Google product taxonomy · 2021-09-21
Water Skiing
The Google product category ID for Water Skiing is 1146. It sits under Towed Water Sports and has 4 subcategories of its own, so it is a predefined value you can send as it stands — but one of those 4 is usually the closer answer, and an interior category fits when a product genuinely spans the ones below.
- Category ID
- 1146
- Direct subcategories
- 4
- Categories below it in total
- 4
- Depth, on a branch that runs 6
- 5 / 6
- Others at this level
- 5
- Parent category
- Towed 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, Water Skiing is the largest of the 6 categories under Towed Water Sports, with 4 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.
Water SkiingSit-Down Hydrofoils
The longest route down from here runs 1 more level, ending at Sit-Down Hydrofoils (3289) on level 6: Water Skiing › Sit-Down Hydrofoils. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water Skiing — this page | 1146 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| Wakeboarding | 3282 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Kneeboarding | 3370 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Water Sport Tow Cables | 3636 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Towable Rafts & Tubes | 6301 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Towed Water Sport Gloves | 7452 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Using this value
Either form of this value goes in the google_product_category attribute: the numeric ID (1146) or the full path ("Sporting Goods > Outdoor Recreation > Boating & Water Sports > Towed Water Sports > Water Skiing"). 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 4 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 | 1146 |
| SKU-1001 | Your product title | Sporting Goods > Outdoor Recreation > Boating & Water Sports > Towed Water Sports > Water Skiing |
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, 1146, is the form that does not depend on how the file is quoted.
What sits under Water Skiing
4 subcategories. A narrower category groups the product with fewer, closer things, so prefer one of these when it fits.
All 4 of them are leaves: none of the subcategories under Water Skiing continues any further, so one of those 4 names is the most specific value this branch can give you.
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 Water Skiing
What is the Google product category ID for Water Skiing?
1146. The full path, "Sporting Goods > Outdoor Recreation > Boating & Water Sports > Towed Water Sports > Water Skiing", 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 Water Skiing or one of its subcategories?
Prefer a subcategory when one fits: Water Skiing has 4 directly below it, starting with Sit-Down Hydrofoils (3289), Water Ski Bindings (6302), Water Ski Cases & Bags (6296), and 4 in total further down. 1146 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 Water Skiing sit in the taxonomy?
At level 5, under Towed Water Sports (3195). The chain from the top is Sporting Goods → Outdoor Recreation → Boating & Water Sports → Towed Water Sports → Water Skiing. If your product does not belong under Towed Water Sports, it does not belong here either — check the level above before going deeper.
What should I use if Water Skiing is not quite right?
Look across the rest of Towed Water Sports first — there are 5 other categories at this level: Kneeboarding (3370), Towable Rafts & Tubes (6301), Towed Water Sport Gloves (7452), Wakeboarding (3282), Water Sport Tow Cables (3636). If none of them fits either, the problem is higher up: go back to Towed Water Sports (3195) 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 Water Skiing?
1 level more. The longest route down from Water Skiing is Water Skiing > Sit-Down Hydrofoils, ending at Sit-Down Hydrofoils (3289) on level 6. Not every branch below Water Skiing runs that far, so the category that fits your product may stop earlier than this one does.
How big is Water Skiing compared with the categories next to it?
It is the largest of the 6 at its level, carrying 4 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.
What is the difference between Water Skiing and Water Sport Tow Cables?
They sit side by side under Towed Water Sports and start with the same word, which is why they get swapped. Water Skiing is 1146; Water Sport Tow Cables is 3636. The paths are the reliable way to tell them apart — compare "Sporting Goods > Outdoor Recreation > Boating & Water Sports > Towed Water Sports > Water Skiing" with "Sporting Goods > Outdoor Recreation > Boating & Water Sports > Towed Water Sports > Water Sport Tow Cables" before you submit.
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