Scheduled Maintenance on 4/24, 10PM-2AM

Publishers,

Please plan for a brief outage due to a scheduled infrastructure maintenance on Tuesday, April 24, from 10PM to 2AM, PST. During this time, all feeds and APIs will be operative, though the publishing of one set of feeds will be delayed on the morning of Wednesday, April 25.

The Publisher Portal will also be unavailable during this designated time and all earnings will be delayed on Wednesday.

We apologize for this future inconvenience and thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know.

Thank you,

The Shopzilla Publisher Team

What are you Collecting?

Publishers,

We are so excited to announce a new feature to Beso and the Beso Affiliate Program:

Embed and Monetize Your Collections!

You can create Collections with your Favorites and even add your own personal touch and upload pictures. Oh, forgot to add those red skinny jeans to your Favorites? Sift through our categories in our Create a Collection page and add products instantly without having to Favorite them first. You can drag and drop products, change the order around, add tags and a description to stay organized, and even make them private from peeping eyes.

Our Account Manager, Elaine Hearn, made a Collection of Modest Dresses Under $50 that she wants on her blog.

She'll need to click on EMBED COLLECTION which will take her to the Beso Affiliate Portal. The Collection URL will automatically be inserted into the text box. She can customize how big she wants her product images and how many she wants to show. We also have Advanced Display Options available where she can hide certain elements of her Collection widget and give it a more minimalist feel. If she wants to monetize her Collection, she can enter her Shopzilla Publisher ID and then copy the code and paste it on her site!

Tip:  The Collection URL text box also allows Publishers to monetize other Beso Users' Collections. Check out our best Collections this week to start monetizing! 

Get started and create your own Collection here!

Publisher Feedback on Our New Features

We love getting feedback from our Publishers about new features. It helps us know what we're doing right and what we can do to continually improve the user experience! Here is what Chloe from The Chloe Conspiracy shared with us...

"I know there are a few shopping/affiliate programs popping up at the moment, but I love how you guys respond to things personally (like this!) and give off almost a closer-knit, familial vibe.  And I am excited to not only see how you guys grow and expand, but to be a part of it too. You guys rock."

"I just wanted to send all of you at Beso and Shopzilla a huge 'thank you' for the new "show monetized retailers only" filter on the Beso affiliate program--it is amazing! It has taken a lot of the guess work out of using Beso to its fullest capacity in conjunction with my blogs, obviously, and I absolutely love it. Best thing ever!"

Thank you, Chloe!

Have comments? Suggestions? We'd love to hear from you! Contact us!

Filter Beso results to only monetized offers!

Beso Fans and Publishers - 

We are excited to launch a small but very significant improvement to the Beso Affiliate Portal, where you can now filter your widget and link results to ONLY offers monetized in the Beso marketplace. We've always provided publishers the comprehensiveness of our product inventory, which gives your readers and visitors a more complete user experience. But now you have easy, one-click access to limiting those results to only what our merchants are currently paying for.

It's simple. 

Next time you're linking to an individual product or a multi-product widget, simply click the "show only monetized offers" check box if you'd like to limit the result set to offers with a CPC bid attached. 

We hope this will make it even easier to populate your sites with great product offers available on Beso!

-- The Publisher Team

Important: Planned Maintenance on Monday

Publishers, there will be a planned maintenance for the Publisher Portal on Monday, January 9, for five hours from 9 AM – 2 PM, PST. During this time, access to reporting and account management tools will be unavailable. However, no services or applications will be interrupted, e.g. Catalog API, XML feeds, widgets and assets.  

We apologize for this inconvenience and thank you for your continued understanding and patience. If you have any questions, please contact us.

 

Update 1:58 PM PST:  Maintenance has been extended until 3 PM.

Update 3:04 PM PST:  Maintenance has been extended until 5 PM.

 

Update 1/10/12, 1:13 PM PST:  Due to maintenance yesterday, Publisher Reporting numbers will not be available until tomorrow. We apologize for the delay.

Publisher Holiday Rate Increase!

With the holidays just around the corner, we here at Shopzilla wanted to remind you of a rate increase to get in the spirit of giving. The increases by category are up to 25% and you should expect your blended increase to be about 22% (higher or lower depending upon your category mix). You should see a CPC increase in your earnings report starting Monday, November 7.

The increased minimums will be reflected in the data from the API or FTP feeds and will be implemented automatically for all merchants in our system and will continue through and including all day December 25^th.

 

TaDa: New Site, New Look!

