Google product taxonomy · 2021-09-21

Building Materials

The Google product category ID for Building Materials is 115. It sits under Hardware and has 22 subcategories of its own, so it is a predefined value you can send as it stands — but one of those 22 is usually the closer answer, and an interior category fits when a product genuinely spans the ones below.

Category ID: 115
Direct subcategories: 22
Categories below it in total: 39
Depth, on a branch that runs 4: 2 / 4
Others at this level: 14
Parent category: Hardware
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, Building Materials is fifth largest of the 15 categories under Hardware, with 39 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.

Building MaterialsDoor Hardware Door Bells & Chimes

The longest route down from here runs 2 more levels, ending at Door Bells & Chimes (2972) on level 4: Building Materials › Door Hardware › Door Bells & Chimes. 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.

Every category at the same level as Building Materials, compared by id, direct subcategories, total categories below and how many levels each one runs.
Category	ID	Direct	Below	Levels
Building Materials — this page	115	22	39	2
Power & Electrical Supplies	127	27	31	2
Fencing & Barriers	128	8	8	1
Plumbing	133	10	80	3
Tools	1167	79	175	3
Storage Tanks	1910	0	0	0
Locks & Keys	1974	4	4	1
Hardware Accessories	2878	25	57	2
Tool Accessories	3650	29	65	2
Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning	499873	4	7	2
Small Engines	499982	0	0	0
Hardware Pumps	500096	6	6	1
Fuel Containers & Tanks	502975	0	0	0
Building Consumables	503739	11	29	2
Fuel	543575	3	5	2

Using this value

Either form of this value goes in the google_product_category attribute: the numeric ID (115) or the full path ("Hardware > Building Materials"). 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 22 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.

products.csv3 of your columns

id	title	google_product_category
SKU-1001	Your product title	115
SKU-1001	Your product title	Hardware > Building Materials

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, 115, is the form that does not depend on how the file is quoted.

What sits under Building Materials

22 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. Door Hardware (6343) is the largest with 9 categories beneath it, so most of what sits under Building Materials sits under that one name. 4 of the 22 carry subcategories of their own and the remaining 18 are leaves, which is worth knowing before you go looking for a narrower value that is not there.

Categories beneath each one4 with anything below

Door Hardware9 Roofing4 Doors2 Window Hardware2

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.

503739Building Consumables

Questions about Building Materials

What is the Google product category ID for Building Materials?

115. The full path, "Hardware > Building Materials", 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 Building Materials or one of its subcategories?

Prefer a subcategory when one fits: Building Materials has 22 directly below it, starting with Countertops (2729), Door Hardware (6343), Doors (119), and 39 in total further down. 115 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 Building Materials sit in the taxonomy?

At level 2, under Hardware (632). The chain from the top is Hardware → Building Materials. If your product does not belong under Hardware, it does not belong here either — check the level above before going deeper.

What should I use if Building Materials is not quite right?

Look across the rest of Hardware first — there are 14 other categories at this level: Building Consumables (503739), Fencing & Barriers (128), Fuel (543575), Fuel Containers & Tanks (502975), Hardware Accessories (2878), Hardware Pumps (500096), and 8 more. If none of them fits either, the problem is higher up: go back to Hardware (632) 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 Building Materials?

2 levels more. The longest route down from Building Materials is Building Materials > Door Hardware > Door Bells & Chimes, ending at Door Bells & Chimes (2972) on level 4. Not every branch below Building Materials runs that far, so the category that fits your product may stop earlier than this one does.

How big is Building Materials compared with the categories next to it?

It is fifth largest of the 15 at its level, carrying 39 categories below it. Inside it, Door Hardware (6343) is the biggest branch with 9 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 Building Materials and Building Consumables?

They sit side by side under Hardware and start with the same word, which is why they get swapped. Building Materials is 115; Building Consumables is 503739. The paths are the reliable way to tell them apart — compare "Hardware > Building Materials" with "Hardware > Building Consumables" before you submit.

Not sure this is the one?

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Canonical URL: https://sellersort.com/google-product-category/115-hardware-building-materials