Product Catalog in Portal
Use the Bazaarvoice Portal to view and manage your Bazaarvoice product catalog. Tasks you can perform include:
- Importing multiple products using an Excel spreadsheet.
- Viewing product catalog data to ensure it is correct and complete.
- Fixing catalog data errors that originate in your feed .
- Adding missing product data such as UPCs (Universal Product Codes) or EANs (European Article Numbers) to facilitate Bazaarvoice syndication.
- Adding and editing products, product families, brands, and categories.
- Setting a product’s catalog status to active or inactive.
- Viewing the source of each catalog attribute value.
Read the following sections to learn how to manage and optimize your product catalog through Portal:
- Required solutions and roles
- Get started
- Understand data source priority
- Import products using an Excel spreadsheet
- Work with products
- Work with brands
- Work with categories
Required solutions and roles
You must have:
| One of these solutions: | And one of these roles: |
|---|---|
|
|
Capabilities
The following table lists tasks you can perform and the roles needed for each.
| Task | Product Catalog Administrator Account Administrator |
Product Catalog Viewer |
|---|---|---|
| Import multiple products | ✓ | |
| View catalog data sources | ✓ | ✓ |
| View products | ✓ | ✓ |
| View product details | ✓ | ✓ |
| Edit products | ✓ | |
| Add products | ✓ | |
| View brands | ✓ | ✓ |
| View brand details | ✓ | ✓ |
| Edit brands | ✓ | |
| Add brands | ✓ | |
| View categories | ✓ | ✓ |
| View category details | ✓ | ✓ |
| Edit categories | ✓ | |
| Add categories | ✓ |
Get started
To view and manage your product catalog:
-
Sign in to the Bazaarvoice Portal
.If you cannot sign in, contact Bazaarvoice Support for assistance. Learn more about Portal permissions and user accounts.
-
From the navigation bar, select More > Product Catalog.
The Products list appears.
Understand data source priority
Understanding how Bazaarvoice handles catalog data from different sources is important. To see the source of each data value in your catalog, enable the View data sources option. Each catalog attribute will have one of the following labels:
| Source label | Description |
|---|---|
 Portal |
The value came from a change made in Portal. It is taking priority over a value from another source. |
| Portal | The value came from a change made in Portal. |
| Feed | The value came from a product feed imported using SFTP. |
Catalog data coming from Portal and feeds is merged into your catalog. All updates to catalog attribute values using Portal take priority over values coming from feeds and DCC. A common question is whether values from feeds will overwrite changes previously made through Portal. If a value coming from a feed conflicts with a value entered through Portal for the same attribute, the value entered through Portal takes priority.
Arrays such as UPCs and EANs are an exception to this rule. For example, if a product has a UPC entered through Portal, and the feed provides a different UPC for that product, your catalog will contain both UPCs for that product.
If you use Portal to delete a value, the system flags this catalog attribute so that a value from a feed update will not replace the empty attribute value.
Watch the following video for a detailed discussion about catalog data source priority.
Import products using an Excel spreadsheet
Product Catalog Administrator
You can import product information for multiple products using a single Excel spreadsheet. Use the spreadsheet to import data for new products as well as append missing data to existing products.
.xls file format.To import products
- From the navigation bar, select More > Product Catalog. The Products list appears.
- Select Import products. The Select and verify modal appears.
Note: If you're importing products for the first time, we recommend that you select the Download example file link in the Select and verify modal. Examining the example spreadsheet (
sample.xlsx) will help you to understand the format requirements. - Drag and drop your Excel spreadsheet onto the Select and verify modal. Alternatively, browse to the required Excel spreadsheet.
Note: The file can only be imported to the catalog once verified. Verification can take up to five minutes.
- The File summary displays an analysis of your uploaded file.
Note: You can still import your Excel spreadsheet with errors and warnings.
- Select Download log of all errors and warnings if you want to correct your Excel spreadsheet before importing.