 

TaDa recently got a new look to the website along with more sales and extended time for each sale! We've even increased the referral bonus for our Publishers. Now, for every referral you send to TaDa that results in a sale that same day, you will earn $5. For every email subscription, you will earn $3. Unfortunately, these adjustments won't be reflected in the Reports tab. Once you accrue $50 including the TaDa referral bonuses, you'll receive your payment!

If interested contact us and we'll send along the next week's deals as well as your customized TaDa affiliate link, which will allow us to track your referrals. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments below!

Tips on Getting Started in the Shopzilla Publisher Program

You've just been accepted into the Shopzilla Publisher Program. Now what?

 

1. Enter your payment information.

You won't be paid until you do! Please enter your payment information under the My Account tab so that you'll be paid when your balance reaches the minimum payout of $50.00 (USD). If your address changes at any time, please update your account accordingly so we know where to send your next payment.

2. Get Content

There are some simple self serve banners/panels that you can create here:  Bizrate Product Search Widget and here: Beso Assets. Be sure to include your account ID so that traffic will be credited to your account! Also, when logged in to the Shopzilla Publisher portal, at the top of the site, you will see the Get Content tab. From there you can access additional banners, search boxes, and a custom text link builder.

3. Beso Affiliate Program

If you post about women's or men's fashion, home, baby and kids, beauty, and/or jewelry, the Beso Assets may better complement your website. Your Shopzilla account ID works for the Beso Affiliate Program, too. No additional registration is needed and your activity will be reported in the Shopzilla publisher portal. For a general breakdown and help on how to fully utilize the Beso Affiliate Program, please refer to this blog post.

4. Integrate Shopzilla Publisher text links into your posts.

If you have written about certain products in the past and linked directly to the retailer, change it to a Shopzilla Publisher link to earn revenue! If your product is related to fashion, home, baby and kids, beauty, and/or jewelry, refer to the Beso Affiliate Program mentioned in #3 above. Visit this post to learn how to create a Beso text link. If your product is anything but the aforementioned categories, please search for your product in Bizrate, copy the URL in your browser window, and refer to the Get Content tab's custom text link builder mentioned in #2 above to create your desired text link.

5. Create content-rich posts around featured offers.

If you don't have posts mentioning specific products for Shopzilla link integration, you can start by searching for your desired product at Bizrate or Beso and converting the link into an affiliate link mentioned above in #4. To ensure high traffic quality, these posts should be rich in content and quality accompanied by the associated text links.

6. API & Data Feeds

For our more robust implementation options, our API or FTP Data Feeds may be a better option for you (if you're not sure what that means, they're probably not for you). Please apply for access to either application under the API & Data Feeds tab. Please review our Terms and Conditions before applying for access. For more information on our API and feed, please feel free to browse these previous posts.

7. Placement IDs for Additional Tracking and Insight

As an affiliate publisher, you may be interested in tracking your performance more granularly -- for example for a specific page on your site, marketing campaign or for additional websites. Once you have an approved Shopzilla Publisher Account, you can publish Shopzilla links on any site you operate, as long as our team gets a chance to look over the website and approves it for use. There is no need to register new accounts for separate websites under the same ownership. You can use the Placement ID tool for track multiple websites (or sections, campaigns, etc.). For more information related to Placement IDs, please visit our blog post on Placement ID usage. Please contact us if you would like to add additional sites to your account or if you have any additional questions.

8. TaDa Referral Program

TaDa is a group deals site with new deals every week. For every referral you send to TaDa that results in a sale the day of the referral, you will earn $5. For every email subscription, you will earn another $3. Your earned revenue through TaDa will not show up in the Reportings tab. But once have accrued $50 (USD) through the Publisher Program as well as the TaDa Referral Program, you will be eligible for payment. If you are interested, please contact us and every Thursday we'll send you the next week's deals.

Adding Additional Websites to Your Account

As an affiliate publisher, you may be operating several websites at once. Once you have an approved Shopzilla Publisher Account, you can publish Shopzilla links on any site you operate, as long as our team gets a chance to look over the website and approves it for use. There is no need to register new accounts for separate websites.

We suggest that you use the Placement ID tool for multiple website publishing so you can keep links from each website separate on your earnings report. For more information related to Placement IDs, please visit our blog post on Placement ID usage.

Please contact us if you would like to add additional sites to your account or if you have any additional questions.

