product_type [product_type]: Definition

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, you choose which value to include. The values you submit for product_type [product_type] 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 we understand the data that you're submitting.

Type	String (Unicode characters. Recommended: ASCII only)
Limits	0-750 characters
Repeated field	Up to 5 times, but keep in mind that only the first `product_type` [product_type] value will be used to organise bidding and reporting in Google Ads Shopping campaigns. Separate multiple product types with a comma ( `,` ). Don't use a comma (`,`) within a submitted product type value, since we would interpret this as separate 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	`Home > Women > Dresses > Maxi Dresses`
XML feeds	`<g:product_type>Home > 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 to no [no] or false [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 product_type [product_type] for products used in any campaign type. When you submit a product_type [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 [product_type] to organise your bidding and reporting in Google Ads, we recommend that you don't submit more than 1 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 give us the same values for google_product_category [google_product_category] and product_type [product_type] attributes, but the google_product_category [google_product_category] value has to be a supported Google product category.

Examples

Product type with multiple levels

Product	Maxi dress
`product_type [product_type]`	Home > Women > Dresses > Maxi Dresses

Product	Google Pixel 3
`product_type [product_type]`	Product > Mobile Phones > Android

Product	SLR camera lens
`product_type [product_type]`	Home > Photography > Lenses > SLR Lenses