Google product taxonomy · 2021-09-21
Paintball
The Google product category ID for Paintball is 1049. It sits under Paintball & Airsoft and has 6 subcategories of its own, so it is a predefined value you can send as it stands — but one of those 6 is usually the closer answer, and an interior category fits when a product genuinely spans the ones below.
- Category ID
- 1049
- Direct subcategories
- 6
- Categories below it in total
- 10
- Depth, on a branch that runs 7
- 5 / 7
- Others at this level
- 2
- Parent category
- Paintball & Airsoft
- 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, Paintball is the largest of the 3 categories under Paintball & Airsoft, with 10 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.
PaintballPaintball Gun Parts & AccessoriesPaintball Air Tanks
The longest route down from here runs 2 more levels, ending at Paintball Air Tanks (3244) on level 7: Paintball › Paintball Gun Parts & Accessories › Paintball Air Tanks. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paintball — this page | 1049 | 6 | 10 | 2 |
| Airsoft | 2443 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Paintball & Airsoft Protective Gear | 499835 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
Using this value
Either form of this value goes in the google_product_category attribute: the numeric ID (1049) or the full path ("Sporting Goods > Outdoor Recreation > Hunting & Shooting > Paintball & Airsoft > Paintball"). 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 6 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 | 1049 |
| SKU-1001 | Your product title | Sporting Goods > Outdoor Recreation > Hunting & Shooting > Paintball & Airsoft > Paintball |
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, 1049, is the form that does not depend on how the file is quoted.
What sits under Paintball
6 subcategories. A narrower category groups the product with fewer, closer things, so prefer one of these when it fits.
They are not the same size. Paintball Gun Parts & Accessories (3187) is the largest with 4 categories beneath it, so most of what sits under Paintball sits under that one name. 1 of the 6 carry subcategories of their own and the remaining 5 are leaves, which is worth knowing before you go looking for a narrower value that is not there.
Easy to mix up with
These sit under the same parent and start with the same word, which is exactly when the wrong one gets picked.
Questions about Paintball
What is the Google product category ID for Paintball?
1049. The full path, "Sporting Goods > Outdoor Recreation > Hunting & Shooting > Paintball & Airsoft > Paintball", 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 Paintball or one of its subcategories?
Prefer a subcategory when one fits: Paintball has 6 directly below it, starting with Paintball Grenade Launchers (6748), Paintball Grenades (3408), Paintball Gun Parts & Accessories (3187), and 10 in total further down. 1049 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 Paintball sit in the taxonomy?
At level 5, under Paintball & Airsoft (499834). The chain from the top is Sporting Goods → Outdoor Recreation → Hunting & Shooting → Paintball & Airsoft → Paintball. If your product does not belong under Paintball & Airsoft, it does not belong here either — check the level above before going deeper.
What should I use if Paintball is not quite right?
Look across the rest of Paintball & Airsoft first — there are 2 other categories at this level: Airsoft (2443), Paintball & Airsoft Protective Gear (499835). If none of them fits either, the problem is higher up: go back to Paintball & Airsoft (499834) 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 Paintball?
2 levels more. The longest route down from Paintball is Paintball > Paintball Gun Parts & Accessories > Paintball Air Tanks, ending at Paintball Air Tanks (3244) on level 7. Not every branch below Paintball runs that far, so the category that fits your product may stop earlier than this one does.
How big is Paintball compared with the categories next to it?
It is the largest of the 3 at its level, carrying 10 categories below it. Inside it, Paintball Gun Parts & Accessories (3187) is the biggest branch with 4 beneath 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.
What is the difference between Paintball and Paintball & Airsoft Protective Gear?
They sit side by side under Paintball & Airsoft and start with the same word, which is why they get swapped. Paintball is 1049; Paintball & Airsoft Protective Gear is 499835. The paths are the reliable way to tell them apart — compare "Sporting Goods > Outdoor Recreation > Hunting & Shooting > Paintball & Airsoft > Paintball" with "Sporting Goods > Outdoor Recreation > Hunting & Shooting > Paintball & Airsoft > Paintball & Airsoft Protective Gear" before you submit.
Not sure this is the one?
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