- The following Import options may appear when verifying fields with multiple values, like Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs). You can either:
- Add new values to the existing multiple values (default setting)
or - Replace existing values
- Add new values to the existing multiple values (default setting)
-
Select Import and finish.
Tip: If you’re having issues importing your file, refer to the section on troubleshooting.
Verification
Verification takes place at two levels:
-
File-level analysis—focuses on the overall file validity. Verification ensures that the file conforms to a specific format and contaiins specific mandatory information. Warning: Verification failure at file level means you can’t import your file. Learn how to troubleshoot a failed import.
-
Row-level analysis—focuses on row-by-row validity. Verification failure at row level means you won’t be able to import a specific product row (the invalid row may not contain information in the correct format).
Note: However, you can still continue with a partial import of the file which includes valid product rows only.
Troubleshooting
| File-level analysis | Error message | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Invalid file | Local validation failed. | Ensure the import file is a valid Excel spreadsheet. |
| File too large | Selected file is over 5MB. | Separate into smaller Excel spreadsheets and upload them one at a time. |
| Empty file | File does not contain any rows. | Open the file and add product information using separate rows for each product. |
| Unrecognized column header | Column header is not valid. | Ensure that column header is using the correct format. The data in the invalid column won’t be imported. |
| Invalid product ID | File does not contain an external ID or a product ID. | The file must contain a valid Product ID column. Open the file and make sure there is a Product ID column. Note: Product ID does not have to be the first column. |
| Invalid category ID | File does not contain a category ID. | If the file contains category information, it must also contain a corresponding Category ID column. Open the file and make sure there is a Category ID column. |
| Invalid brand ID | File does not contain a brand ID. | If the file contains brand information, it must also contain a corresponding Brand ID column. Open the file and make sure there is a Brand ID column. |
| File contains more than one Excel worksheet | No error message appears. | If the Excel spreadsheet contains more than one worksheet, only data from the first worksheet is imported. |
Spreadsheet format
Each column in the import file contains information that can be added to your product catalog. Each row in your spreadsheet represents one of your products.
The following table provides important format information for your Excel spreadsheet:
| Column name | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| ProductID | Unique product ID that can contain only alphanumeric characters, hyphens (-), and underscores (_). The ID is not case sensitive.Type: string |
Yes |
| ProductName | Name of the product, which is visible to end users. Type: string |
Strongly recommend |
| ProductPageURL | Unique, uncorrupted URL for a product page. Do not include extraneous query string parameters that you might use for tracking and partnership codes. If the URL contains a reserved (special) character, you must URL-encode the character. For example, use & for an ampersand, use %20 for a space, or use %5B and %5D for square brackets ([ ]).Type: URL |
Strongly recommend |
| ProductImageURL | Unique URL for the product image. Type: URL |
Strongly recommend |
| ProductDescription | Description of the product. We recommend that product descriptions be at least three sentences or 300 characters long. Type: string |
Strongly recommend |
| Brand | The name of the brand to which the product belongs. Type: string |
Strongly recommend |
| Brand ID | Brand ID for the product. Type: string |
Yes. Required if Brand is included as a heading. |
| Category | The product's category name. Each product needs to belong to a category or sub-category. Type: string |
Strongly recommend |
| CategoryID | Category ID for the product. Type: string |
Yes. Required if Category is included as a heading. |
| Inactive | Marks the product inactive if a yes or true value is specified in this column. Type: boolean |
No |
| ModelNumber | Unique referencing code that businesses use to identify a part that a particular industry uses. Each model number can contain letters, numerals, and other characters. Type: array |
No. However, if included, one for each product. |
| ManufacturerPartNumber | Manufacturer-specific part number (MPN). Part numbers can contain alphanumeric and special characters. Type: array |
Strongly recommend |
| EAN | European Article Numbers (EAN), which is used worldwide for marking retail goods. An EAN must be a string of eight or 13 numerals. No letters or other characters are allowed. Remove spaces and hyphens for syndication. Type: array |
Strongly recommend |
| UPC | Universal Product Code (UPC) is used for standard retail packaging in the United States. A UPC can contain numerals only, with no letters or other characters. Remove spaces and hyphens for syndication. Type: array |
Strongly recommend |
| ProductFamily | Product family name shows which family the product belongs to. We recommend you exclude special characters from product family names. Type: string |
No |
| ProductFamily-Expand | Product family expand (or product bundle) enables a product to receive and display reviews about all family members. A relevant product bundle name should be included if a product family name has been added. Type: string |
No |
Work with products
The Products list provides at-a-glance information about products in your catalog, including:
- Total number of products in the catalog
- Product name
- Product ID
- Product status
- Assigned brand
- Product category
The default view shows all products. Set the Product status filter to view only active or inactive products.