How to Check for Bidded Only Offers for Beso

With all the products featured on Beso, it can be difficult to know which offers will generate revenue for you as a Publisher when creating a Beso text link. You can determine which offers generate revenue through our Catalog API. You can find out if a certain product is bidded, meaning you will earn revenue for redirects through the correct Beso affiliate link, or nonbidded, meaning you will NOT earn revenue for redirects through the correct Beso affiliate link.

This slide show will show you step-by-step how to check for bidded only offers in Beso through our Catalog API. If you do not have access to our API, please apply here.

How to Fully Utilize the Beso Affiliate Program

Now that we have introduced you to our new Beso Affiliate Program, what is the best way you can maximize your revenue with quality traffic?

There are two ways to integrate Beso content on your site: text links and widgets.

Text Links

• Link to Any Page

This application is great for our Beso Offer Detail Pages like this one below:

It is best when used for casual linking -- when you are unsure if customers will purchase the product upon clicking on the link. To create a correct Beso text link for an offer detail page, please follow these instructions.

Another great way to use this application besides for Beso offer detail pages is for Beso search results. If you are unable to find a product, for example, J Brand Skinny Jeans in Phoebe Wash, use the Beso search link at the top of your browser instead of an offer detail page. Search links produce more redirects which produce more revenue for Publishers. Instead of linking to one product, you are linking to hundreds giving your visitors more options to click on.

• Individual Product

This application allows you to create very specific links to products. We encourage our Publishers to use these links in a limited and appropriate setting:  they are best for product placements in which the pictures, prices, and relevant information of the featured items are revealed.

You can create these types of links by searching for the item, clicking on the product you want to link to, and choosing "text link" as the display instead of "image." Be sure to include your Publisher ID! At the bottom of the page, the code in the text box will be ready for you to use.

Widgets

• Link to Multiple Products

Create your own dynamic assets through our search widgets. Their dynamic aspect creates new product content in the widgets when available. Place them on the sidebars of your website or place them in your posts when referring to certain products to catch visitors' attention.

If you need some suggestions, here are a few keywords you can use:

jordan shoes
dressing table
style happy bedding
jeffrey campbell lita
juicy couture charms crayon
gold shark tooth necklace victorias secret
palm key patio furniture
polo shoes
vm7013
lisa rachel hair products

 

And as always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Announcing the Beso Affiliate Program!

Ready to monetize your blog?!

Managed by the Shopzilla Publisher Program, the Beso Affiliate Program allows you to earn money per click when you refer visitors to your favorite stores.

The Beso Affiliate Program helps you easily build all sorts of content to help you monetize your blog:

Link to Any Page
Link to any page on Beso and get paid when your readers move on to shop on a retailer's website!

Individual Product
Want to feature an individual product? Search for the right one, then create a banner or text link.

Multiple Products
Help your readers shop a set of products: search for the right set, then create a banner.

Search Box
Add Beso's search box to your website to let your readers search Beso directly from your site.

So, just as Beso let's you shop all your favorite stores and brands, all in one place, the Beso Affiliate Program allows you to build all your monetized shopping content, all in one place!

Get Started or Read More

Catalog API: Introducing JSON & JSONP

Hey Publishers,

At the request of several of your fellow JS-loving publishers, it is now possible to query our Catalog API and return a response in JSON or JSONP. While XML is a wonderful thing, JSON and JSONP should open new opportunities to those of you creating widgets, banners, and other snappy ad content.

While the default response format is XML, you are able to specifically request the response format using the below parameters in your query:

XML: <format>=xml
JSON: <format>=json&callback=callback
JSONP: <format>=js&callback=callback

Release: June 2011
API Versions: Bizrate, Beso

The release of these new fields should not impact you unless you have developed a means of auto-generating your XML handling code based on the XML schema document for any individual service.  If you have done this, you will need to update your schema.

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter for snappy release notifications!  Upon release, you will be able to see an example result set returned with this new value through our Catalog API Interactive Documentation.  In order to access this documentation, you will need to log in with your Catalog API Key & Publisher ID.  Once you are in there, view any of the individual service resource sections.  At the very bottom of any section, you will see a link "[ + ] show test form".  This will allow you to test out queries, viewing sample responses. 

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions.

The Shopzilla Publisher Team

Shopzilla Publisher Program Attending Affiliate Summit West 2011

Hey Publishers,

If you are planning to attend Affiliate Summit West 2011, be sure to contact us to catch up with Julia Barrett / Director, Affiliate Marketing while she wanders the Meet Market Sunday, January 9th.

The Shopzilla Publisher Team

Ugly Assets? Problem Solved.

Dear Bizrate Dynamic Asset Users,

We formally apologize for providing you with homely banner ads for many years.

