Product type [product_type]

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 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. Learn when and how to submit your product data in English

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 (,). Don't 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 and kitchen', the value 'House' is interpreted as a separate product type from 'garden and kitchen'.

File format	Example value
Text data source	`Home > Women > Dresses > Maxi dresses`
XML data source	`<g:product_type>Home > Women > Dresses > Maxi dresses</g:product_type>`

To format your data for Content API, see the Content API for Shopping resource.

Note: To ensure that this product data attribute is recognised by our system correctly, remember to submit your data feed file in a format that we support.

Best practices

These best practices can help you to 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.
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'.
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

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