Setting up a supplementary feed in the Google Merchant Center (GMC) is essential for enabling the product groups created and managed by Bigatom. This feed allows Bigatom to create and use custom labels for sending information related to product groups. Below is a detailed, step-by-step guide on how to set up a supplemental feed in GMC and link it to your primary data source.
Step 1: Sign In to Google Merchant Center
Go to the Google Merchant Center homepage.
Sign in using your account credentials.
Step 2: Navigate to the Data Sources Section
Once signed in, click on Settings in the top bar.
Select Data Sources. This is where all feeds associated with your Merchant Center account are managed.
Step 3: Add a Supplementary Feed
In the Data Sources section, look for an option labelled Supplemental Sources or Supplementary Product Data. Click on Add supplemental product data.
In the setup options, you’ll see different methods for adding your supplemental feed. Select Enter a link to your file.
Step 4: Add the Bigatom Supplementary Feed Link
A prompt will appear asking for the file link. Enter the link provided by the Bigatom team.
You can keep the edit schedule as "Automatically updates every 24 hours at 00"
Make sure the link is active and accessible to ensure that Google Merchant Center can fetch the data without issues.
Once the link is entered, save the changes by clicking Continue.
Step 5: Link the Supplementary Feed to Your Primary Feed
To make the supplemental feed work in tandem with your primary product feed, it’s important to link them.
Select Feed Label and choose the feed label which is similar to your primary feed which will be usually the country code of the respective region you run the ads.
Select Language and choose the default language of the respective region.
Link Supplementary Feed to Primary feed, in the select primary data sources dropdown, choose the primary feed which you are using for running ads and connect the supplementary feed to it
Click Create Data Source to finalize the link.
Step 6: Add Rules to Prioritize Values from the Supplemental Feed
To ensure GMC prioritizes values from the supplemental feed over the primary feed, you need to set up rules that allow data to be overwritten by the supplemental feed’s custom labels.
In Google Merchant Center, go to Products > Feeds and select your Primary feed.
In the primary feed settings, navigate to Feed Rules. This is where you can specify which data to take from the supplemental feed.
Click Create Rule and select the attribute you want to modify, such as custom label, title, or product type.
In the rule settings, choose Set to and then select Supplemental Feed as the source. This setting tells GMC to pull this attribute from the supplemental feed rather than the primary feed.
If needed, apply additional conditions to refine when to use the supplemental feed data. For example, you can specify certain product groups or labels where the supplemental feed data should be used.
Click Save to apply each rule.
Step 7: Verify the Supplementary Feed
After adding the feed, Google Merchant Center may take a moment to process the data.
Once processed, you can view any errors or issues by clicking on the supplemental feed link. Address any errors if they appear.
Step 8: Review and Confirm
In Google Merchant Center, go to Products > All Products and verify that the custom labels and other fields from your supplemental feed are appearing correctly.
Troubleshooting
1) Unable to Find the Supplementary Data Sources Option
If you’re unable to locate the Supplementary Data Sources option in Google Merchant Center, it might need to be enabled through add-ons. Follow these steps:
In Google Merchant Center, Click on the Gear Icon on the top bar.
Go to Add-ons.
Look for Advanced data source management in the add-on options and enable it.
Return to the Data Sources section, where Supplementary Data Sources should now be visible
2) Unable to Find the Supplementary Feed Link
To locate the supplemental feed link provided by Bigatom, follow these steps on the Bigatom platform:
Log into the Bigatom platform.
In the sidebar, click on your Website Name.
Go to Setup > Transformed Feeds.
Find the Feed URL button for the platform Google, right-click it, and select Copy Link to get the supplemental feed URL.
This link can now be used within Google Merchant Center as described in the setup steps.
3) Unable to Remove the Supplementary Feed
If you’re having trouble removing a supplementary feed, there might be rules linked to it. To resolve this:
Go to Products > Feeds in Google Merchant Center.
Click on your Primary Feed which is being used in the ads
Open the Attribute Rules section and check for any rules that reference the supplementary feed.
Delete or modify these rules to disconnect them from the supplementary feed.
Once all associated rules are removed, you should be able to delete the supplementary feed without issues.
