Catalog Import/Export: Synchronization and Automatic Updates

Catalog synchronization is the heart of Lexiik: your e-commerce store and Lexiik communicate in real time to ensure your data is always up to date. Discover how the initial import, bidirectional synchronization, and optimized data export work.

Initial catalog import

When you first connect to Lexiik, you need to import your entire product catalog. This operation only needs to be done once and can take from a few minutes to several hours depending on the size of your store.

Technical prerequisites

Before starting the import, make sure that:

• The Bridge module is installed: Available for Shopify, WooCommerce, PrestaShop and Magento 2
• Write permissions are enabled: Lexiik must be able to modify product listings
• Your store is accessible: No scheduled maintenance during the import
• API keys are valid: Check in the connection settings

Initial import steps

1. Connect to your store: Select your platform (Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.) and enter your API credentials.
2. Configure settings:
   • Select categories to import (or the entire catalog)
   • Choose languages to synchronize (for multilingual stores)
   • Enable/disable product variant import
   • Import images (up to 10 images per product)
3. Validate and launch: Lexiik displays a summary (number of products, total size, estimated duration).
4. Background processing: A progress bar shows real-time advancement.
5. Post-import verification: Lexiik generates a report listing imported products, errors encountered, and warnings (products without images, missing prices, etc.).

Automatically imported data

During the initial import, Lexiik retrieves:

Real-time synchronization

Once the initial import is complete, the Bridge module maintains bidirectional synchronization between your store and Lexiik. This means that changes are propagated in both directions, automatically and in real time.

From your store to Lexiik (Upstream)

When you modify a product in your back office (Shopify Admin, WooCommerce, etc.), the Bridge module automatically sends the changes to Lexiik:

• New product created: Added to Lexiik in less than 30 seconds
• Price changed: Structured data and SEO score updated
• Out of stock: Lexiik automatically adjusts the schema.org (OutOfStock)
• Image added: Analyzed by AI for ALT tag generation
• Product deleted: Removed from Lexiik (with historical data retained for analytics)

From Lexiik to your store (Downstream)

Conversely, when you apply optimizations in Lexiik (via AI or manually), the changes are automatically pushed back to your store:

• Optimized meta description: Replaces the old description in your product page SEO
• Generated ALT tag: Applied directly to the image (alt attribute of the img tag)
• Optimized title tag: Updates the SEO Title field in your CMS
• Enriched description: Replaces or supplements the existing long description
• Structured data: Automatic injection of JSON-LD code in the page HEAD

Synchronization frequency

Optimized data export

Lexiik allows you to export your optimized data in several formats, useful for:

• Migrating to another platform (e.g., WooCommerce to Shopify)
• Security backup before a bulk optimization
• External analysis (import into Excel, Google Sheets, Power BI)
• Integration with third-party tools (Google Merchant Center, Amazon Seller Central)

Available export formats

• CSV: Universal format, compatible with all analytics tools
• XML: E-commerce standard, used by Google Shopping and marketplaces
• JSON: Technical format for advanced API integrations
• Excel (XLSX): With formatting, charts, and pivot tables (Expert+ plans)

Exportable fields

You can select the fields to export:

• Basic product data (title, SKU, price, categories)
• SEO metadata (title tag, meta description, ALT tags)
• SEO scores (global, per pillar, historical)
• Analytics KPIs (organic traffic, rankings, conversion rate)
• Change history (Time Machine)
• Structured data (generated JSON-LD code)

Export automation

The Expert and Enterprise plans can schedule automatic exports:

• Frequency: Daily, weekly, or monthly
• Destination: Email, FTP/SFTP, Dropbox, Google Drive, AWS S3
• Format: CSV, XML, or JSON
• Filters: By category, SEO score, or modification date

Synchronization error handling

Common errors and solutions

Manual resynchronization

If automatic synchronization fails, you can force a full resynchronization:

1. Go to Settings > Connections
2. Click on "Force resynchronization"
3. Select the data to resynchronize (products, images, prices, stock)
4. Start the process (duration: 2-30 minutes depending on catalog size)

Use cases and real-world scenarios

Scenario 1: Platform migration

You are migrating from WooCommerce to Shopify and want to keep all your SEO optimizations:

1. Export from Lexiik: Download your optimized catalog in CSV format
2. Import into Shopify: Use Shopify's native import tool
3. Reconnect to Lexiik: Install the Shopify Bridge module
4. Match verification: Lexiik automatically matches products by SKU
5. Final synchronization: Optimizations are reapplied on the new platform

Result: Migration without SEO data loss, no drop in organic traffic.

Scenario 2: Multilingual store

You manage a store in French, English, and German. Lexiik's import/export natively handles multilingual:

• Initial import in French (default language)
• Manual addition of English and German translations in Lexiik
• AI generation of localized descriptions (not literal translation, but cultural adaptation)
• Export in multilingual XML format for Google Merchant Center

Scenario 3: Marketplace distribution

You want to publish your optimized products on Amazon, eBay, and Google Shopping:

1. Optimization in Lexiik: Generate optimized descriptions and ALT tags
2. Export in XML format: Compatible with marketplace data feeds
3. Import into Google Merchant Center: Via feed upload or API
4. Publish on Amazon Seller Central: Import the CSV file with enriched descriptions

Best practices

Before the initial import

• Clean up your catalog: Remove obsolete products, merge duplicates
• Standardize SKUs: Use a consistent format (e.g., PROD-001, PROD-002)
• Optimize images: Resize and compress (target size: 200-500 KB per image)
• Check required data: Price, stock, category (otherwise the import will fail)

During synchronization

• Avoid simultaneous edits: Do not modify a product at the same time in your store and in Lexiik
• Monitor the logs: Regularly check for synchronization errors
• Test on a sample: Before a bulk optimization, test on 10-20 products

After the export

• Validate data integrity: Open the CSV/XML file and check a few lines
• Keep a local copy: Security backup in case of issues
• Document the changes: Note the export settings to reproduce the operation