Use the product type
[product_type] attribute to include your own product categorisation system in your product data. Unlike the Google product category [google_product_category] attribute, which uses a collection of predefined categories, you choose which value to include for the product type. The values that you submit can be used to organise the bidding and reporting in your Google Ads Shopping campaign.When to use
- Optional for each product
Format
Follow these formatting guidelines to make sure that Google understands the data that you're submitting.
| Type |
String (Unicode characters. Recommended: ASCII only) |
|---|---|
| Limits | 0-750 characters |
| Repeated field | Submit up to five times, but bear in mind that only the first value will be used to organise bidding and reporting in Google Ads Shopping campaigns. Separate multiple different product types with a comma (,). Do not use a comma (,) within an individual product type value, since Google will interpret this as a separation of different product types. (For example, if you submit 'House, garden & kitchen', the value 'House' is interpreted as a separate product type from 'Garden & kitchen'.) |
| File format | Example value |
|---|---|
| Text feeds |
|
| XML feeds | <g:product_type>Home > Women > Dresses > Maxi dresses</g:product_type> |
To format your data for Content API, have a look at the Content API for Shopping.
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. If you don't follow these requirements, we'll disapprove your product and let you know on the Diagnostics page of your Merchant Center account.
- Ensure that you only use this attribute if you are sure that your product doesn't have any assigned unique product identifiers.
- Products for which the
identifier_exists [identifier_exists]attribute is incorrectly set tono [no]orfalse [false], and for which there is evidence that a unique product identifier exists, will be disapproved.
Best practices
These best practices can help you go beyond the basic requirements to optimise your product data for performance.
- Use
>to separate multiple levels in a category. Also, include a space before and after the > symbol. For example: Home > Women > Dresses > Maxi dresses. - Submit this attribute for products used in any campaign type. When you submit a product type, we can better understand what you're selling, and when we understand what you're selling, we can help connect users with your products. Plus, you can also use the values that you submit to organise your Shopping campaign by values of your own choosing.
- If you use product type to organise your bidding and reporting in Google Ads, we recommend that you submit only one value. (If you submit more than one value, only the first value will be used.) Learn about managing your product groups with product type
- If your own product categorisation includes multiple levels, include all the levels. For example, if your products belong in 'Maxi dresses', list the full string: Home > Women > Dresses > Maxi dresses.
- Use the full 'breadcrumb' information. Wherever possible, we recommend that you include more granular categories as it classifies your product more precisely. For example, 'Books > Non-fiction > Sports > Baseball' is better than 'Baseball'. Learn more about using product type to organise your Shopping campaigns
- It's OK to provide the same value for the Google product category
[google_product_category]attribute and the product type[product_type]attribute, but that value must be a supported Google product category.
Examples
Product type with multiple levels
| Product data for a maxi dress | |
| Attribute | Value |
Product type [product_type] |
Home > Women > Dresses > Maxi dresses |
| Product data for a Google Pixel 3 | |
| Attribute | Value |
Product type [product_type] |
Product > Mobile phones > Android |
| Product data for an SLR camera lens | |
| Attribute | Value |
Product type [product_type] |
Home > Photography > Lenses > SLR lenses |