Submitting your product data to Google in the correct format is important for ads and free listings to be successful. Google uses this data to create your ads and listings and to make sure that they’re matched to the right queries. You can find a full list of available attributes in the product data specification.
On this page
- Submitting attributes and sub-attributes
- Submitting attribute values
- Submitting Google product categories
- Examples
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There are several methods of uploading your product data, including through a spreadsheet, feeds, and the Content API. For each of these, and for every product you’d like to feature, you’ll need to add values for the required and applicable attributes.
Submitting attributes and sub-attributes
For each product attribute and for sub-attributes of that attribute, you may notice there’s a descriptive name and a technical name. The technical name always appears in brackets and may include underscores such as in, [subscription_cost].
In English, the descriptive and technical names are often identical, aside from the formatting. In all other languages, however, the descriptive name is provided in the local language, while the technical name is always provided in English.
For some sub-attributes, you’ll need to submit the name of the attribute and the name of the sub-attribute, as well as the value for the sub-attribute. For example, if you’re adding the shipping [shipping]attribute, you’ll first need to submit the technical name of the attribute (shipping) and then, in parentheses, add the technical names of the sub-attribute(s) that you want to submit separated by a colon ( : ).
It would look something like this: shipping(country:postal_code:price).
You would then submit a sequence of attribute values, following the specific formatting requirements for each sub-attribute, such as: US:80302:6.49 USD.
Note: For certain attributes, we previously accepted translated attribute names for a limited set of languages. This isn’t the case for new attributes, and there’s no guarantee that these attribute names will continue to be supported in non-English languages, so we recommend you submit all attribute names in English.
Submitting attribute values
There are different formatting rules for the values you submit for each attribute, including type, limits, and supported file formats. You can find these specifications in the individual articles for each attribute. Some attributes, such as the description [description] attribute, allow for any string in any language. Others, such as the condition [condition] attribute, require that you choose from a set of predefined supported values, which must be submitted in English. For the condition [condition] attribute, those values are new, refurbished, and used.
When an attribute requires supported values, such as the condition [condition] attribute, those values must be submitted in English, regardless of your target country, the language of your feed, or the language you selected for your Merchant Center account.
Submitting Google product categories
The Google product category [google_product_category] attribute is an optional attribute that defines a product’s classification in Google’s taxonomy of products. All products are automatically assigned a product category when they’re added to Merchant Center, but you can use this attribute to override Google’s automatic categorization for certain products. If your product belongs to a Google product category that allows exceptions to particular guidelines, you’ll also want to ensure it’s correct.
In order to use this attribute, you must provide either the numeric ID, or the full path of the product category, as defined in the Google taxonomy. You shouldn’t provide both the path and the ID. Google product codes are available in many, but not all, languages.
If the taxonomy of product codes isn’t available in your language, you should use the English values or numeric ID.
You can download a list of the Google product categories in one of 2 ways:
Examples
Attribute
| Attribute | Submit attribute as |
|---|---|
ID [id] |
id |
Age group [age_group] |
age_group |
Attribute with supported values
| Attribute | Example value for the attribute |
|---|---|
Condition [condition] |
new |
Availability [availability] |
in_stock |
Attribute with free-form text
| Attribute | Example value for the attribute |
|---|---|
ID [id] |
_pixel_phone_silver_32gb_12month_contract |
Title [title] |
Google Pixel 5” 32 GB Very Silver (with contract) |
Sub-attribute
| Attribute / sub-attribute | Submit sub-attribute as |
|---|---|
Shipping [shipping] |
|
|
country |
|
postal_code |
|
price |
|
min_handling_time |
|
min_transit_time |
Sub-attribute with supported values and free-form values
| Attribute / sub-attribute | Example value for the sub-attribute |
|---|---|
Subscription cost [subscription_cost] |
|
|
month |
|
12 |
|
50 EUR |
Google product category
You can submit either the numeric ID or the full path of the product category. Don't submit both. If the taxonomy of product codes isn’t available in your language, you should use the English values or numeric ID.
If listing the full product path:
| Attribute | Example value for the attribute |
|---|---|
ID [id] |
bird_feed_wild_15lb |
Title [title] |
Farmer's Delight Wild Bird Feed |
Google product category [google_product_category] |
Animals & Pet Supplies > Pet Supplies > Bird Supplies > Bird Food |
If listing the numeric ID:
| Attribute | Example value for the attribute |
|---|---|
ID [id] |
bird_feed_wild_15lb |
Title [title] |
Farmer's Delight Wild Bird Feed |
Google product category [google_product_category] |
4990 |