Item group ID [item_group_id]

Use the item group ID [item_group_id] attribute to group product variants in your product data. Variants are a group of similar items that only differ from one another by product details like size [size], colour [color], material [material], pattern [pattern], age group [age_group], size type [size_type] and size system [size_system].

When you use an item group ID [item_group_id] to group your products, we recommend that your product and its variants are shown to customers as a group, instead of separately.

When to use

Recommended for products with variants

Format

Follow these formatting guidelines to make sure that Google understands the data that you're submitting.

For details on when and how to submit values in English, learn more about submitting your product data.

Type:	String (Unicode characters. Recommended: ASCII only)
Limits:	1-50 characters
Repeated field:	No

 

File format	Example value
Text feeds	AB12345
XML feeds	<g:item_group_id>AB12345</g:item_group_id>

Guidelines

Follow these guidelines to make sure that you submit high quality data for your products.

Minimum requirements

These are the requirements that you'll need to meet to show your product on Google. If you don't follow these requirements, we'll disapprove your product and let you know in the Diagnostics page of your Manufacturer Center account.

• Use the same value of item group ID for all variants of the same product. For example, a T-shirt comes in nine variants: three sizes ('small', 'medium' and 'large') and three colours ('red', 'blue' and 'green'). Submit each variant as a separate product (for a total of nine separate products), and submit the same value of item group ID [item_group_id] for each product to indicate that these are variants.
• Each distinct item group must have a unique value for item group ID.
  • Don't rely on casing to make item group ID unique. For example, we interpret the item group ID [item_group_id] 'abc123' and 'ABC123' as the same product.
  • Each variant must differ from other variants in the item group. However, the brand attribute should be the same across variants.
• Submit a variant attribute along with item group ID. When submitting item group ID [item_group_id] , make sure that your variants use at least one of the variant attributes: colour [color], size [size], material [material], etc.
• Use the same variant attributes for all products with the same item group ID. For example, if you submit a dress in two colours and two sizes, each product that you submit must provide a value for the colour [color] attribute and the size [size] attribute. Do not just provide the colour or size for one dress, but not the others.

Best practices

These best practices can help you go beyond the basic requirements to optimise your product data for performance.

• Use the parent SKU as the item group ID [item_group_id] for all variants of the same product. Don't submit a parent SKU as a separate product. If you'd like to group variants using a parent SKU, use the parent SKU as the value for item group ID [item_group_id] for all products in the variant group.
• Don't mix up the item group ID [item_group_id] and ID [id] attributes. Use the ID attribute to uniquely identify a single product, and use the item group ID [item_group_id] attribute to group together several products as variants.
• Don't submit item group ID [item_group_id] if your product is not a variant. If your product is similar to other products, but not specifically a variant, don't submit item group ID [item_group_id]. Some examples of products that are not variants include assorted items (a suit consisting of a jacket and trousers) or any other set of dissimilar items that are sold together (a set of bath accessories).
• Use a stable item group ID [item_group_id] for each group of product variants. Once you've assigned an item group ID [item_group_id] to a product, don't change it. If item group ID [item_group_id] changes often, it could cause inconsistency in the way variants are grouped and shown to users.
• Don't use item group ID [item_group_id] for unsupported variants. If your product varies by an unsupported attribute (such as car make and model), or if your product is a build-to-order custom product with a large number of variants (more than 30), then don't use item group ID [item_group_id] to indicate your variants. Review best practices for unsupported variants.

Examples

General examples

Submit variant details through the variant attributes. For example:

Product data for a Google Logo T-shirt, small, red
Attribute	Value
Title [title]	Google Logo T-shirt – Small – Red
ID [id]	12345-S-R
Colour [color]	Red
Size [size]	S
Item group ID [item_group_id]	12345

 

Product data for a Google Logo T-shirt, medium, blue
Attribute	Value
Title [title]	Google Logo T-shirt – Medium – Blue
ID [id]	12345-M-B
Colour [color]	Blue
Size [size]	M
Item group ID [item_group_id]	12345

Do not submit variants without variant attributes.

