Discover 7 ways to create custom product feeds without manual data entry. Save time, prevent errors and keep your data up to date at all times.
Everyone in the e-commerce world knows the drill: you have several tools open at the same time, you waste time cutting and pasting information from different CSVs, you are busy adjusting fields and ultimately you hope that no errors creep into the outcome.
On the other hand, your partners, sales channels, and advertising platforms expect your data to be error-free and up to date at all times! The pressure can be intense, as every mistake can have a direct impact on sales. Fortunately, creating custom product feeds does not have to be time-consuming and error-prone. We share more details in this article, so read on.
A strong product feed saves time, prevents errors and ensures that your data is always correct. These are the most important steps:
Work from a single tool to maintain overview and control.
Use templates to quickly establish a solid foundation.
Filter smartly so only relevant and profitable products appear in your feeds.
Build custom feeds for B2B customers or specific channels.
Import existing feeds to quickly continue building without losing data.
Manage feeds with unique URLs and keep track of who has access.
Update automatically so your prices, stock and promotions are always up to date.
With a well-designed productfeed, you can provide your partner or sales channel with exactly the right data, titles, prices, stock levels and promotions. This prevents your products from being rejected, increases their visibility and ultimately saves you time!
If you set up a custom product feed correctly from the start, it will also be easier to expand the feed with new information in the future.
There are various ways to manage your feeds more efficiently. Below are seven practical tips that you can apply immediately to save time, prevent errors, and optimise the use of your product data.
Without the right tool, it's easy to lose track of things. Product data often comes from different sources, such as your webshop, ERP, Excel sheets, and sometimes even manually maintained files. If you have to manage all of these separately, it not only takes time, but also increases the chance of errors.
Centralise your workflow by using a platform with a feed manager that allows you to manage and merge product data from different sources and then easily use it in your feeds!
‘We are extremely pleased with the EffectConnect feed manager, and it is easy to use. We use it to create feeds for CPC channels, as well as for platforms that do not offer marketplace integration.’ - Anneloes Kessel, Marketplace Specialist at Betersport
Rebuilding every feed from scratch is a waste of time. Especially since many channels (such as Google or Meta) require clear structures and fields. Create a feed based on a template, such as a Google Feed template.
After creating such a template, you can easily adjust the content and rename the elements. This way, you can use a solid foundation and add your own twist to it.
Automatically exclude products based on product characteristics. Don't want to display products with a low sales price? No problem, exclude all products with a price lower than x.
Don't want to offer certain categories? Configure a filter for these categories to ensure that newly added items are automatically excluded from your feeds.
Not every customer needs the same information. While marketplaces often require extensive data, B2B customers often want simplicity and clarity. A generic feed can lead to confusion or redundant data.
Design your feed structure around the specific product attributes your customers or partners require. Keep the feed streamlined and free of unnecessary data, ensuring clarity and ease of use for end users.
Sometimes you already have a feed structure (from a supplier, marketplace or previous project) that you want to reuse. Transferring it manually takes a lot of time and often leads to errors.
With a direct feed import, you can load an existing structure in seconds and fill it with your own data.
Uncertain about where your feeds are being used? You’re not alone. It’s common for a single feed URL to be shared in multiple places for various purposes, making it challenging to maintain clear visibility over where your product data is being distributed.
By assigning a unique URL to each feed export, you maintain full visibility and can easily deactivate feeds that are no longer relevant or in use.
A feed that is accurate today may be outdated tomorrow. Stock levels, prices and promotions are constantly changing. Without automatic updates, you run the risk of customers seeing incorrect information, resulting in lost sales or returns.
Set simple rules to make your basic data flexible and adapt it to the requirements of each channel. Using custom attributes, you can easily convert a numerical stock level into a textual value indicating whether or not an item is in stock. This ensures that your feed is always up to date.
For example, would you like to add a euro sign or EUR to your price? It can be done in seconds!
The information that needs to be included in a data feed varies depending on the sales channel, partner or advertising platform. The most common and required product information is:
Product title and description
Price (including any discounts, B2B prices, etc.)
Availability and stock
Category and brand
By optimising your product feed for different sales and advertising channels, you ensure that your products are more visible and perform better, resulting in more sales. Read more about product feed optimisation here.
Want to know more about custom product feeds? We have compiled a list of frequently asked questions.
A custom product feed is a data file (e.g. XML or CSV) that you have set up to perfectly match the requirements of a specific channel, partner or customer. You decide which fields, titles or prices are included.
We mentioned this at the beginning of this article. Because every sales channel or advertising platform has its own requirements and preferences, it is important to use custom product feeds.
With a generic feed, you run the risk of products being rejected or performing less well. With a custom feed, you increase the chance of visibility and conversion.
Ideally, this should be done automatically, so that prices, stock levels and promotions are always up to date. Many channels require daily or even real-time updates to prevent rejections or incorrect product information.
By working with a feed management tool, such as EffectConnect. The tool allows you to filter, apply rules and view previews. This allows you to check in advance whether your data is correct and meets the requirements of each platform.
With EffectConnect, you maximise the value of your product feeds with centralised oversight, full control, and automated optimisation. Enabling you to adapt your product range seamlessly for every sales and advertising channel.
Want to know more? Schedule a no-obligation demo and we'll show you how EffectConnect can help you optimise your feeds and effortlessly scale up to multiple sales channels.
Our team is here to provide you with dedicated support at every stage. If you have questions or encounter any issues, we’re ready to help you move forward efficiently and with confidence.
Together, we will ensure that your marketplace operation runs even more efficiently!.
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