Page IDs and Page ID Variants are two components that impact your Product Data, PDP Filtering, Write-a-Review form, and Reporting within PowerReviews. It's important to know the difference between the two and how to use them correctly.
An easy way to think of Page IDs and Page ID Variants is as a parent-child relationship. If a product has no variations (such as color or size), we can treat it as a parent product. This type of product would only require a Page ID.
If a product does have different variations (such as color or size), each variation would be treated as a child product, requiring both a Page ID Variant as well as a parent Page ID to roll up to.
Page IDs
A Page ID is a required attribute and a unique product identifier (determined by you) that PowerReviews uses to map customer reviews to their appropriate products. You can choose to use any alphanumeric characters for your Page IDs, such as UPCs, SKUs, style numbers, item numbers, or unique product names. When determining and using Page IDs in your Product Data, ensure you follow these guidelines:
- Use a unique value for each product's Page ID
- Ensure each Page ID is shorter than 50 characters and is set as a string (not an integer)
- Keep the Page IDs the same as you make other updates to your Product Data in your PIM, etc.
- Ensure the Page ID doesn't contain any special characters or spaces, aside from hyphens ( - ) or underscores ( _ ), which are supported
Page ID Variants
Page ID Variants are applicable for products that come in different variations. By using Page ID Variants, PowerReviews can roll up reviews across different product variations into one Review Display.
Variants are commonly used when a set of products differs by one or more of these attributes:
- Color
- Size
- Pattern
- Material
- Age group
- Gender
- Pack size
Note: Scent and Flavor are not considered variants by PowerReviews' definition. This is especially critical if you participate in Syndication. Retailers very commonly do not roll up Scent and Flavor reviews for the same product into one Review Display, as the product formulas are different and less consistent across the customer experience (as opposed to the same product in different pack sizes or colors, for instance).
Example of When to Use Page ID Variants
Let's say one of your website products is a T-shirt. The T-shirt comes in three different colors: red, blue, and green. The Page ID would be the same for all three, since each T-shirt is the same base product. As the T-shirt has different color variations, Page ID Variants would also need to be used in the Product Data. Since all T-shirt variations roll up to the parent Page ID, when a consumer reads reviews of the red T-shirt on your website, they would also see reviews for the blue and green T-shirts.
By assigning the same Page ID and unique variants to your products, you can ensure that all customer reviews appear on the PDP, regardless of the product variant they reviewed. When determining and using Page ID Variants in your Product Data, ensure you follow these guidelines:
- Use unique values for each product's Page ID and Page ID Variant
- Ensure each Page ID Variant is shorter than 50 characters and is set as a string (not an integer)
- Keep the Page ID Variants the same as you make other updates to your Product Data in your PIM, etc.
- Ensure the Page ID Variant doesn't contain any special characters or spaces, aside from hyphens ( - ) or underscores ( _ ), which are supported
- If passing a Product Feed, include a parent row for the Page ID with no variant(s) first, before adding the variant row(s) with the Page ID Variant values (you can use general data that you want to represent the product as a whole for the parent row)
Example of When Page ID Variants Aren't Needed
Let's say you sell three products on your website: a bowl, a plate, and a baking dish. All three products come in one size and color, with no other variations. You therefore would only need to assign each product a Page ID, with no Page ID Variants. Each unique parent product would have just its own reviews in its PDP, with no variant roll-ups or review-sharing in play.
