product_detail: Definition

Use the product_detail [product_detail] attribute to provide technical specifications or additional details. You can describe any aspect of the product that is not explicitly covered by other attributes. This attribute provides shoppers with readable, structured data and enhances our ability to surface individual products based on user queries.

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)
Sub-attributes	Section name [section_name] (Optional) Attribute name [attribute_name] (Required) Attribute value [attribute_value] (Required)
Limits	Section name: up to 140 characters recommended Attribute name: up to 140 characters recommended Attribute value: up to 1,000 characters
Repeated field	Yes, up to 1,000

File format	Example value
Text feeds	General:Product Type:Digital player,General:Digital Player Type:Flash based,Display:Resolution:432 x 240,Display:Diagonal Size:"2.5"""
XML feeds	<g:product_detail>     <g:section_name>General</g:section_name>     <g:attribute_name>Product type</g:attribute_name>     <g:attribute_value>Digital player</g:attribute_value> </g:product_detail> <g:product_detail>     <g:section_name>General</g:section_name>     <g:attribute_name>Digital player type</g:attribute_name>     <g:attribute_value>Flash based</g:attribute_value> </g:product_detail> <g:product_detail>     <g:section_name>Display</g:section_name>     <g:attribute_name>Resolution</g:attribute_name>     <g:attribute_value>432 x 240</g:attribute_value> </g:product_detail> <g:product_detail>     <g:section_name>Display</g:section_name>     <g:attribute_name>Diagonal size</g:attribute_name>     <g:attribute_value>2.5"</g:attribute_value> </g:product_detail>

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.

• Each product_detail [product_detail] has three sub-attributes. They are section_name [section_name], attribute_name [attribute_name] and attribute_value [attribute_value].
  • section_name [section_name] is optional but recommended.
  • attribute_name [attribute_name] and attribute_value [attribute_value] are always required for each product_detail [product_detail] that you submit.
• When submitting text feeds, make sure that you format product details correctly.
  • Each product_detail [product_detail] attribute must contain 2 colons to separate the three sub-attributes.The correct format is section name [section_name]:attribute name [attribute_name]:attribute value [attribute_value].
    • If there is no section name then the correct format is to start with a ":". As in the example below
      :attribute name [attribute_name]:attribute value [attribute_value]
  • Multiple product detail [product_detail] values for a single item should be separated by commas.
  • If any of the sub-attributes contains a comma or a colon, you must enclose that sub-attribute in straight double quotes; any straight double quotes within that sub-attribute must be doubled.
• Don't add information covered in other attributes or promotion text. Don't add information such as price, sale price, sale dates, delivery, delivery date, other time-related information or your company's name. Include this information with the other attributes such as sale price or delivery.
• Only provide an attribute name and value when the value is confirmed. For example, for a food product, only provide 'Vegetarian=False' if it is confirmed the product is indeed not vegetarian, and not just because False is the default value for Boolean attributes.
• Don't list keywords or search terms. Only list relevant details and specifications of the product.

Best practices

These best practices can help you go beyond the basic requirements to optimise your product data for performance.

• Do not duplicate data within the attribute.
• Do not use search engine optimisation (SEO) keywords.
• Check for errors in grammar, spelling or capitalisation.

Examples

Here are some examples of the section_name and attribute_name combinations that you might include for different types of products. Note that this is not a comprehensive or exhaustive list. You are welcome to add additional properties when they are applicable to your products.