All products are automatically assigned a product category from Google's continuously evolving product taxonomy. Providing high-quality, on-topic titles and descriptions, as well as accurate pricing, brand and GTIN information will help make sure that your products are correctly categorised.
The Google product category [google_product_category] attribute is optional, and can be used to override Google's automatic categorisation in specific cases.
When to use
Optional for each product.
Google will only accept a product category override in the following cases:
- Calculation of US taxes. For products sold in the US, you can override Google's automatic categorisation to make sure that the correct US tax rate is applied to your product.
- Enforcement of category-specific attribute requirements. Some product categories (such as Clothing & Accessories, Mobile Phones or Software) impose additional required fields. If Google incorrectly assigns your product to one of these categories, use this attribute to override the categorisation and remove the category-specific requirements.
- Targeting of Google Ads campaigns. If you've defined any of your ad campaigns based on Google's product categories, you can use this attribute to reassign products within your campaign structure. Learn more about managing a Shopping campaign with product groups
- Alcohol. Alcoholic beverages must be categorised correctly. If the category of your product is incorrectly assigned, you can use the Google product category
[google_product_category]attribute to override it and ensure that your product remains compliant. Learn more about our alcoholic beverages policy.
Format
Follow these formatting guidelines to make sure that Google understands the data that you're submitting.
| Supported values |
Predefined Google product category: The ID or the full path of the product category. You may submit either the ID or the full path, but not both.
Download a list of all Google product categories: To download this list in another language:
To prevent garbled text in the .txt version:
|
|---|---|
|
Limit |
1 category per product |
| Repeated field | No |
| File format | Example entry |
|---|---|
| Text feeds |
|
| XML feeds | <g:google_product_category>2271</g:google_product_category>or <g:google_product_category>Clothing & Accessories > Clothing > Dresses</g:google_product_category> |
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.
- Use only a predefined Google product category. You can choose to submit either the ID or the full path of the product category, but not both. If no category matches the product, or if you want to submit your own product category, use the product type
[product_type]attribute instead - If the taxonomy of product codes is not available in your language,use the English values or numeric ID.
- Use the one category that best describes your product. Choose the category based on your product's main function. For example, even though an MP3 player might have other functions, like a clock, its main function is as an MP3 player. So you would use the MP3 player category:
Electronics > Audio > Audio Players & Recorders > MP3 Players(ID:233). - Use the most specific category possible. For example, an MP3 player charger, use the MP3 player accessories category:
Electronics > Audio > Audio Accessories > MP3 Player Accessories(ID:232). Don't just use:Electronics(ID:222) - Use categories published after August 2011. Don't use categories that were published before August 2011. Use the links above for the latest values.
Best practices
These best practices can help you go beyond the basic requirements to optimise your product data for performance.
- Use the latest categories. In Google Ads, bidding on Shopping campaigns is based on the latest categories. While you can submit any version of the categories published after August 2011, we'll translate these to the latest version. So if you use out-of-date categories, what you submit might not match what you see.
Additional guidelines
Review each section closely to determine whether the requirements apply to your country or product. If you don't follow requirements that apply to you, we'll disapprove your product and let you know in Diagnostics in your Merchant Center account.
[google_product_category] values that you supply in your feed to help determine the tax rate for products you sell directly on Google in applicable states. Learn more about marketplace facilitator taxIn Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States, you can use the Google product category (displayed as 'Category') to help organise your product groups in your Shopping ads campaigns. For all other countries, you can only use the product type [product_type] attribute to help organise your product groups for bidding in your Shopping campaign. Learn more about managing a Shopping campaign with product groups
- Make sure that your product meets the alcoholic beverages policy.
- Use the following Google product categories when submitting alcohol-related products:
Food, Beverages & Tobacco > Beverages > Alcoholic Beverages(ID:499676) or any of its subcategoriesArts & Entertainment > Hobbies & Creative Arts > Homebrewing & Winemaking Supplies(ID:3577) or any of its subcategories
- Use the Google product category that's most appropriate for your bundle of different products. If the bundle contains a main product, use the category of the main product. For example, for a digital camera bundled with a bag, use:
Cameras and Optics > Cameras > Digital Cameras(ID:152)
- Use the following Google product categories to let us know when you're submitting a mobile phone or tablet with a contract or an instalment plan:
Electronics > Communications > Telephone > Mobile Phones(ID:267)Electronics > Computers > Tablet Computers(ID:4745)
- For mobile phones sold with a contract, you may set the price
[price]attribute to 0. If you submit a price of 0, you'll need to set the Google product category[google_product_category]attribute to:Electronics > Communications > Telephony > Mobile Phones(ID:267).
- Use the following Google product category to let us know when you're submitting a gift card:
Arts & Entertainment > Party & Celebration > Gift Giving > Gift Cards & Certificates(ID:53)
- Use the
Software > Computer Software(ID:313) category to let us know when you're submitting a software subscription, or use one of its subcategories. For example:Software > Computer Software > Antivirus & Security Software(ID:5299)
Examples
| Product data for a black skater dress | |
| Attribute | Value |
|
Title |
Skater dress – Black |
|
Google product category
|
Clothing & Accessories > Clothing > Dresses |
| Product data for a pair of brown Google Malibu sunglasses | |
| Attribute | Value |
Title [title] |
Google Malibu sunglasses – Brown |
|
Google product category
|
178 |
| Product data for Google men's zip-up jacket | |
| Attribute | Value |
Title [title] |
Google men's Performance full zip jacket – Black |
|
Google product category
|
Clothing & Accessories > Clothing > Outerwear > Coats & Jackets |
| Product data for a Google performance sweatshirt | |
| Attribute | Value |
Title [title] |
Google men's performance 1/4 zip sweatshirt – Heather/black |
|
Google product category
|
Clothing & Accessories > Clothing > Outerwear |
| Product data for a Google hoodie | |
| Attribute | Value |
Title [title] |
Google tri-blend hoodie – Grey |
|
Google product category
|
Clothing & Accessories > Clothing |
| Product data for a white gold wedding band | |
| Attribute | Value |
Title [title] |
White gold wedding band – 14 C – 3 mm |
|
Google product category
|
Clothing & Accessories> Jewellery > Rings |
Color [colour] |
white gold |
Material [material] |
white gold |
| Product data for a platinum-plated engagement ring | |
| Attribute | Value |
Title [title] |
Round platinum-plated classic engagement ring |
|
Google product category
|
Clothing & Accessories > Jewellery |
Color [colour] |
silver |
Material [material] |
platinum |
| Product data for a quartz multi-finger ring | |
| Attribute | Value |
Title [title] |
Silver quartz multi-finger ring |
|
Google product category
|
Clothing & Accessories |
Color [colour] |
silver |
Material [material] |
silver/quartz |
| Product data for a Google Pixel 3 | |
| Attribute | Value |
Title [title] |
Google Pixel 3 – 32 GB – Midnight Blue – with contract |
|
Google product category
|
Electronics > Communications > Telephony > Mobile phones |
GTIN [gtin] |
00723755006386 |
Brand [brand] |
|
| Product data for Google security software basic edition | |
| Attribute | Value |
Title [title] |
Google Security Software Basic Edition (1-year subscription) |
Price [price] |
USD 29.90 |
|
Google product category
|
Software > Computer Software > Antivirus & Security Software |
Brand [brand] |
|
GTIN [gtin] |
1234567890123 |
Shipping [shipping] |
USD 0.00 |
Image link [image_link] |
https://www.example.com/logo.jpg |