Optimizing Product Feeds for Shopping Comparison Engines

There was a great article a couple of weeks ago written by Ralph Wilson for WilsonWeb that is worth mentioning here.

The article summarized the over improvement of analytic tools but the basic vacuum created by knowledge without the understanding of how to use the information being generated. For example, if a merchant now knows what keywords or landing pages are generating traffic, what is being done about it? If a merchant is using CSE’s, are the keywords that are successful on their website being used in product feeds? Are there tests to find out if the keywords are successful across different platforms and multiple channels?

The article raises excellent points on the need for training and understanding now that all these new tools are available, especially with programs like Google Analytics that are free and virtually accessible by everyone.

This article and questions I see from merchants regarding best practices in optimizing product feeds outlines a real need in the industry for more information and outlines in how to take advantage of on-line retailing now that more things are becoming standardized to the point of being able to measure with great accuracy what works and what does not. Look for an upcoming piece outlining basic steps here that will detail best practices for optimizing comparison engine feeds in 2 parts : 1) Optimizing the product data and 2) Optimizing product selection and bid strategy to generate better return on investment (aka return on ad spend).

If you have not already, click on the link to Ralph Wilson’s article here: An Analytics Consulting Model for Small Businesses 

June 11th, 2007