The Shopzilla Publisher Team

Enter, the Bizrate Widget.

He's handsome, dapper, sleek. He will encourage your users to spend their money...and they will like it.

You may be familiar with our Beso Widgets, and while we love them, we recognize Beso.com only represents a subset of our Shopzilla, Inc. inventory, favoring the apparel and home goods categories. 

Bizrate.com is still the place to go for wheelbarrows, televisions, hockey sticks, and champagne.

We welcome you to toast the new year with a Bizrate Widget!

A Bizrate Widget will allow you to build a search results banner customized to the size that works best for your website. Optionally, you will be able to filter the results by markdown percentage, presenting your users with on-sale content. Bizrate Widgets are dynamic, meaning they will refresh with up-to-date shopping content each time they are displayed to your users. They also look pretty good.

Replace your ugly assets today.
 

Not yet a member of the Shopzilla Publisher Program? Register here and begin generating revenue through Bizrate Widgets!

Beso Widgets...Be So On Sale!

Beso Widgets just received a mini-makeover! You are now able to build a custom widget displaying only on-sale items for the search results you define.

Be sure your readers are able to find the right cocktail dress for New Year's Eve- display deals on cocktail dresses by your favorite designer!

Love designer Sue Wong and want your readers to see cocktail dresses marked down at least 30% from their original price? Build a widget with keywords "Sue Wong dress" and select markdown "30%" from the On Sale dropdown. Done!

Get started building your Beso Widget now!
 
Interested in other ways to display Beso content? Check out your other options, here.

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter to be sure you don't miss any news! As always, please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions.

The Shopzilla Publisher Team

 

Catalog API: New Fancy Offer Filters

With the good eatin' this holiday season, how about lightening the load Q1 with a few new filters? In our ongoing mission to provide you with the same features we ourselves enjoy integrating within our Shopzilla, Inc. properties, we have expanded the filtration options within the Catalog API Product Service.

• Filter by Price Markdown
  Description: Filter offer results based on minimum price markdown.
  Example: Display only offers marked down at least 99% from original price. FREE? No.
  ON SALE? Yes!
  Filter: minMarkdown
  
  
• Filter by Free Shipping
  Description: Filter offer results based on availability of free shipping.
  Example: Display only offers with free shipping. FREE!
  Filter: freeShipping
  
  
• Filter by Offer Age
  Description: Filter offer results based on the notion of "new".
  Example: Display this week's freshest offers!
  Filter: maxAge
  
  
• Filter by Image Availability
  Description: Filter offer results based on availability of an image.
  Example: Hate offers without images on your slick ad unit? Get rid of the pesky things!
  Filter: imageOnly

Release: Thursday, December 9th
API Versions: Bizrate, Beso

You will be able to see example result sets returned with these new filters through our Catalog API Interactive Documentation.  In order to access this documentation, you will need to log in with your Catalog API Key & Publisher ID.  Once you are in there, view the Product Service Resource section.  At the very bottom of this section, you will see a link "[ + ] show test form".  This will allow you to test out queries, viewing sample XML. 

 

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions.

  

The Shopzilla Publisher Team

 

I Want Beso Content on My Site

Beso.com, a member of the Shopzilla, Inc. family of properties, is a lifestyle website providing users the ability to shop all of their favorite stores and brands, all in one place. You are now easily able to extend this experience to your users through the Shopzilla Publisher Program. 

So, you want Beso content on your site...excellent choice! But how?

Getting Started
First, if you do not already have a Shopzilla Publisher Program account, register here. Be sure to mention you are interested in integrating Beso content.

Once you have activated your account, there are a few options available- some may suit your needs or technical skill more so than others. Here's a quick overview to help you find your match:

You Stylish blogger, perhaps not-so-technical product review aficionado. Seeking a little sparkle to complement content and add to shoe fund. Complicated integrations need not apply.

Beso Let's keep it simple and go live today.

• Text Links: Link to any page on Beso.com, including your own style profile.
• Search Results Widget: Build a custom widget displaying search results you define.
• Single Product Widget: Build a custom widget displaying any single product you like, with or without text.

Send us a link to your first integration of any of the above, and we'll award a $10 bonus to your account.

You Technically savvy, more is never enough. Seeking long-term commitment with comprehensive content integration. No time for quiet walks on the beach, loves traffic.

Beso Create a full-blown shopping experience to satisfy your needs.