If your company has more than one Bazaarvoice instance, use the instance selector located near the upper-right corner of the page to move between them. Type the name or scroll through the list to select the instance you want. The Products list refreshes to display products associated with your selected instance.
View product details
Product Catalog Administrator Account Administrator Product Catalog Viewer
Select a product in the list to view product details. Displayed product information includes:
- Product ID, name, and description
- Product page and product image URLs
- Product identifiers, including UPC, EAN, ISBN, model number, and manufacturer part number
- Product catalog status (active or inactive)
- Assigned brand
- Product family
- Product category
- Custom attributes
Add products
Product Catalog Administrator Account Administrator
To add a product to your product catalog:
- Select Add product on the Products list page. The Add product page appears.
- Enter a Product ID. The product ID must be a unique identiifer within your selected instance. An ID can include alphanumeric characters, hyphens (
-), and underscores (_). - Continue to add and select information to define the product. For instructions and more information, refer to the Edit products topic section.
Edit products
Product Catalog Administrator Account Administrator
To edit a product, select it from the list. Edit product information in one or more page sections:
Details
The Details area shows the product ID, assigned brand, and product category. It also indicates the product’s catalog status (active or inactive).
Assign a product to a brand
Although not required, Bazaarvoice recommends you specify a brand for each product in your catalog. This enables you to get the most benefit from reporting and content syndication across the Bazaarvoice Network.
To assign a product to a brand in your product catalog, select a brand from the list of active brands. You can search the list by brand name.
If your catalog does not include any brands, then the list of brands does not appear. Go to the Brands tab and select Add brand to add a brand to your product catalog.
Assign a product to a category
To assign a product to a category in your product catalog, select a category from the list of categories. You can search the list by category name.
If your catalog does not contain any categories, then Bazaarvoice will assign the product to the default BV_MISCELLANEOUS category. Alternatively, go to the Categories tab and select Add category to add a category to your product catalog.
Change catalog status
To change the current status of a product in your catalog, select Active or Inactive.
For more information about how Bazaarvoice manages active and inactive products in your catalog, read Control the active set of products.
Localization
The Localization area shows product attribute information. The information for each product attribute can differ for each locale.
The following attribute conditions apply:
- Product name—Required for the Default locale only. The product name cannot contain HTML characters, and should be unique within the selected instance.
- Product description—Cannot contain HTML characters.
- Product page URL—Must be a valid URL. The URL cannot contain HTML characters.
- Image—Must be a valid URL. The URL cannot contain HTML characters.
- Color—Must be a string.
- Size—Must be a string.
- Material—Must be a string.
- Price—Must be a string. We recommend the format <amount>, for example, “15.00”.
- Currency—Must be a string. This must follow the three-digit ISO format <currency code>, for example, “USD”.
- Availability—Must be a string.
Edit and add locales
To edit product information for another defined locale, select the locale name located just above the edit area. The selected locale is underlined.
To add product information for a locale not yet set, select the locale from the Add locale list of options.
To delete a selected locale, select Remove locale.
Watch this video to learn how to add and remove a non-default locale.
Identification
The Identification area shows product identifiers for the product.
Edit or add valid identifiers. Values for UPC and EAN are required for syndicated content.
Product family
Product families let you share user-generated content (UGC) among multiple, related products. By grouping products into families, you can display UGC written about one family member on the product display pages of all family members.
