1. How do I get my store included in ShopWiki's search results?

Chances are, your store is already included in our directory, even if you have never submitted your site before. If you believe that we do not have your site in our directory and you would like to add it, please follow the steps below.

The simplest thing to do is to copy and paste your Web address into our "Add a Site" form. Once you do this, our crawlers will start on your homepage and begin to spider your site from there.

You can specify a subsection of a site for processing. For example, given the site name http://www.xyz.com/sect1/, ShopWiki will only crawl pages under sect1. Note: The section name must end with a slash (/).

Alternatively, you may submit a specific starting page. But only the section contained under the specified page will be crawled. For example, for the URL http://www.xyz.com/sect2/index.html, only the pages under /sect2/ will be processed.

Click here to add your store to ShopWiki. Be patient, as it could take several days for the ShopWiki crawler to begin crawling your store, and usually 2-3 weeks after submission for your products to show up in our search results.

Please note: We do not index the products listed on other shopping comparison directories with listings that point to other stores, nor affiliate sites. We only accept direct resellers.

2. How does crawling work?

ShopWiki crawls the Internet for products that are actively for sale from retail Web sites to include in our database. Our cutting-edge technology allows us to intelligently extract data from merchant Web sites and post that information in a comprehensive manner for our users. We do not accept data feeds from merchants, but will work with you to ensure our crawlers are accurately picking up information on your site.

3. I submitted my store. Why aren't my products showing up in your search results?

To make sure we aren't picking up any products from your store, search for products from only your store and add “site:” to the end of your search query. For example, "LCD TV site:Amazon.com"

Some sites block Web crawlers from visiting their site by putting up a Robots.txt file. If you have blocked robots from your site, we will not crawl your site. For more information about our crawler and how to accept or remove our crawler, click here.

The ShopWiki crawler is one of the most advanced of its kind. Of course, with so many different types of Web sites to process, it can make mistakes. If your products are not displaying in our search results, you know your store is in our system and we are not blocked by a robots.txt file, please contact us at info@shopwiki.com.

4. What should I do if your crawler is using up all of by bandwidth?

If you would like us to continue to crawl your site, without taking up all your bandwidth, please set up a crawl delay. This will limit the number of pages we download at a time from your site, which should lessen the bandwidth load placed on your servers. For more information on our crawler and how to set up a crawl delay, click here.

5. As a merchant, can I contribute to the Wiki guides?

Absolutely. ShopWiki encourages everyone to use the wiki guides and contribute to our buying guides. We do ask, however, that all information posted be written in the No Point of View (NPOV) tone. We understand that you, as a seller, are an expert in your field and we think our users can benefit from information that comes directly from the source. Here are some general guidelines to remember when creating wiki content:

• Always maintain the NPOV tone.
• Do not promote one product or brand over another.
• Create a guide that will help people shop for the product being discussed.
• All links within the wiki text should link to specific product searches or informational sites. Other links, specifically to your store, will be removed.

Failure to follow these guidelines will result in removal of the content or deletion of the complete guide. If a merchant repeatedly adds biased content to the wiki guides, they will have their store removed from the shopping search. For more help on contributing, check out our Wiki 101 page.

6. What is your advertising policy?

We currently work on a CPA basis through most affiliate networks today to feature products from partnered merchants. If you aren't part of an affiliate network and wish to use CPA advertising, we recommend ShareASale.com as a performance marketing partner. In mid 2009, we will accept CPC advertising directly from merchants or agencies. We will work on a CPC basis as well as continue on a CPA/Rev Share basis through the popular affiliate networks, (please accept our apologies for not working with independent affiliate programs). If you would like to inquire about a potential CPC advertising opportunity as it becomes available in mid 2009, please contact James Keating, VP of Marketing, at jk@shopwiki.com.

7. What is an Approved Store?

An Approved Store is a merchant that meets trust levels and will be promoted more frequently within the ShopWiki results. If you would like more information, please see the consumer facing page: ShopWiki Approved Stores, and feel free to email the ShopWiki Accreditation Department from the email listed on that page to nominate your self.