• Catalog API: The Catalog API provides advanced Publishers with intuitive access to Beso content via a query-based web service producing an XML response.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions or need help finding the best match for your content and technical skill.

TaDa Referral Program: Spread the Heat!

Recently Shopzilla, Inc. added a new member to the family, group deals site TaDa.com.

Since announcing TaDa's release, we have received many requests to incorporate TaDa into our affiliate program, the Shopzilla Publisher Program. Well, we are pleased to announce that we will be introducing a beta version of the TaDa Referral Program. Your hot leads + our hot deals = $$$

 
For every referral you send to TaDa.com that results in a sale the day of referral, you will earn $5. For every 25 such referrals, you will earn a bonus of $100. In other words, send us 25 converting referrals, and you will earn $125 PLUS a $100 bonus. Boom! That's hot.

Interested in spreading the heat? Please contact us for more information on participating in the beta TaDa Referral Program.

TaDa! We Launched a New Site!

In case you hadn't heard, Shopzilla, Inc. recently added a new site to the family, and here it is...TaDa!  TaDa is a group deals website offering great deals from online retailers.

How did this all come about?

TaDa emerged from our desire to connect the many great retailers we work with to the people who love the products they sell.

The trick was figuring out how to get those "are-you-kidding-me-that's-all-it-costs" prices, and spread the wealth as far as possible. Then we realized those two things can work together: the more people who buy, the better the price can be.

TaDa prices are great because we work to achieve the volume that the retailer needs to make a lower price a win for everyone. We scour our retails partners' websites to find cool stuff, and then we work with those retail partners to find an even cooler price to offer you.  Once we think we got it, we serve it up for the day's TaDa.  The rest is up to you and fellow shoppers to make that sale- share the sale and everyone wins!

Check out today's TaDa and be sure to subscribe to TaDa Sale Alerts so that you don't miss the next one!

Shopzilla Publisher will be attending Shop.org this week!

Hey Publishers,

The Shopzilla Publisher Program will be attending Shop.org in Dallas on Tuesday, September 28th and Wednesday, September 29th.

Julia Barrett, Director of Affiliate Marketing, will be manning Booth 512 along with our Shopzilla, Inc. Business Services and Bizrate Insights teams.

Please stop by to say hello if you're in the neighborhood!

Catalog API: Display Offer Markdown Information

Hey Publishers,

 

At the request of several of your fellow publishers, we will be adding the ability to display offer markdown information within the Catalog API Product Service.

 

Currently, we offer actual price information tagged as <price> within the <Offer> element. Soon, we will additionally provide the original price and related markdown percentage to allow for display of markdown information for each offer. In the event an offer is not on sale, the response will return a markdown percentage of "0.00".

 

Sample XML:

  <price integral="16900">$169.00</price>

  <originalPrice integral="16900">$169.00</originalPrice>

   <markdownPercent integral>0.00</markdownPercent>

 

Release: Monday, September 27th

API Versions: Bizrate, Beso

 

The release of these new fields should not impact you unless you have developed a means of auto-generating your XML handling code based on the XML schema document for the Product Service.  If you have done this, you will need to update your schema.

 

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter for snappy release notifications!  Upon release, you will be able to see an example result set returned with this new value through our Catalog API Interactive Documentation.  In order to access this documentation, you will need to log in with your Catalog API Key & Publisher ID.  Once you are in there, view the Product Service Resource section.  At the very bottom of this section, you will see a link "[ + ] show test form".  This will allow you to test out queries, viewing sample XML. 

 

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions.

 

The Shopzilla Publisher Team

How Do I Build A Beso Single Product Widget?

Beso, a member of the Shopzilla, Inc. family of properties, is a lifestyle website providing users the ability to shop all of their favorite stores and brands, all in one place. Through the Shopzilla Publisher Program, you are now easily able to extend this experience to your users through Beso Widgets. With Beso Widgets, you are able to build banners displaying shopping content using your favorite search results, or a single favorite product, or an "offer".

To build a Beso Single Product Widget, you will need a particular offer's "Offer ID". Offer IDs are unique identifiers Shopzilla assigns to each offer displayed on any of its properties, including Beso. In other words, every offer you see on Beso has a unique Shopzilla Offer ID assigned to it.

So you're writing a blog post on the rebirth of paisley...you happen upon a sunny yellow paisley settee on Beso, complementary to many interiors. How do you build a Beso Widget for this fabulous find? How do you find this paisley settee's Offer ID? There are several ways, but here is an easy one:

1. 'Take a Peek' at that sunny yellow paisley settee. This will pop open a larger image.

