Google product taxonomy · 2021-09-21
Bowling
The Google product category ID for Bowling is 1004. It sits under Indoor Games and has 5 subcategories of its own, so it is a predefined value you can send as it stands — but one of those 5 is usually the closer answer, and an interior category fits when a product genuinely spans the ones below.
- Category ID
- 1004
- Direct subcategories
- 5
- Categories below it in total
- 5
- Depth, on a branch that runs 4
- 3 / 4
- Others at this level
- 7
- Parent category
- Indoor Games
- Taxonomy version
- 2021-09-21
- Sent in your feed as
- google_product_category
Where this sits in the taxonomy
Measured by how much sits beneath them, Bowling is fourth largest of the 8 categories under Indoor Games, with 5 categories below it. Size is not correctness — a small category is the right answer when it is the right answer — but it does tell you how much of the taxonomy you are still choosing between once you pick this branch.
BowlingBowling Ball Bags
The longest route down from here runs 1 more level, ending at Bowling Ball Bags (3698) on level 4: Bowling › Bowling Ball Bags. Most branches stop sooner than that — the figure to compare it against is the seven levels Google's taxonomy allows, not the depth of the branch next door.
| Category | ID | Direct | Below | Levels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Hockey | 1002 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Billiards | 1003 | 8 | 15 | 2 |
| Bowling — this page | 1004 | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| Throwing Darts | 1005 | 4 | 7 | 2 |
| Foosball | 1007 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Ping Pong | 1008 | 7 | 7 | 1 |
| Table Shuffleboard | 1009 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Multi-Game Tables | 7010 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Using this value
Either form of this value goes in the google_product_category attribute: the numeric ID (1004) or the full path ("Sporting Goods > Indoor Games > Bowling"). Both are predefined values for the same category. The ID is the sturdier of the two, because renaming any segment above this one changes the path text and leaves the number alone. Before sending it, check whether one of the 5 subcategories below fits — a narrower category groups the product with fewer, closer things.
Bear in mind that google_product_category is an optional attribute. Google assigns a category automatically, and your value is treated as a signal rather than an override. When an override actually applies.
In your feed, it looks like this
Either row below is accepted. The first is the one to send.
| id | title | google_product_category |
|---|---|---|
| SKU-1001 | Your product title | 1004 |
| SKU-1001 | Your product title | Sporting Goods > Indoor Games > Bowling |
This path has no comma, so an unquoted cell holds it as it stands — which is not true of every category in the taxonomy. The numeric ID, 1004, is the form that does not depend on how the file is quoted.
What sits under Bowling
5 subcategories. A narrower category groups the product with fewer, closer things, so prefer one of these when it fits.
All 5 of them are leaves: none of the subcategories under Bowling continues any further, so one of those 5 names is the most specific value this branch can give you.
Questions about Bowling
What is the Google product category ID for Bowling?
1004. The full path, "Sporting Goods > Indoor Games > Bowling", is the same category written the other way. The ID is shorter, and renaming a segment above this one changes the path text while leaving the number alone.
Should I use Bowling or one of its subcategories?
Prefer a subcategory when one fits: Bowling has 5 directly below it, starting with Bowling Ball Bags (3698), Bowling Balls (3219), Bowling Gloves (3535), and 5 in total further down. 1004 is itself a predefined value, so an interior category is not an error — it just groups the product more broadly than a subcategory would.
Where does Bowling sit in the taxonomy?
At level 3, under Indoor Games (1001). The chain from the top is Sporting Goods → Indoor Games → Bowling. If your product does not belong under Indoor Games, it does not belong here either — check the level above before going deeper.
What should I use if Bowling is not quite right?
Look across the rest of Indoor Games first — there are 7 other categories at this level: Air Hockey (1002), Billiards (1003), Foosball (1007), Multi-Game Tables (7010), Ping Pong (1008), Table Shuffleboard (1009), and 1 more. If none of them fits either, the problem is higher up: go back to Indoor Games (1001) and pick a different branch from there rather than settling for the closest thing on this one.
How much more specific can I get than Bowling?
1 level more. The longest route down from Bowling is Bowling > Bowling Ball Bags, ending at Bowling Ball Bags (3698) on level 4. Not every branch below Bowling runs that far, so the category that fits your product may stop earlier than this one does.
How big is Bowling compared with the categories next to it?
It is fourth largest of the 8 at its level, carrying 5 categories below it. A bigger category is not a better one — it just means more of the taxonomy is still open below you after you pick it.
Not sure this is the one?
Describe the product and get the category with its ID, a confidence figure and the runners-up it was weighed against.
Free, no account. Or map a whole catalog