at the end of the description was the only way to add attributes. Some sellers asked for an easier system, but some sellers really liked the coding system. The answer was the addition of the Google Attribute Table. Any thing added to the table shows at the bottom of the description (only in your admin view) and anything added in code appears in the table. The only reason I use the table occasionally is so I can stay current with the way some sellers add attributes. I use the duplicate feature a lot which also duplicates the attributes. This is another example of why I love this site, eCRATER didn't "force" sellers to use a new system, they just added the feature and lets us use the one that works best for us. Also, if you do a bulk upload of products, you can add your attributes to the end of your description and have them added by upload.
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eCrater1junkie



Posts: 27

PostPosted: Tue Oct 09, 2018 11:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would find it hard to believe any of my software has made it into Google Shopping, because my items sell like crazy on eBay, and nothing on eCrater is selling. So, I'll have to spend some time today thoroughly going over Google Shopping and determine which items exactly are making it in and what their attributes are. It certainly doesn't help me any for eCrater to give me these error messages at the top of the Google Attributes list, nor does it help if I have to wait up to a month to see anything get listed in Google Shopping. This adds nothing but confusion and frustration.
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SheilaDeesPostcards
moderator


Posts: 4614

PostPosted: Tue Oct 09, 2018 12:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just because something sells like crazy on eBay, doesn't mean it will sell well on another site. I have read several places that it can take up to 6 weeks for a new site to get indexed in the major search engines. They generally will index your pages on eCRATER Marketplace before they index your items from your new eCRATER store. Most sellers who comment on the forum indicate it takes from one to two months for sales to really start on eCRATER.

Quote:
It certainly doesn't help me any for eCrater to give me these error messages at the top of the Google Attributes list, nor does it help if I have to wait up to a month to see anything get listed in Google Shopping. This adds nothing but confusion and frustration.
I said it could take up to a month for the message to go away because it sometime takes that long for eCRATER to get feedback back from GS. You can check on GS yourself to see if your item has been accepted. Just go to GS and input your title, if your item has been accepted it will be shown. You can play with using fewer words to see at what point your item seems to disappear because so many other selects are shown ahead of your item. I have one book I discovered was grouped (because of the ISBN) with over 100 copies of the same book. I do not expect to sell this book from a GS search.

Some of your software is listed on GS, but some of your software titles have NO listings from any sellers. In general, the more sellers for an item in GS the more difficult it will be for your item to be seen. Google Shopping placement is dependent on your title, your attributes, the number of other sellers for the same item, AND the amount paid for inclusion in GS. If the same item is available for sale by sellers on eBay, Etsy, eCRATER, Bonanza, Great Website A, Wonderful Website B, Unknown Site C, etc.one factor in showing the item would be the amount the website was willing to bid for clicks to see that item. This is why some independent websites do not choose to send a feed to GS. This is also why some sites charge extra for a feed to GS.

You should check your forum private messages.
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MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Tue Oct 09, 2018 12:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Over the years I have read what I could on SEO, etc. and one thing that was always mentioned is that it can take that up to 6 months to be really shown in search results. Just more or less making sure that a site (in this case each of our stores individually) is going to stay around and make it worth the time and computer energy to plug that site. I will admit to being not real computer literate simply because of my age. I remember way back in school we had to learn how to count by ones and zeros. I did great at it, but I had no idea why and neither did the teacher I'm sure who was most likely died of old age before the first regular personal computer was on the market. But even though I never got a computer class in school, I have tried to stay up to date with the things that affect my business. My son also has an online business much like mine but raking in more money and he advertises his other business online also which brings him in business from all over the country. He said that second site was as dead as a doornail until around six months had passed and then he started getting calls for his service. I noticed the longer I have been on sites, the better I did as well.

On eCRATER have you have been here awhile you can choose your fee levels to be what you want to get the increased promotion by eCRATER. I have tried a couple different fee levels and for my business, I have found that staying at the 0.29% is fine for me. But I also actively promote my store as has been my habit even when I owned a store on eBay. I figure no matter how much I might like or dislike a venue, no one cares about my business the way I do. It is up to me to do what I need to do to get and bring in business.

Some sellers like to hop from one site to another may be giving them a month or two to produce a sale and then they are pronounced no good and they shut down that site and move on. Then after a couple of years of this, they wonder why they aren't making any money. I'm not saying it is the only reason but one to pay attention to. Any new site, try to give it 6-9 months unless you are paying listing fees each month and that is something else to take into account.

In the meantime, sellers have to be sure that their photos, titles, descriptions are the best they can be, that their prices are in the right ballpark, etc. Some items just aren't worth trying to sell online with the low prices to start with and then the shipping added on and it is like trying to sell a pack of gum for $5 that they can get at the local stores for $1 or less.

None of this directed at anyone, just some of what I have been learning over the last 16 years. Now I need my nap!
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eCrater1junkie



Posts: 27

PostPosted: Tue Oct 09, 2018 5:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Okay, I believe, with much research, that I have figured it out... mostly. So, first, there's alot of conflicting information out there, even from Google. Then you have eCrater's confusing messages / implying items are not added to Google Shopping.

After looking for many many many of my software items in Google Shopping, I have discovered that it is "best practice" to list in the Google Attributes list:

1. brand example
2. identifier_exists false

I also now know this does not work every time, but mostly. I will have to accept the fact some of my software items will simply never make it to Google Shopping regardless of attributes used. This is OK, because I still get something posted. Good enough.
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SheilaDeesPostcards
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Posts: 4614

PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 10:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

@eCrater1junkie, there is a possibility that some of your titles are not allowed in Google Shopping. I sent you a PM regarding this, but you haven't checked your forum messages.
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