How to Use Google Base

If you're an eBay seller, there are some things you should be optimizing to make sure your storefront is worth checking out.
Here's a checklist of things every eBay seller should be doing!

• Crisp, clear pictures that are large enough for users to see


• An "about ME" page for information about you as a seller


• A clear description of what your store is in the header of your store


• A good logo that will brand your store and make you recognizable


• A clear layout of all of your policies in each and every listing...it's as easy as a click of the "sell similar" button or a quick copy and paste!


• Excellent keywords in your item titles that buyers can find...use all of the characters you can!


• Your knowledge of the products you are selling displayed somewhere in your store...whether you have to link to it in every listing, or create a custom page in your eBay store


• A customized "My World" page...think people don't see it? Think again! They do. Google your user ID and see what comes up...your My World page!


• A product you are proud of selling!

Okay, now you're ready to download the store connector! First, set up a google account if you do not already have one. It's free, don't worry. Head over to

"Download the Google Base Store Connector"

and Click "Download Store Connector." Click "Run." It will ask how you want to get your items from a drop down menu. Click "eBay." Below, it will ask for your eBay user ID and password. This will take you to a page that will show all of your store categories.

Click "Copy items from my store. From there, Google will ask for your Google account name and password. This has never created any problems that we are aware of, and generates a token to login to your eBay account just the one time that you permit to upload your items. You'll log in, and once again, you should be asked to confirm the source of your items by typing in your eBay user ID and log in. A pop up may come up explaining what is going on, which you can close. Click "Publish Items to Google Base" and your items will slowly start to be uploaded to Google Base. This may take a few minutes depending on how many items you have. You will also find that some items may "fail to be published." These are usually your auction and fixed price format items and will always fail to be published. However, your store inventory should upload.

The process should now be complete, and you can click "View my Items on Google Base" to confirm. Each item will be displayed, along with the time it was submitted and impressions. Impressions are the number of time the item came up in a user's search. The clicks attribute defines the number of clicks on that item. You will not have any page views since clicking on the item brings the user directly to eBay.

You can also adjust your settings for Google Base by clicking the tab on the top. You'll find a box where you can fill out a brief 400 character description of your store, URL, and notification settings. Be sure to add your referral code into the URL box to get that final value fee credit! UPDATE: Ebay no longer gives final value fee credits for using your referral code.

Google Base should increase your store exposure and increase sales...try changing your keywords around and log in to see what words are being searched amongst the items you have. Do what works for you! You'll be on your way to becoming a Powerseller in no time.

Yahoo Stores

If you've created an ecommerce business site using Yahoo's "Yahoo! Merchant Solutions", you can also use the Google Base Store Connector! Google is the #1 search engine in most markets, so don't miss out on this opportunity. It only takes a minute, and you're reaching potentially millions of new visitors.

osCommerce Stores

The osCommerce Live Directory is a directory for online stores that have been created using the osCommerce cart technology. If you've used this service, don't miss out! You can use the Google Base Store Connector here as well.

Here's that link again for the store connector, in case you missed it:
Google Base Store Connector

Don't have your own web store? It's very easy to set one up with ProStores, and their first month is free.

Never listed an item on Ebay before? This tutorial will walk you through the process of how to list an Ebay item - perfect for newbies.

Here you'll see that once logging into your Google Base account, you can upload a new feed by clicking the "new data feed" icon after login.

Here, you'll be uploading a file that you create containing all of the attributes Google Base requires. This simply means you are creating a spreadsheet with a program like Excel that contains the required information like price, item or page link, and price.

Here is the page you will reach that Google Base will have you run through. Simply enter the information they require, it's very easy.