See Share reviews using product families for more information about product families.
To add a product to a product family:
- Select Add family.
- Enter the family name, which is the unique ID for the family. All products in a family must share the same family name value.
- If all content should be shared with this product from other products in the same family, select Expand.
For more information, read Share reviews using product families.
To delete an existing product family, select X in the row.
Custom attributes
Use custom attributes to define custom product catalog data attributes. You can use these attributes to customize reports and dashboards.
For more information, read Filter catalog data based on custom product attributes.
To add a custom attribute to a product:
- Select Add attribute.
-
Enter values for the following fields:
-
Attribute ID—Must be unique for the product within the selected instance. The value is limited to 32 characters and cannot be any of the following values:
- BV_FE_FAMILY
- BV_FE_EXPAND
- BV_WB_FAMILY
- BV_WB_EXPAND
-
Value—Limited to 65535 bytes. This value is required.
-
To delete an existing custom attribute, select X in the row.
Select Save to save changes to the product and return to the products list.
Work with brands
Associating products with specific brands enables you to get the most from reporting and content syndication across the Bazaarvoice Network.
Select the Brands tab to see brands in your catalog.
View brand details
Product Catalog Administrator Account Administrator Product Catalog Viewer
To view brand details, select a brand from the brands list.
Add brands
Product Catalog Administrator Account Administrator
To add a brand to your product catalog:
- Select Add brand on the Brands list page. The Add brand page appears.
- Enter values to define your brand:
- Brand name—Enter a unique name of no more than 255 characters. The name is required and cannot contain HTML characters.
- Brand ID—Use the auto-generated ID, or de-select this option to enter your own unique value.
- Catalog status—Select Active or Inactive to set the status of the brand in your catalog.
- Select Save to create the brand.
Edit brands
Product Catalog Administrator Account Administrator
To edit a brand, select it from the brands list.
Localization
The Localization area shows the brand name for the Default locale. Edit this value as needed.
Edit and add locales
Brand names can be different for each locale. To edit the name for another defined locale, select the locale name located just above the edit area. The selected locale is underlined.
To set a brand name for an undefined locale, select the locale from the Add locale list of options.
Details
The brand ID is a unique identifier associated with a brand. After you have added a brand, you cannot change this ID.
Change catalog status
To change the current status of a brand in your catalog, select Active or Inactive.
Select Save to save changes to the brand and return to the brands list.
Work with categories
Grouping your products into appropriate product categories helps with reporting and gives your customers a way to browse for other similar products they want to review.
You can associate each product with a single parent product category entity in your product catalog.
View categories
Product Catalog Administrator Account Administrator Product Catalog Viewer
To view categories in your product catalog, select the Categories tab.
Add categories
Product Catalog Administrator Account Administrator
To add a category to your product catalog, select Add category on the Categories list page. The Add category page appears.
Enter values to define the category:
- Name—Enter a unique name of no more than 255 characters. The name is required and cannot contain HTML characters.
-
Category ID—Use the auto-generated ID, or de-select this option to enter your own unique value. After you have created and saved a category, you cannot change its associated ID. The ID:
- Must be unique within the selected instance
- Is limited to 255 characters
- Cannot contain HTML characters
- Cannot contain / (slash)
- Catalog status—Select Active or Inactive to set the status of the category in your catalog.
Select Save to create the category.
Edit categories
Product Catalog Administrator Account Administrator
To edit a product category, select it from the categories list.
Localization
The Localization area shows the category name for the Default locale. Edit this value as needed.
Edit and add locales
Category details can be different for each locale. To edit category details for another defined locale, select the locale name located just above the edit area. The selected locale is underlined.
To set details for an undefined locale, select the locale from the Add locale list of options.
Details
The category ID is a unique identifier associated with a category. After you have added a category, you cannot change this ID.
Edit the parent category
To select a different parent category in the category hierarchy, select it from the Parent Category list of options.
Change catalog status
To change the current status of a category in your catalog:
- Select Active or Inactive.
- Select Save to save changes to the category and return to the categories list.
