message received from GB support today:

With the recent changes to our updated Google Product Search, we're always looking for new ways to improve our product search experience, both for our users and content providers. In order to help our providers optimize their bulk uploads, our Google Base specifications now include the MPN and UPC attributes as required. MPN and UPC are unique identifiers available in your category of products and we've identified your bulk upload(s) as missing one or both of these attributes.

We'd like to ask you to add these attributes to your bulk upload(s) as soon as possible. These changes are intended to provide a more intuitive product search experience, and can have a significant effect on the relevancy of your product listing moving forward.

For further explanation, please visit our FAQ section. Additionally, you may wish to review all our attribute requirements for products.

Thank you very much for helping us enhance our product search.

Sincerely,

The Google Base Team

Now in addition to separate fields for artist, title, manufacturer they also are going to require a UPC or MPN (label or catalog number) to be in its own field.

With virtuemart being set up for Froogle feed, one would think that these fields would be available or somehow be added to the product description page and also become a part of the download feed from virtuemart....

comments anyone ???

Bob @ Boogiebobs Records

It seems like Google is determined to make things as complicated as possible. Hasn't anyone ever told them the KISS method ?? (Keep It Simple, Stupid)

I can see why Mal decided to ditch GC support for his carts.

Honestly, Base could kick eBay butt, if Google would just make it so you didn't need a degree in computer science to understand the thing.

Carol

Both GB and GC are much simpler than FeeBay/PayEnemy if one has a basic understanding of exel.

The main issue I have with them requiring additional fields is that the fields they are requiring are for information that is already included in our titles and descriptions. GB now wants them to be separate fields and virtuemart is not set up for this and neither is the Froogle Feed Export.

My item titles on 45 and 78 state: Joe Smith ~ RCA 1234 45 (7 and on LPS the Manufacturer and Number are in the first line of the description.

Columbia PE45678 (Stereo)

Virtuemart does not have the capability to add additional fields in the product description which means that you have to manually add separate fields in the excel spreadsheet and then do a whole ton of copying/pasting and editing. With over 16,000 individual items that is going to be a big huge PITA.....

You would think that GB support would be able to see that the damn information is already there and accept that as being in compliance.


??????

Now GB support is backing off some on this saying that if your items don't have UPC or MPN then you don't have to use them and the label numbers on records are not MPN's according to Google so I guess we are in the clear here.

Apologies if We got anyone confused...

Bob

My items don't have UPC's since I make them.
The feed I create out of OSC uploads. GB states errors but makes it published anyway. I'm still trying to learn how to use this the best way. I really need to start selling stuff.

I see my website stats (hits) jump after 2-3 days of the listings. But the log analyzer states most hits come from bookmarks. I don't know why.