What is this data feed exactly?
A data feed is a data file which contains the information about the goods you sell. This file is usually stored somewhere online and often looks something like this:
What does it look like?
The data feeds you can use in PPC Bee can have various formats. The easiest way to think of a feed is to imagine it as a chart where each row lists only one product and its characteristics. The most frequent data formats are XML and CSV.
Different systems (heureka.cz, zbozi.cz, google merchant center) demand different feed forms. Required data which is frequently used (not only by PPC Bee) is as follows:
● ID, productname, description, URL, price_vat, delivery_date
For example:
Med12345; bee honey, from P5; unrefined honey made by wild forest bees from the impenetrable deep woods around Prague’s Smíchov district where only the bravest dare;
www.medovyshop.cz/smichovsky-med; 666 CZK; 1
The optional data is more numerous. Each system is specific in its own way, but that doesn’t play a huge role when you use PPC Bee. What is important, though, is to structure the information correctly — for example, the brand of the shoes you’re selling shouldn’t be a part of the model’s name; it should be listed separately.
The better prepared and structured a feed is, the easier it is to work with. Unlike other services, however, PPC Bee doesn’t have strict requirements for the feed’s form since it’s easy to transform data before use.
What is it good for exactly?
Data feeds are a great basis for running an e-shop or any other service that requires you to promote a large number of different items. Keeping all information across your ad channels up-to-date can quickly become a nightmare. As a customer, you’ve surely found yourself in a situation where you clicked on an ad and found out that the actual price of the goods was different than the one listed or that the goods weren’t even in stock.
Other aspects are important to PPC specialists as well. Ideally, each product or product category should have its own group with its own keywords and ads. This achieves a high ad relevance. You probably don’t need us to explain what it means but if you’re interested in this topic, we recommend you to read up on single keyword ad groups (skag for short) or single product ad groups (spag for short). The important thing is that PPC Bee allows you to automate the whole process of campaign creation, and to keep control over everything as well.
Where can I find it?
Usually, there are two options: either your e-shop solution supports the creation of feeds and you already have a feed lying around somewhere, prepared to be exported, or a programmer can prepare it for you. It’s also possible that you already have a feed at the ready for another service — see the following paragraph.
What kind of feed can I use in PPC Bee?
Good news, everyone! PPC Bee can handle a broad range of source feeds. Of course, it’s ideal to have a central place from where you can manage product information — an e-shop management service, for example, which you can use to create feeds for PPC, aggregators, or other services (typically zbozi.cz, merchant center, heureka.cz, glami.cz, etc.).
