Google product taxonomy · 2021-09-21
Swimming
The Google product category ID for Swimming is 1144. It sits under Boating & Water Sports and has 13 subcategories of its own, so it is a predefined value you can send as it stands — but one of those 13 is usually the closer answer, and an interior category fits when a product genuinely spans the ones below.
This branch14
Swimming1144
Child Swimming Aids7104Hand Paddles6473Kickboards2966Pull Buoys3595Swim Belts6513Swim Caps3807Swim Gloves3304Swim Goggle & Mask Accessories6330Swim Goggles & Masks3360Swim Weights6550Swimming Fins6511Swimming Machines3596Swimming Nose Clips6515- Category ID
- 1144
- Direct subcategories
- 13
- Categories below it in total
- 15
- Depth, on a branch that runs 6
- 4 / 6
- Others at this level
- 8
- Parent category
- Boating & Water Sports
- 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, Swimming is the largest of the 9 categories under Boating & Water Sports, with 15 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.
SwimmingSwimming FinsMonofins
The longest route down from here runs 2 more levels, ending at Monofins (6512) on level 6: Swimming › Swimming Fins › Monofins. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boating & Rafting | 1120 | 10 | 10 | 1 |
| Diving & Snorkeling | 1135 | 9 | 9 | 1 |
| Surfing | 1143 | 10 | 10 | 1 |
| Swimming — this page | 1144 | 13 | 15 | 2 |
| Windsurfing | 1148 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Towed Water Sports | 3195 | 6 | 14 | 2 |
| Kitesurfing | 5579 | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| Watercraft Storage Racks | 7178 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Boating & Water Sport Apparel | 499813 | 7 | 10 | 2 |
Using this value
Either form of this value goes in the google_product_category attribute: the numeric ID (1144) or the full path ("Sporting Goods > Outdoor Recreation > Boating & Water Sports > Swimming"). 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 13 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 | 1144 |
| SKU-1001 | Your product title | Sporting Goods > Outdoor Recreation > Boating & Water Sports > Swimming |
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, 1144, is the form that does not depend on how the file is quoted.
What sits under Swimming
13 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. Swimming Fins (6511) is the largest with 2 categories beneath it, so most of what sits under Swimming sits under that one name. 1 of the 13 carry subcategories of their own and the remaining 12 are leaves, which is worth knowing before you go looking for a narrower value that is not there.
Questions about Swimming
What is the Google product category ID for Swimming?
1144. The full path, "Sporting Goods > Outdoor Recreation > Boating & Water Sports > Swimming", 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 Swimming or one of its subcategories?
Prefer a subcategory when one fits: Swimming has 13 directly below it, starting with Child Swimming Aids (7104), Hand Paddles (6473), Kickboards (2966), and 15 in total further down. 1144 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 Swimming sit in the taxonomy?
At level 4, under Boating & Water Sports (499811). The chain from the top is Sporting Goods → Outdoor Recreation → Boating & Water Sports → Swimming. If your product does not belong under Boating & Water Sports, it does not belong here either — check the level above before going deeper.
What should I use if Swimming is not quite right?
Look across the rest of Boating & Water Sports first — there are 8 other categories at this level: Boating & Rafting (1120), Boating & Water Sport Apparel (499813), Diving & Snorkeling (1135), Kitesurfing (5579), Surfing (1143), Towed Water Sports (3195), and 2 more. If none of them fits either, the problem is higher up: go back to Boating & Water Sports (499811) 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 Swimming?
2 levels more. The longest route down from Swimming is Swimming > Swimming Fins > Monofins, ending at Monofins (6512) on level 6. Not every branch below Swimming runs that far, so the category that fits your product may stop earlier than this one does.
How big is Swimming compared with the categories next to it?
It is the largest of the 9 at its level, carrying 15 categories below it. Inside it, Swimming Fins (6511) is the biggest branch with 2 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.
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.
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