Glossary · Categories & taxonomy
What is a Google product category path?
A category path is the readable form of a taxonomy entry: every level from the root to the category, joined by > . It is a valid google_product_category value, but it must match Google’s text exactly, which is why the ID is usually the better thing to send.
What this comes down to
- Levels are separated by a space, a greater-than sign and a space:
>. - The text must match Google’s taxonomy exactly to be valid.
- Paths are localized; IDs are not.
- Send the path or the ID, not both.
How a path is written
Take Socks: Apparel & Accessories > Clothing > Underwear & Socks > Socks. Each level is the exact name Google uses, including the &, and the separator is > with a space either side. Dropping a level, abbreviating a name or changing & to and makes it a different string, and a string that is not in the taxonomy is an invalid value.
Invalid values are rejected and may prevent the product from appearing — the fix is covered in how to fix “Invalid product category”.
When the path is still useful
The path is the version people can read, so it belongs in your spreadsheets, QA checks and hand-offs even when the feed sends the ID. A reviewer can tell at a glance that a water bottle filed under Headphones is wrong; they cannot tell that from 543626.
The trade-offs are compared in ID or full path?.
Checking a path before you send it
The reliable check is a lookup, not a read-through. Search for the last level in Google’s taxonomy file or in the category index, and compare the whole line character by character — the & signs, the capital letters and the spaces around each > . If a spreadsheet already holds paths, the quickest way to be sure is to convert each one to its ID and send that instead.
Paths copied from another tool are the usual source of near-misses: an older release, a translated file, or a platform’s own tree that happens to use similar names.
Questions
Is the path case-sensitive?
Treat it as exact. Google publishes one spelling of each path; matching that text precisely is the only form documented as valid. Sending the ID avoids the question.
Can I send only the last level, like “Socks”?
No. A path value is the full path from the root. A single level name is not a taxonomy entry on its own. The numeric ID is the short form that is valid.
Sources
Read next
- Category IDThe numeric identifier of one entry in Google’s product taxonomy — for example 209 for Socks — accepted as the value of google_product_category.
- Google product taxonomyThe fixed, published tree of product categories — 5,595 entries under 21 top-level branches — from which every google_product_category value must come.
- Leaf categoryA category at the end of a branch of the taxonomy — one with no subcategories beneath it — and so the most specific place a product can be filed.
- Google product category: use the ID or the full path?Google accepts either the numeric ID or the full category path, not both. Why the ID is the safer choice, and how Microsoft treats each.
- How to fix an invalid product category in Merchant CenterWhy Merchant Center rejects a google_product_category value, the four usual causes, and how to find and correct every bad row in a feed.