Product Feed Validation: How to Check and Fix Errors

Validating your product feed before uploading is essential for preventing errors and ensuring your products are approved. This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know about feed validation.

Why Feed Validation Matters

Feed validation helps you:

• Prevent Errors - Catch issues before upload
• Save Time - Fix problems early
• Improve Quality - Ensure data completeness
• Avoid Disapprovals - Meet platform requirements
• Better Performance - Quality feeds perform better

What to Validate

Required Fields

Check:

• All required fields present
• No empty required fields
• Correct field names
• Proper data types

Data Format

Check:

• Price format correct
• Availability format correct
• URL format correct
• Date format correct

Data Quality

Check:

• Data accuracy
• Completeness
• Consistency
• No duplicates

Technical Issues

Check:

• File format valid
• Encoding correct (UTF-8)
• Structure correct
• No syntax errors

Validation Tools

Platform Validators

Google Merchant Center:

• Built-in feed validator
• Error detection
• Format checking
• Policy compliance

Facebook:

• Feed validator
• Error checking
• Format validation
• Quality scoring

Other Platforms:

• Platform-specific validators
• Error detection
• Format checking

Third-Party Tools

Feed Management Platforms:

• Comprehensive validation
• Error detection
• Quality scoring
• Recommendations

Online Validators:

• XML validators
• CSV validators
• Format checkers
• Error finders

Validation Process

Step 1: Pre-Validation

Before Creating Feed:

• Review requirements
• Gather complete data
• Check data quality
• Prepare properly

Step 2: Format Validation

Check Format:

• File structure
• Encoding
• Syntax
• Format compliance

Step 3: Data Validation

Check Data:

• Required fields
• Data format
• Data quality
• Completeness

Step 4: Error Resolution

Fix Errors:

• Identify all errors
• Prioritize fixes
• Fix systematically
• Re-validate

Step 5: Final Validation

Before Upload:

• Complete validation
• Fix all errors
• Verify fixes
• Ready to upload

Common Validation Errors

Missing Fields

Error: Required field missing

Fix:

• Add missing fields
• Complete all required data
• Validate again

Format Errors

Error: Incorrect data format

Fix:

• Check format requirements
• Fix format issues
• Validate again

Invalid Data

Error: Invalid data values

Fix:

• Check data validity
• Fix invalid values
• Validate again

Duplicate IDs

Error: Duplicate product IDs

Fix:

• Use unique IDs
• Remove duplicates
• Validate again

Best Practices

1. Validate Early

Best Practice: Validate during creation

Why:

• Catch errors early
• Easier to fix
• Save time
• Better quality

2. Validate Regularly

Best Practice: Validate before every upload

Why:

• Prevent errors
• Ensure quality
• Avoid issues
• Maintain standards

3. Use Multiple Tools

Best Practice: Use multiple validation methods

Why:

• Catch different errors
• Comprehensive checking
• Better coverage
• More reliable

4. Fix Systematically

Best Practice: Fix errors in order

Why:

• More efficient
• Avoid missing errors
• Better organization
• Faster resolution

Automated Validation

Benefits

Time Savings:

• Automatic validation
• Real-time checking
• Instant feedback
• Reduced manual work

Quality:

• Consistent validation
• Comprehensive checking
• Error prevention
• Better results

Implementation

Tools:

• Feed management platforms
• Automated validators
• API integrations
• Custom scripts

Validation Checklist

Before Upload

• File format valid
• Encoding correct (UTF-8)
• All required fields present
• Data format correct
• No duplicate IDs
• Images accessible
• Links work correctly
• Prices accurate
• Availability current
• Policy compliant

Conclusion

Feed validation is essential for maintaining error-free feeds and ensuring product approval. By following proper validation processes and using the right tools, you can prevent errors and maintain high-quality feeds.

Remember that validation should be part of your regular feed management process. Validate early, validate often, and fix errors promptly.

Automate Validation with AI Shopping Feeds

AI Shopping Feeds automatically validates your feeds before upload, preventing errors and ensuring quality.

How AI Shopping Feeds Validates

Automated Validation:

• Real-time validation
• Error detection
• Format checking
• Quality monitoring

Error Prevention:

• Automatic error fixing
• Quality control
• Policy compliance
• Data quality improvements

Time Savings:

• No manual validation
• Automatic checking
• Instant feedback
• Reduced errors

Get Started Today

Stop manually validating feeds. AI Shopping Feeds automatically validates and fixes errors, ensuring your feeds are always ready to upload.

Start your free trial of AI Shopping Feeds today — no credit card required. Experience automated validation and see how it can improve your feed quality and save you time.