Template Data Feed exports your product and category data in the file formats required for multiple data feed submissions (Google Base (Froogle), Sitemap XML (for Google, Microsoft, Yahoo), Yahoo, Shopzilla, PriceGrabber, etc.) for inclusion in their ecommerce search directories and shopping portals. Using the template system, design the export for just about any comparison shopping engine (CSE). Improve your search engine optimization (SEO). This module is for Miva Merchant 5.x. We also have the corresponding module for 4.14-4.2x versions of Merchant.
Create the datafeed flat files directly from your admin
Frequent, no hassle submissions keep your data current
Eliminates the need to copy product and category databases from the server to your PC to produce a flat file export with software such as MS Excel
Uses your data as it exists within admin at the moment it is run
Exclude/include export of specific products by code, price, weight
Control over category insertion
Exclude/include export from specific categories
Include a table for each export that matches your category codes to the shopping index's category system (no need to edit data into each product's custom fields to hold the shopping index category)
Custom field data. If you are using Miva's custom fields module, the additional field data can be used to populate additional fields and/or added to the description.
Convert your store's currency to the target
country's data feed requirement
Removes html from your product descriptions
No timeout issues when generating the data feed export of large numbers of products
Show export status in a progress bar
Automatic exports. If you have cron task available you may be able to run exports automatically (see install doc FAQ section)
Exports to your documents directory rather than your data directory for ease of capture and transmittal
Optionally send a copy of the file as an
email attachment
Create directory style and search friendly links in the feed to match those in your store to enhance SEO
Template layout allows you to set the product data in the order you want it using tokens to dynamically insert the data at the position you need it
Create xml feeds or list your specials in a specific category for RSS output
Five pre-defined formats already configured: Google Base (aka Froogle, Google Product Search), Sitemap XML (for Google, Microsoft, Yahoo), Yahoo, Shopzilla, PriceGrabber
Ultimate feed submission tool, you can create unlimited feeds based on your search indexes' specifications fairly easy.
Minor changes are needed for your url or search friendly links
You'll can create custom product fields and assign values in them for the Shopzilla, Yahoo and many other feeds to meet their additional data needs
Many ecommerce search and marketing services are not free, so you'll need to create accounts and pay applicable fees prior to feed submissions (Google is free)
You can even use this module to submit bulk uploads to the free Google Base which lets you define the columns you are going to submit by using the tokens available in the module
I put several feeds on my site as example output. Contact me for the urls if you want to see them. They demonstrate some of the features:
Rearrange fields to fit the format of the shopping search index
Include custom fields not found in the standard Miva Merchant products database (year, actors, director, etc.)
Include category matching so if the index uses a different or additional categorization, you can meet their requirements (Yahoo uses your category and theirs, Shopzilla has their own category ID system)
Steps
Apply to the search directory, e.g. Google Base, Yahoo, Shopzilla, PriceGrabber, and others to be included in their program
Install this module and run it
FTP/upload resulting flat file to the applicable search indexes
Like our other modules, this module is licensed by domain, so if you have multiple stores in a single domain, you only need one license for all the stores in that domain.
Once you get the customer to your site, use our
Power Search module for your site's internal search tool. It enhances site navigation far beyond the built in search mechanism.
If your host is web.com, you may not be able to use this module due to the way they configure their servers, i.e. not allowing exports. There are no known issues with other hosts.
You spend a lot of time and money with hosting, entering data into your store, and improving the look and feel of your pages. Why would you not want customers to find your site via search engines or shopping portals? You could submit your home page to them and hope all the pages get included in the search index. For better results, you need to submit datafeeds or hire someone else to submit them for you. Take a look at the comparison between the built in features and the alternatives. The answer is obvious, you need to improve your external search index interface. Most of the time you will find the Template Data Feed module does everything you need to increase traffic through well placed search index insertions. For the cost of dinner for two, you can make a significant improvement in your store's bottom line. If you have a few minutes a month to run the feeds and upload them, I doubt you'll need an expensive submission service.
Built In
Template Data Feed
Submission Service
Price
free
$40
$50-$75 per month
Sitemap HTML
yes
yes
no
Datafeed From Your Admin
no
yes
requires export module
Limit Export By Code, Price, Weight
no
yes
depends on export module
Control Over Category Insertion
no
yes
depends on export module
Custom Field Data Included
no
yes
depends on export module
Convert Currency To Datafeed Spec
no
yes
depends on export module
Remove HTML From Description
no
yes
depends on export module
Feed Timeout Avoidance
no
yes
depends on export module
Automatic Exports
no
yes *
depends on export module
Export To Documents Directory
yes
yes
depends on export module
Send Export As Email Attachment
n/a
yes
depends on export module
Create Short Links
yes
yes
depends on export module
XML and RSS Feeds
no
yes
depends on export module
Multiple Pre-defined Feed Formats
n/a
yes
yes
Licensed By
store
domain
store
* requires cron and a long server timeout setting in large stores
Compressed screen shots below are expanded at the slide show link on this page.
Feed names and last date run displayed in admin
Configuration settings can customize each export
Export xml (like Google sitemap) or one product per line txt feeds
Exclude specific products from the export
Exclude specific categories and match your categories to the shopping index categories
Report finish with convenient link for easy transfer to your PC without need for FTP
