# How to Install WooCommerce Catalog with Vidibitly: A Beginner’s Guide
Want to showcase your products beautifully on your WooCommerce store while also tracking your marketing efforts effectively? Combining WooCommerce’s catalog mode with Vidibitly’s video link tracking is a powerful strategy. This guide will walk you through the process, step-by-step.
What is WooCommerce Catalog Mode?
WooCommerce, the popular WordPress e-commerce plugin, offers a catalog mode. This mode transforms your online store into a browsable catalog, allowing customers to view your products but not purchase them directly. This is useful for:
- Showcasing upcoming products: Announce new items before they’re available for sale, building anticipation.
- Creating a price list: Present your product offerings without the complexities of an active online shop.
- Using your site as a brochure: Ideal for businesses that primarily rely on offline sales but want an online presence.
- Planning a store launch: Build your product catalog and prepare your store before officially opening for sales.
- Total Clicks: How many people clicked on your video links.
- Views: How many times your videos were viewed.
- Engagement Metrics: How long people watched your videos (if your video platform provides this data).
Think of a high-end jewelry store – they might have a beautiful online catalog showcasing their pieces, allowing customers to browse and inquire about purchasing in-store or via phone. This is exactly what WooCommerce catalog mode achieves.
What is Vidibitly?
Vidibitly is a video link tracking and analytics platform. It allows you to track clicks, views, and other metrics related to your video links. Why is this important with a WooCommerce catalog? Well, let’s say you embed videos showcasing your products in your catalog. Vidibitly helps you understand which videos are most effective in driving engagement and, potentially, future sales (when you switch to a sales-enabled store).
Installing WooCommerce and Activating Catalog Mode
Before integrating Vidibitly, you need WooCommerce installed and its catalog mode activated. Here’s how:
1. Install WooCommerce: Log into your WordPress dashboard. Navigate to Plugins > Add New. Search for “WooCommerce” and install and activate the plugin.
2. Set up your products: Add your products with detailed descriptions and high-quality images.
3. Enable Catalog Mode: Go to WooCommerce > Settings > Products. Under the “Display” tab, you’ll find the “Enable catalog mode” option. Check the box. Save your changes. Your store is now in catalog mode!
Integrating Vidibitly with Your WooCommerce Catalog Videos
Now, let’s add your videos and track them using Vidibitly:
1. Create Short, Engaging Product Videos: Showcase your products using concise and high-quality videos. Remember, these videos are meant to pique interest, not replace a full product description.
2. Upload Videos to a Platform: Host your videos on YouTube, Vimeo, or another video hosting platform.
3. Shorten and Track with Vidibitly: Copy the video link. Paste it into Vidibitly to create a shortened, trackable link. Vidibitly will provide you with a unique, shortened URL.
4. Embed the Vidibitly Link: In your WooCommerce product descriptions, use the embed code from your video hosting platform (e.g., YouTube), but use the Vidibitly shortened URL instead of the original long URL. This way, you track the link’s performance within your catalog.
Example:
Let’s say your original YouTube video URL is: `https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=verylongvideoidhere`
After using Vidibitly, you might get a shortened URL like: `https://vid.bi/your-short-link`
You would use this shortened URL in your WooCommerce product description’s embed code.
Analyzing Your Results with Vidibitly
Once you have your videos embedded and customers are viewing your catalog, log into your Vidibitly account to analyze the data. You can see:
This information is invaluable in understanding which products resonate most with your audience and refining your marketing strategy accordingly.
Conclusion
By combining WooCommerce’s catalog mode with Vidibitly’s video link tracking, you can create a compelling online presence, attract potential customers, and gather valuable data to optimize your product presentation and marketing efforts. Remember to keep your videos short, engaging, and high-quality for the best results. Start today and see the difference!