2. Click the 'More Details' link. This will take you to the 'Offer Details' page.

3. Once on the Offer Details page, copy the Offer ID from the URL, here:

4. Now that you have your Offer ID, paste it into the Beso Single Product Widget builder...and voila! That paisley settee is ready to brighten your blog!

A small consideration, you may want to periodically update your Beso Single Product Widgets. Unfortunately, that paisley settee may someday become unavailable, and the image might even disappear. We hate when this happens, but don't fret...we have a back-up plan! Your widget will simply redirect to similar search results, and, don't forget, you can always swap in a widget built with your own handpicked search results using a Beso Search Results Widget.

  

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions.

 

The Shopzilla Publisher Team

 

These Widgets Beso Fabulous

Is your website forever on the prowl for the hottest of accessories? Glam it up with some help from Beso.com...and make money doing so! Beso, a member of the Shopzilla, Inc. family of properties, is a lifestyle website providing users the ability to shop all of their favorite stores and brands, all in one place. You are now easily able to extend this experience to your users through the Shopzilla Publisher Program.

 

The Shopzilla Publisher Program is an affiliate marketing program. As an affiliate, or "publisher", you are able to make money by placing a Beso Widget onto your website. When your users click through the Beso Widget to a merchant's website, this is what we call a merchant lead, or "redirect". You will be paid a percentage of the revenue we are able to collect from merchants for these redirects, or "your traffic". 

 

Great! How Do I Get Started?

  

1. First, register for a Shopzilla Publisher Program account, here. Be sure to mention you are interested in using Beso Widgets.

 

2. Once registered, you'll be given a Publisher ID. You'll need this to help us track your traffic...if we can't track your traffic, we can't pay you!

  

3. Go to the Beso Widget builder and start creating your widget. Define the shopping content that will display by entering your favorite search results by keyword and/or category, or for a single favorite product. Tip: When entering a keyword, be specific!

4. Once you've defined the shopping content for your widget, enter your Publisher ID in the appropriate field, highlighted below, so that we can track your traffic.  Now click the "Create Widget!" button.

  

5. Hurray! You've created your Beso Widget! If you're not happy with the results, it's okay, you can change your widget around until you get the results you had in mind. Once your widget is fabulous, copy and paste the HTML in the "Here's Your Code" box, highlighted above, onto your website.

6. What's next? Once you've accrued $50.00 in earnings, you'll be eligible for payment and receive a check for your Beso Widget traffic. So...maybe cruise over to Beso to do some window shopping, saving your favorites to your My beso account!

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions.

 

The Shopzilla Publisher Team

Catalog API: Introducing Beso!

Hey Publishers,

 

As many of you know, Shopzilla, Inc. manages a growing family of properties. As a publisher, you are likely familiar with Bizrate.com, our primary shopping search engine intended to help shoppers find what they are looking for at the best value. Through the Shopzilla Publisher Program Catalog API, advanced publishers have had dynamic access to the comprehensive inventory allowing this experience on Bizrate.

 

We are now excited to announce a version of our Catalog API offering access to content specific to one of our newest properties, Beso.com.  Beso is a lifestyle website providing users the ability to shop all of their favorite stores and brands, all in one place. Beso features a limited taxonomy, and curated set of stores and brands.

 

 

 

Why would you want to take advantage of this?

You would want to take advantage of the Beso version of the Catalog API if you are looking to provide your users with a style-based experience focused in soft goods categories. Because we carefully curate our Beso experience, the search results will differ from those you would retrieve from the Bizrate version of the Catalog API. For instance, a search on Beso for "black leather jacket" returns very different results than the same search on Bizrate. You would want to stick with the Bizrate version of the Catalog API if you would prefer to provide a general or comparison shopping experience, or one focused in hard goods categories.

 

How do you take advantage of this?

To get started, access our Catalog API Interactive Documentation. In order to access this documentation, you will need to log in with your Catalog API Key & Publisher ID.  Once logged in, you'll be able to access documentation specific to the Beso version of the Catalog API through the "US Beso API" link in the upper righthand corner. 

 

For those unfamiliar with our Catalog API, this product provides advanced publishers with intuitive access to our inventory of cataloged products and merchant offers through a query-based web service accepting various parameters, allowing publishers to filter based on their website’s shopping content needs. Based on these publisher-supplied parameters, customized shopping content is returned within an XML response, JSON response available April 2011. Not an advanced publisher? Check out Beso Widgets!

 

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions.

  

The Shopzilla Publisher Team