A Google Merchant Center feed with fixes, no manual work

Input, fixes, output

The feed page has three steps one under another: the source feed (where products come from and when they were fetched), fixes and rules, the output feed (format, product count, address). Every figure on the page comes from one set of products, so the preview, the list and the served feed agree. A feed from an address is fetched every 1, 3, 6, 12 or 24 hours, or by hand with “Fetch now”.

What the automatic fixes repair

Fixes run before the rules on every product. They do not invent missing data and never touch the product id.

• HTML in the description and name turned into text, lost spaces after sentences put back, extra spaces removed.
• Emoji and repeated “!” and “?” leave the name, and so do sales phrases; a name in capitals returns to normal case; the name is shortened to 150 characters on a word boundary.
• The description is shortened to 5000 characters at the end of a sentence.
• Availability in Google’s values (Polish words are converted), and when the feed gives a quantity, availability is set from it.
• GTIN reduced to its digits and removed when Google would refuse it (wrong check digit or length, in-store range). A sale price not below the price is removed with its dates.
• The feed page shows how many products each fix changed.

A Merchant Center feed in 4 steps

It takes a few minutes. You need no developer.

1. 1

   Add a feed

   In Basketly open Feeds and add a new feed. As the input give a feed address, upload a file or choose a connected shop.

2. 2

   Check the fixes and categories

   On the feed page keep the Automatic fixes on, add rules if you need them, and open the Google categories tab to review the items marked “To check”.

3. 3

   Choose the format and tagging

   In the Output feed tab keep the Google / Meta format and choose a link tagging preset (by default only Basketly’s marker).

4. 4

   Paste the address into Merchant Center

   Copy the output feed address and paste it into Google Merchant Center as a data source. After Google’s first fetch check the products on the Products screen.

Rules and Google categories

Rules are an ordered list of conditions and actions: set an attribute from a template, add text, replace text, translate values through a table, shorten, change letter case, change a price, leave a product out. The preview before saving shows how many products a rule will change, with “before → after” examples. The Google categories tab assigns every product a category of Google’s taxonomy (Polish and English names). The one you chose for a shop category always wins, then a valid category the product already has, then the automatic choice, and when the shop category is too broad, a choice by the product’s title. Low-confidence items are marked “To check”.

Link tagging

The last step of the served feed can add URL parameters to every link. It always adds Basketly’s marker, plus a preset you choose: marker only (the default, safe in any channel), Google Merchant Center with parameters only for ad clicks, Meta, Ceneo or your own parameters. Parameters a link already has are never overwritten.

How to use it in Merchant Center

• The output feed has the full address with a copy button and a link to Google Merchant Center, where you paste it.
• The address is built on every request, so a changed rule works the next time Google fetches it.
• “Generate a new address” retires the old one at once.
• Products with errors appear on the Products screen with what to fix and a “Basketly fixes” mark when the fix is automatic.