subscription_cost: Definition
Use the subscription_cost
attribute to tell users the details of a monthly or annual payment plan that bundles a communications service contract with your wireless product (mobile phone or tablet).
When to use
Optional for each product
subscription_cost
attribute uses 3 sub-attributes:
period
(required)
The duration of a single subscription period. Either “month” or “year”.period_length
(required)
Integer, the number of subscription periods (months or years) that the buyer must pay.-
amount
(required)
ISO 4217, the amount the buyer must pay per month. When displaying this amount, we may round up to the nearest whole unit of local currency to save space. The provided value must still exactly match the amount as shown on your site.
Format
Follow these formatting guidelines to make sure we understand the data you're submitting.
Type | Unicode characters (Recommended: ASCII only) |
---|---|
Repeated field | No |
File format | Example entry |
---|---|
Text feeds |
Format the value by submitting period, period_length and amount separated with colons ( : ). Don’t use quotation marks. For example, for 12 monthly payments of 50 EUR each, submit: month:12:50 EUR
|
XML feeds |
|
For format API information, see the Content API for Shopping.
Guidelines
Follow these guidelines to make sure you submit high-quality data for your products.
Minimum requirements
These are the requirements you'll need to meet to show ads for your product. If you don't follow these requirements, we'll disapprove your product and let you know in the Diagnostics page of your Merchant Center account.
- Submit the
price
attribute with the total amount due at checkout (including down payment and activation fee) for the product. - Match the communications payment plan that you display on your landing page. You can also display other communication options on your landing page, but the plan that you submit must be straightforward to find on the landing page.
- Don’t require that users have a loyalty card to choose the service plan that you submit.
- Don't use the
subscription_cost
attribute for software subscriptions. Software subscriptions must be prepaid, and submitted using the yearly prepaid cost as theprice
attribute.Learn more about advertising software subscriptions
Best practices
These are best practices that can help you go beyond the basic requirements to optimize your product data for performance.
- Submit exact values for your subscription costs accordingly to ISO 4217. For example, submit 1.01 EUR instead of 1.0012 EUR, otherwise we will round the submitted value. Use the same currency for
subscription_cost
,installment
andprice
. - If the product is also paid for in monthly installments, use the same number of months for the
subscription_cost
Examples
Example of a mobile phone, sold with a subscription plan
Submit a total value for the down payment in the price
attribute (as low as 0) and include any activation fees and/or one-time charges. Specify in your title that your wireless product requires a contract of a certain duration. Leave the installment
attribute empty.
Product data for Google Pixel 5” 32GB Very Silver with a 12-month service contract, of 35 EUR per month, and a down payment of 649 EUR | |
Attribute | Product data |
id |
_pixel_phone_silver_32gb_12month_contract |
title |
Google Pixel 5” 32GB Very Silver (with contract) |
link |
https://store.google.com/product/pixel_phone?sku=_pixel_phone_silver_32gb_12month_contract_newsim&contract=yes |
image_link |
https://store.google.com/product/pixel_phone/silver.png |
availability |
In Stock |
price |
649.00 EUR |
installment |
(must be empty because there are no installment payments) |
subscription_cost |
month:12:35.00 EUR |
google_product_category |
Electronics > Communications > Telephony > Mobile Phones |
brand |
|
gtin |
00821793049157 |
mpn |
G-2PW4100-021-B |
condition |
New |
color |
Very Silver |
shipping |
0.00 EUR |
Example of a mobile phone sold in installments and bundled with a subscription plan
Submit a total value for the down payment (as low as 0) in the price attribute and include any activation fees and/or one-time charges. Submit zero in the price
attribute if there are no up-front costs. Specify in your title that your wireless product requires a contract of a certain duration and an installment plan.
Product data for Google Pixel 5” 32GB Very Silver with 12-month contract and paid in 12 monthly installments | |
Attribute | Product data |
id |
_pixel_phone_silver_32gb_contract_and_installments |
title |
Google Pixel 5” 32GB Very Silver (with contract & SIM, 12 monthly payments) |
link |
https://store.google.com/product/pixel_phone?sku=_pixel_phone_silver_32gb_12month_contract_newsim&contract=yes |
image_link |
https://store.google.com/product/pixel_phone/silver.png |
availability |
In Stock |
price |
0.00 EUR |
installment |
12:60.00 EUR |
subscription_cost |
month:12:30.00 EUR |
google_product_category |
Electronics > Communications > Telephony > Mobile Phones |
brand |
|
gtin |
00821793049157 |
mpn |
G-2PW4100-021-B |
condition |
New |
color |
Very Silver |
shipping |
0.00 EUR |
For more examples, please see the best practices for advertising wireless products and services