Getting Your Product Data Ready for the Holidays

As the holidays approach, some products are flying off the shelves, and a continuous cycle of sales and promotions means that prices change frequently. Now is a good time to ensure that you're submitting accurate data in your feed, particularly in regards to attributes like "price" and "quantity" which are more variable during the holidays. Otherwise, shoppers might overlook your product offer because of an inaccurate price, or click on a listing only to find that you no longer have the item in stock - a frustrating experience for merchant and user alike. Here are two tips to make sure you're set for the holidays:

• Tip #1: Update your feed with frequent inventory information. Make sure that the "Quantity" attribute in your feed matches the inventory levels on your site. A Zero ("0") quantity must be explicitly specified (blank does not equal zero), and indicates the store typically carries the product but is temporarily out of stock. Learn more about the "Quantity" attribute on our feed specification.
• Tip #2: Ensure that all prices that appear in your data feed match the prices that appear on your website. For items sold in bulk quantities the price for the lowest purchasable number of items must be defined in this attribute (not the per unit price) as described in our policies. Our feed specification has more details about the "Price" attribute.

To give our users the best experience possible, we'll continue to take action against inaccurate listings and products that violate our policies. If you receive any email messages with the subject "Problems with your items on Google Product Search," please correct your feed immediately to avoid your account being suspended or disabled. If you're interested in learning about additional ways to improve your data feed, please visit our help center.

Posted by Chris Coyoli, Shopping Partner Manager, Google Product Search