Google Merchant Center FTP Server Update

On September 16, Google Base will be upgrading the Google Merchant Center FTP system and updating the IP addresses for our upload server (ftp://uploads.google.com).

Google Products: Invalid Unique Product Identifiers

We were looing in our merchant dashboard on Google Products and noticed an error for "Invalid Unique Product Identifiers". As you should already know Unique Product Identifiers is probably the most important field in your feed as far as getting your feed processed.

If there is the slightest mistake, error or any kind of issue with the Product Identifier field your feeds wont get processed  So naturally when we saw this we got very concerned.

No More Checkout Badges on AdWords ads

As of June 2011, the Google Checkout badge has been removed from AdWords ads.

This change impacts badges that appear on Google.com search results. This includes the standard and promotional Checkout badge for both merchants and non-profits.

Badges and filtering on Google Product Search results are not impacted by this change. Learn more about displaying badges on Product Search results.

Google Shopping tax & shipping requirements update

On March 14, Google announced a new set of data requirements for Product Search merchants. As part of these changes, Google communicated that shipping and tax information would be required in your data feeds as of June 6.

However, based on feedback they’ve received from merchants, they are extending the deadline until September 1, allowing you more time to modify your data feeds. They are also permitting estimates for tax/shipping information. However, they recommend reviewing the submission options and submitting the most accurate information that you can, as this ensures the best experience for shoppers.

Here is a summary of what’s changing:

For Feeds Targeting the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany: The June 6 deadline for providing shipping information has been extended to September 1.

For Feeds Targeting the United States: The June 6 deadline for providing tax information has been extended to September 1.

Read the blog post

Google Buys Sparkbuy Laptop Comparison Engine

Google has purchased Sparkbuy Laptop Comparison Engine. Read it on searchengineland.com

Sparkbuy official announcement
"
We are pleased as punch to announce that Sparkbuy has been acquired by Google.
I know, right? We can hardly believe it ourselves.
When we built Sparkbuy way back in the waning days of 2010, we wanted to make it really easy to find the gadget that’s perfect for your needs. Our idea was that you could combine huge piles of structured data with an intuitive interface, et voila: a few clicks to find the electronics widget with exactly the features you want. Have you tried to find a great laptop or TV recently? Crazy hard.
But when people started actually using Sparkbuy, we started to see that the opportunity was bigger. In fact, it was much, much bigger. There are so many "crazy hard" search problems out there we know it could take ages for us to deliver what our customers are asking for. So when Google showed up and suggested we could work together to turbocharge our efforts, we just couldn't pass it up.
We’re stoked about the opportunity to share our vision for search with a broader audience. And while we won't be offering services at sparkbuy.com any more, stay tuned for truckloads of new awesome from our team at Google.

Thanks for coming by!

Sparkbuy Inc.
"