Glossary

Catalog terms, in a few lines

PIM, attributes, variants, feeds, structured data and GEO: what each term means and why it matters in a catalog sold on several channels.

A

Alt text: Alt text (the alt attribute) describes an image in words: screen readers read it to people who cannot see it, and search engines use it to understand what the image is about.
Approval workflow: An approval workflow is the path a product follows between teams before it is published: who captures it, who reviews it, who approves it and in what order.
Attribute family: A family groups the attributes that apply to a type of product. A drill and a shirt don't need the same data: the family says which attributes belong to each and which are required.

C

Catalog localization: Localizing a catalog means adapting product information to another language and market: translating the product record and adjusting units, terms and what each channel in that country requires.
Catalog syndication: Syndicating a catalog means sending product information to several channels at once, each in its own format, from a single source.

D

DAM (digital asset management): A DAM is the system that stores, tags and versions a brand's files —photos, videos, logos and documents— so the whole team uses the approved version of each one.

E

ERP (enterprise resource planning): An ERP is the system that integrates a company's operations: inventory, purchasing, sales, accounting and, sometimes, manufacturing and logistics. It is usually where the product is born as an item, with its SKU and price.

G

GEO (generative engine optimization): GEO is the work of getting a site to appear and be cited in AI assistant answers, such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Google's AI features.
GTIN (EAN and UPC): The GTIN is the global number that identifies a trade item, the one printed in the barcode. It is built from a company prefix issued by GS1, and EAN-13 and UPC-A codes are forms of GTIN.

J

JSON-LD: JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data) is a format for writing structured data inside a web page, in a JSON block separate from the visible HTML.

M

Marketplace: A marketplace is a platform where many sellers list their products for the platform's buyers, in exchange for a commission or a fee.
MDM (master data management): MDM is the discipline and software that give a company's master data —customers, suppliers, products, locations— a single correct version shared by every system.

P

Parent SKU (configurable product): A parent SKU groups the variants of the same product. It is not sold on its own: it holds the shared information and lets the buyer choose the size, color or version.
PIM (product information management): A PIM is the system where a company stores, completes and publishes its product information: core data, attributes, categories, descriptions, images and translations, ready for every sales channel.
Product attribute: An attribute is a product characteristic stored as data rather than free text: material, color, dimensions, power, size or compatibility. It is used to filter, compare and fill what each channel requires.
Product bundle (kit): A bundle is a product sold as one item but made up of several products, each with its own SKU and quantity.
Product completeness: Completeness measures how much of the information a product needs has already been captured: its family's attributes, its content, its images and what each channel requires.
Product data quality: Product data quality measures how complete, correct and consistent catalog data is: nothing missing, nothing contradictory, and the same on every channel.
Product description: The product description is the text that explains what the product is, who it is for and why it is worth buying, with facts the buyer can check.
Product enrichment: Enriching a product means completing its record beyond the basic data: attributes, description, category, images with alt text and translations.
Product feed: A feed is the file or connection used to send a catalog to another system: a store, a marketplace or Google Merchant Center, with the columns and format that destination requires.
Product record: The product record (or product data sheet) is everything known and shown about a product: name, brand, codes, attributes, category, description, images and data for each channel.
Product taxonomy: A taxonomy is the category tree used to organize a catalog, from the most general level to the most specific: for example, Tools › Power tools › Drills.
Product variant: A variant is a version of the same product that changes along one or more axes, such as size, color or capacity. Each variant has its own SKU and shares most of the product record with the others.

R

Related products (cross-selling): Related products are the ones a product page suggests alongside the product: accessories, complements, alternatives or the higher-end version.

S

Sales channel: A channel is any place where a product is sold or published: your own online store, a marketplace, a physical store, a B2B catalog or a price comparison site.
Schema.org: Schema.org is the shared vocabulary search engines use to describe things in structured data: products, organizations, articles, FAQs and much more.
SEO: SEO (search engine optimization) is the work of getting a site's pages to appear, and appear well described, in Google's and other search engines' results.
SKU: The SKU (stock keeping unit) is the internal code a company uses to identify each distinct product it sells. A different size or color usually has its own SKU.
Structured data: Structured data is information a page provides in a format machines can read without interpreting the text: name, brand, price, availability, reviews.
Supplier onboarding: Supplier onboarding is the process by which a supplier provides information about its products so a store or distributor can sell them.

U

Unit of measure: The unit of measure says what a product value is expressed in: milliliters, grams, centimeters, watts. Without it, the number means nothing.

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