Google Base (Froogle) Feeder Account Setup

[The Tavern Wench]

Ok, so you've got the Google Base (Froogle) Feeder mod installed on your Zen Cart.  Now what? 
 
First things first...Set up your Google Base account if you haven't already done so.
Go to: http://base.google.com/
 
You should see:
   

Sometimes you'll see this page when you first sign up/login:
   

If so, click on the My Account button.

Otherwise, once you are logged in, you should see:
   

Click on Data Feed.
You will get the "Accept the Google Base Terms of Service to continue" page.  Click on the big long gray I accept button at the bottom to continue.
You should see this next:
   

Fill in the About Me info and click next.
 
At this point you are done unless you want to continue and set up the actual Data Feed portion yourself (see instructions in next post).  We will gladly do this part for you if you prefer.  You simply need to PM Joe or me here at the forum with your login information and we'll do the rest. 

SIDE NOTE:   When I was doing the screenshots and posting this tutorial...I set this up on two different accounts.  The order I saw some of this stuff in varied a little bit between the two accounts.  I have no idea why.  But rest assured...whatever you see, should be here.  It just may be presented to you in a slightly different sequence.  You will still need to complete all the steps though.

[The Tavern Wench]

After you click next on the About me page you will see:
     

Next you'll see a Format Your Products page.  Scroll all the way to the bottom and click the big long gray button that says I'm done formatting my upload.
 
NOTE:  In a CHShops ZenCart the file name will always be domain_products.xml  unless you change it!
 
Next comes setting up the FTP account.  On the right hand side of the next page you should see this:
     

Click on Signup and then you will see:
     

Fill this out and click on 'Create FTP Account'.   It will return you to the previous page and you will see:
     

Only it won't say the You're done part.   
Look to your right....
     

Make note of this information because we will need it to set up your CHShop Google Feeder configuration.  Just PM the info to us and we'll handle setting everything up in your CHShop Admin.
 


Add on Notes: 
It generally takes AT LEAST 24 hours for your FTP account to be activated.  So don't try to do an upload until it's been at least that long.  Also, I have found it's best to do a 'manual' upload the first time to get the feed recognized by Google.  Again, this is something Joe and I will gladly do for you to ensure everything is working properly.  All we need is your Google Base login information.

 
 

[Serendipity]

How do I verify my CHShop in Google Webmaster Tools?

[The Tavern Wench]

I always use the 'html' file method. 
You can either upload it thru FTP or thru your cPanel account.
OR you can send me what it wants you to 'name' your html file and I'll take care of that for you.   

[Serendipity]

Thank you Deb,

I'm ascared!  I think I'll have you do it. I just PM you with the info.

 

[The Tavern Wench]

I'll pm you back just as soon as it's done. 

[The Pet Guy]

I'll pm you back just as soon as it's done. 

[Serendipity]

I'll pm you back just as soon as it's done. 

Thanks Deb,

Man you work fast! 

[Quilt]

None of my google feeds work.  Amazing isn't it that none of my items are showing up.

[The Tavern Wench]

If you are talking about your A Penny for Luck and Forever Dinks sites, they are TT setup carts and most likely that version of the Google Base Feeder is out of date.  If you'll recall, we just moved your carts and they weren't upgraded.  Mods such as the Google Feed have to be updated whenever Google makes changes.
 
If it's your other site, Handmade Baby Sets, the most recent version of the Google Base mod would have been added when I installed your cart if you requested it.   Since yours is an independent site, we don't do the setup part on the mods and you would have needed to set it up in both the Zen Admin and in Google Base.   Did you make sure everything was configured in both places? 
 
Sometimes the Google Feed is quirky and doesn't upload.  The most common error message I've gotten lately is that the password failed...even on sites I personally set up the FTP on.  I suspect that is something on Google's end.  If you get that error message then I recommend doing a manual upload.
 
I know all of our CHShop websites are running the latest version of Google Base and other than the 'password' error they all seem to be working fine.  I always do a manual upload the first time on those sites and then set it to do an automatic feed on monthly basis.  I've found that to be the most reliable method.
 
 

[The Bar Keep]

If you are talking about your A Penny for Luck and Forever Dinks sites, they are TT setup carts and most likely that version of the Google Base Feeder is out of date.  If you'll recall, we just moved your carts and they weren't upgraded.  Mods such as the Google Feed have to be updated whenever Google makes changes.

Your A Penny site and Forever Dinks site date to around the time of my original TT hosted site. I was never able to just upload the Google feed like the cart was designed to do so I did a work around by creating the file and doing a manual upload. Although the Google base feeder is not template based I would imagine you experienced the same copied databases the rest of us were subjected to, an easy way to tell would be if you were hand delivered someone else's financial and personal information upon installation of your cart, AKA a shoe cart. Another FYI on TT hosted carts from this era, it is virtually impossible to get the Google Checkout mod to work the way it was intended. Some of the installed mods that came with your cart don't play nice with Google Checkout as well as the corrupted code from copying the database from cart to cart. Another way to confirm if you have one of those would be to look at the start date inside your admin. If it says 2/20/07 (if I remember correctly) that would be one of those carts.
 
Upgrading to Zen 1.3.8 will correct that issue!!!
 
 
Joe - The Bar Keep