Google Feed Specifies Wrong Landing URL fro Variants

[kwikstand]

I just received a warning from Google saying that my links do not work properly. I checked into it and found that for some of my products with variants, the url does not work. Here is one:

http://www.contractors-solutions.net/be ... 11714,7643

It seems that the "?Options=11714,7643" is wrong. I generated a new feed and it still does not work.

It works for some products, but not others. Here is one that works:

http://www.contractors-solutions.net/br ... =1210,1214

Has anybody else had this problem?

[mazhar]

I was able to reproduce the issue and reported it. Thanks for pointing it out.

[kwikstand]

Am I the only one that has this problem? I hope it gets fixed soon because they say my account will be suspended Feb 9, 2016.

[mazhar]

Am I the only one that has this problem? I hope it gets fixed soon because they say my account will be suspended Feb 9, 2016.

Its specific to variant options. This happens when your product has options for color, size, material or pattern. In this case feed tries to generate a URL which when reached should auto select the variant. In your case since there are other option beside color and size which is resulting in a URL having only two pre select values instead of three. We will try to provide with a patch once we sort it out, we are looking into this.

[kwikstand]

Thanks for the explanation Mazhar. Maybe I can change my products. Most of the affected items were the shoes and boots. Some time ago, I added "Color" only because Google was telling me there was a missing attribute; color. So I added it even though there really is no choice for the customer.

I am not sure how I could do it to satisfy Google.

[kwikstand]

I found a work around by combining the Size and Width. I think keeping them separate makes it simpler for the user, but.....
Here is the page that I changed:

http://www.contractors-solutions.net/st ... 1737,12175

What do you think?

Or is there a way to specify color to Google other than making it a choice for the user when there really is no choice?

[kwikstand]

I just realized another thing. When a user clicks one of those links with the options specified, the appropriate image does not show. Here is an example:

http://www.contractors-solutions.net/Th ... 1541,11535

That is for a Navy shirt, but the default image for Ash Grey appears instead.

(In case you are wondering, the other color options aren't currently available.)

[Katie]

It's better to address one issue at a time in a discussion. So, going back to the variants and Google Feed....it does not appear that we'll be able to provide a patch. The problem is that the google feed does not allow options other than "Color", "Size", "Material" or "Pattern", and our variant/options implementation is not flexible enough to accommodate an option that does not meet these requirements. So, in your case, the "Toe" option name was causing the issue.

We need to think about the best way to handle an improvement so the Google Feed will still work if options are created that do not conform to their requirements. We'll look at this for the next release, but for now, please name your options according to Google's specification.

Thanks
Katie

[kwikstand]

Thanks Katie. I am not sure what you mean by "Toe" option, but I do have a "Width". I guess I will have to like I said in a previous post; combine Size and Width like here:

http://www.contractors-solutions.net/st ... 1737,12175

When I set it up that way, I thought I was a little easier for the user, but we have to satisfy king Google first.

[Katie]

I'm not sure. The information in our bug report indicated there was a "Toe" option with choices Plain Toe and Steel Toe.

Anyway, I'm glad you found a work-around.

Have a good weekend!
Katie

[kwikstand]

OH. OK. I didn't see that one, That was just one product. I think the others are for the "Width" option, which I can change to just one "Size" option.
So, are you saying that the problem is with what the options are called?
I can't offer the option with a name that Google doesn't approve? In the case with the steel toe option, is my only way to make a separate almost identical product?

[jmestep]

You can have the feed customized to do what you want. We have done that it a couple of instances.

[Katie]

google feed does not allow options other than "Color", "Size", "Material" or "Pattern"

Can you use "Material" for the steel toe options? That might work. Google requires these names. The only work-around I can see would be to check with Judy on a customization. I would not create a duplicate product. Google will penalize you for that.