Google Product Search Variation Instructions Updated
The Google Product Search team recently updated the Products Feed Specifications page to elaborate on how merchants should submit variation data for their products. Nothing ground breaking since a lot of this information was already on the page, it was just a bit more cryptic. Google's now making an effort to make the instructions clearer (almost said "easier" there, not quite the same thing) for merchants to adhere to the new guidelines.
The most notable 'updates' are highlighted below:
- For apparel items, it is required that you provide a unique image of the specific variant if the item differs by ‘color’, ‘pattern’ or ‘material’. For variants that differ only by ‘size’, you may submit identical images. We recommend sending separate images for variant products in other categories as well. But at this time we will not enforce this as a requirement for any category other than Apparel & Accessories.
- We also recommend you submit URL links that pre-select the variant. For example, if a user selects the red dress in size 10, they should be taken to a landing page, where the “red” and “size 10” options are already selected. If this is not possible, you may include identical link attribute values for each of the variant items within a group.
This could create issues for Apparel merchants since creating that kind of relationship between color variations and their corresponding images would require a major data overhaul. As Google continues to move in the direction of offering a more engaging Product Search platform, the quality of your data is going to become increasingly important.
If Google Product Search is a valuable marketing channel for you (as it should be for all ecommerce merchants) then it might be a good idea to audit your store's data in the near future if you haven't done so already.
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