Clothing products

Clothing products typically come in variants. Use the same item group ID [item_group_id] for each variant. Here is an example that comes in two colours, each in three sizes. For this example, you would submit these six variants:

Product data for a Google logo T-shirt, small, white
Attribute	Value
Title [title]	Google logo t-shirt – Small – White
ID [id]	12345-S-W
Colour [color]	White
Size [size]	S
Item group ID [item_group_id]	12345

 

Product data for a Google logo T-shirt, small, black
Attribute	Value
Title [title]	Google logo t-shirt – Small – Black
ID [id]	12345-S-B
Colour [color]	Black
Size [size]	S
Item group ID [item_group_id]	12345

 

Product data for a Google logo T-shirt, medium, white
Attribute	Value
Title [title]	Google logo T-shirt – Medium – White
ID [id]	12345-M-W
Colour [color]	White
Size [size]	M
Item group ID [item_group_id]	12345

 

Product data for a Google logo T-shirt, medium, black
Attribute	Value
Title [title]	Google logo t-shirt – Medium – Black
ID [id]	12345-M-B
Colour [color]	Black
Size [size]	M
Item group ID [item_group_id]	12345

 

Product data for a Google logo T-shirt, large, white
Attribute	Value
Title [title]	Google logo t-shirt – Large – White
ID [id]	12345-L-W
Colour [color]	White
Size [size]	L
Item group ID [item_group_id]	12345

 

Product data for a Google logo T-shirt, large, black
Attribute	Value
Title [title]	Google logo t-shirt – Large – Black
ID [id]	12345-L-B
Colour [color]	Black
Size [size]	L
Item group ID [item_group_id]	12345

Shoes

Submit shoes in the same way as other clothing products. Group variants of the same product by adding the same item group ID [item_group_id] to each variant.

Product data for low-top shoes, size 8 narrow
Attribute	Value
Title [title]	Low-top shoes – 8 narrow
ID [id]	12460-8b-blu
Colour [color]	Blue/orange/green
Size [size]	8B
Item group ID [item_group_id]	32455

 

Product data for low top shoes, size 8
Attribute	Value
Title [title]	Low-top shoes – 8
ID [id]	12460-8-blu
Colour [color]	Blue/orange/green
Size [size]	8
Item group ID [item_group_id]	32455

 

Product data for low top shoes, size 8 wide
Attribute	Value
Title [title]	Low-top shoes – 8 – Wide
ID [id]	12460-8w-blu
Colour [color]	Blue/orange/green
Size [size]	8W
Item group ID [item_group_id]	32455

Electronics

Electronics can be submitted as variants. For example, if a phone is available in multiple colours, you can submit each as a variant by using the same value for item group ID [item_group_id].

Product data for a Google Nexus 6, 32 GB, Midnight Blue, unlocked
Attribute	Value
Title [title]	Google Nexus 6 – 32 GB – Midnight Blue – Unlocked
ID [id]	6526-32gb-midblu
Colour [color]	Midnight Blue
Item group ID [item_group_id]	6526

 

Product data for a Google Nexus 6, 32 GB, Cloud White, with contract
Attribute	Value
Title [title]	Google Nexus 6 – 32 GB – Cloud White – with contract
ID [id]	6526-32gb-cldwh
Colour [color]	Cloud White
Item group ID [item_group_id]	6526

Furniture

Furniture can be submitted as variants. For example, if a sofa is available in multiple fabrics, you can submit each as a variant by using the same value for item group ID [item_group_id].

Product data for a mid-century sofa, microfibre, dot pattern, yellow and grey
Attribute	Value
Title [title]	Mid-Century Microfibre Sofa – Dot Pattern – Yellow and Grey
ID [id]	3456-dot-yllw-gry
Colour [color]	Yellow/grey
Material [material]	Suede
Item group ID [item_group_id]	3456

 

Product data for a mid-century sofa, microfibre, leather, green
Attribute	Value
Title [title]	Mid-Century Microfibre Sofa – Leather – Green
ID [id]	3456-lth-grn
Colour [color]	Green
Material [material]	Leather
Item group ID [item_group_id]	3456

 

Product data for a lounge chair, moulded plywood, walnut
Attribute	Value
Title [title]	Moulded Plywood Lounge Chair – Walnut
ID [id]	1a2b3c-wal
Colour [color]	Walnut
Material [material]	Plywood
Item group ID [item_group_id]	1a2b3c

 

Product data for a lounge chair, moulded plywood, ash
Attribute	Value
Title [title]	Moulded Plywood Lounge Chair – Ash
ID [id]	1a2b3c-ash
Colour [color]	Ash
Material [material]	Plywood
Item group ID [item_group_id]	1a2b3c

Make-up

Make-up products can be submitted as variants. For example, if make-up comes in multiple colours, you could submit each colour as a variant by using the same value for item group ID [item_group_id] .

Product data for blend liquid make-up, beige
Attribute	Value
Title [title]	Blend Liquid Make-up – Beige
ID [id]	0987-b
Colour [color]	Beige
Item group ID [item_group_id]	0987

 

Product data for blend liquid make-up, beige medium
Attribute	Value
Title [title]	Blend Liquid Make-up – Beige Medium
ID [id]	0987-bmed
Colour [color]	Beige medium
Item group ID [item_group_id]	0987