What is a Content Aggregator?
A Content Aggregator is an organization or software application that collects web content and makes it accessible in one place. It helps to improve the website and product information in terms of SEO. For an e-commerce scenario, product content is the type of data we will be discussing further.
For example, CNET (http://cnetcontent.com/) application, is a content aggregator that has various product information, such as product name, SKU, media, meta keywords, and specifications, to name a few. This content is available in multiple languages to users.
Major Content Providers
CNET
CNET Content Solutions is the global leader in the exchange of product information, rich content, and eCommerce solutions that power eCommerce sites from SMB to Enterprise. Since 1999 they have been providing aggregation, management, exchange, and syndication of product information (images, specifications, related products) between manufacturers, distributors, retailers, VARs(Value Added Resellers), and marketplaces.
DDS
DDS (https://www.distributordatasolutions.com/) is one of the most popular content providers for manufacturers and distributors. They maintain product features, specifications, installation videos, product brochures, enhanced images, specification sheets, and more.
Trade Service
Trade Service (https://www.tradeservice.com/) is another major product content provider. They provide a reliable source of data for contractors, distributors, dealers, and manufacturers in the MEP, ICT-Low Voltage, Office Products, and Automotive industries.
Unilog
Unilog (https://www.unilogcorp.com/) also provides product content service for the B2B eCommerce Business. Unilog’s product content services can help attract customers to your site and keep them by creating a dynamic product catalog that not only engages the customer but also helps convert their search into a sale.
How Does a Content Aggregator Improve Product Content for Your e-commerce business?
Most of the eCommerce distributors and manufacturers have product specification data only. The data they have is not SEO friendly in most cases. eCommerce product content needs to be both technically sound and SEO friendly, which is why content aggregators’ role becomes crucial for your eCommerce products to be discoverable online.
On the other hand, the product content available with manufacturers and distributors needs to be available in multiple languages for the eCommerce business to scale globally. eCommerce businesses thrive with multiple stores and multiple language support.
Product media files, descriptions, pricing to name a few should be available in regional languages for eCommerce businesses to grow their reach, which is also how Content Aggregators lead the way for your business.
How Does DCKAP PIM Improve Product Content Using a Content Aggregator?
DCKAP PIM is a Product Information Management system. It is a centralized repository for all product data such as product names, SKUs, metadata, specifications, and product media files.
DCKAP PIM has partnered with major e-commerce platforms like (Magento, BigCommerce, Shopify, SAP) and has built-in connectors with these platforms that simplify the product management process for your e-commerce business.
DCKAP PIM has strong partnerships with content aggregators like CNET, DDS, Unilog, and Trade Service. Using DCKAP PIM as an interface we can easily store and customize the product data from these content aggregators to seamlessly deliver it to the eCommerce site.
How Does the DCKAP PIM – CNET Connector Work?
DCKAP PIM has a built-in marketplace which is available on the sidebar of the DCKAP PIM dashboard. Navigate through the sidebar and click on “Marketplace” under “Extensions”. You can see the installed extensions, all extension tabs, and also the available extension list. Search for the CNET extension in the “Installed” tab to view it.
Note: If the extension is not present in that tab, drop a mail to the DCKAP PIM support team using info@dckap.com
If the extension is installed, you will be able to see it by searching for CNET. Click on that extension option, and go to the “Content-Language” tab. You will see two columns, one is “CNET languages” and the other is “DCKAP PIM languages”. Set the available language from CNET and click on “Save”.
Navigate to the “Attribute mapping” tab. You will see two columns namely, “CNET Attribute” and ”DCKAP PIM Attribute”. “CNET attribute” contains attributes (Eg: SKU, Image, File, etc) from CNET Content provider, and “DCKAP PIM Attribute” contains attributes maintained from DCKAP PIM. Map the appropriate CNET attributes into DCKAP PIM attributes because the CNET attributes are stored as corresponding mapped attributes in DCKAP PIM.
After attribute mapping, click on the “Sync” tab. Here, you will see the CNET and DCKAP PIM Product Sync details. It has the sync start time-end time and the total number of products synced and the error logs if sync gets failed.
DDS (Distributor Data Solutions) is one of the leading product content providers. PIM users come with a requirement to fetch data from DDS and channelize it to their eCommerce touchpoints. This is why we at DCKAP PIM built the DDS-DCKAP PIM connector. Read about it here.
How Does the DCKAP PIM – Unilog Connector Work?
Click the “Unilog” Extension in the DCKAP PIM “Marketplace” available on the sidebar of the DCKAP PIM dashboard. On the “Extension” page, there are two tabs, namely “Import” and “FTP configuration”.
Normally, Unilog stores the product Import sheets in the FTP server. Hence, in the DCKAP PIM “FTP configuration” tab, we need to provide the FTP server credentials. Once the FTP configuration is complete, DCKAP PIM imports the sheets directly from the FTP and imports the product information. The import details get stored in the “Import Log” tab.
The DCKAP PIM – Trade Service Connector
Click on DCKAP PIM’s in-built “Trade Service” extension in the DCKAP PIM “Marketplace” available on the sidebar of the DCKAP PIM dashboard. On the “Extension” page, there is a tab called “Import” using which you can import the content data file.
Trade Service provides content data in excel sheets in a template format. DCKAP PIM segregates the excel sheets, identifies the attributes, updates in PIM, and passes them on to multiple channels like web, print, mobile to name a few.
Trade Service provides images and video as a full path. DCKAP PIM stores and converts them as CDN images and videos to be shared with anyone.
The content aggregator – DCKAP PIM connectors let you sync product content from a content aggregator, (CNET/Unilog/DDS/TradeService), into DCKAP PIM thus making the transition for product content easier. It also makes data available from a single repository for you to channelize your data to different touchpoints in different languages using DCKAP PIM.
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