Google product taxonomy · 2021-09-21
Telephony
The Google product category ID for Telephony is 270. It sits under Communications and has 7 subcategories of its own, so it is a predefined value you can send as it stands — but one of those 7 is usually the closer answer, and an interior category fits when a product genuinely spans the ones below.
- Category ID
- 270
- Direct subcategories
- 7
- Categories below it in total
- 20
- Depth, on a branch that runs 6
- 3 / 6
- Others at this level
- 8
- Parent category
- Communications
- 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, Telephony is the largest of the 9 categories under Communications, with 20 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.
TelephonyMobile Phone AccessoriesMobile Phone Pre-Paid Cards & SIM CardsMobile Phone Pre-Paid Cards
The longest route down from here runs 3 more levels, ending at Mobile Phone Pre-Paid Cards (543515) on level 6: Telephony › Mobile Phone Accessories › Mobile Phone Pre-Paid Cards & SIM Cards › Mobile Phone Pre-Paid Cards. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communication Radio Accessories | 263 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Answering Machines | 266 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pagers | 268 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Telephony — this page | 270 | 7 | 20 | 3 |
| Video Conferencing | 274 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Intercoms | 360 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Communication Radios | 2471 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Caller IDs | 5275 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Intercom Accessories | 5404 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Using this value
Either form of this value goes in the google_product_category attribute: the numeric ID (270) or the full path ("Electronics > Communications > Telephony"). 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 7 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 | 270 |
| SKU-1001 | Your product title | Electronics > Communications > Telephony |
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, 270, is the form that does not depend on how the file is quoted.
What sits under Telephony
7 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. Mobile Phone Accessories (264) is the largest with 9 categories beneath it, so most of what sits under Telephony sits under that one name. 3 of the 7 carry subcategories of their own and the remaining 4 are leaves, which is worth knowing before you go looking for a narrower value that is not there.
Questions about Telephony
What is the Google product category ID for Telephony?
270. The full path, "Electronics > Communications > Telephony", 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 Telephony or one of its subcategories?
Prefer a subcategory when one fits: Telephony has 7 directly below it, starting with Conference Phones (4666), Corded Phones (271), Cordless Phones (272), and 20 in total further down. 270 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 Telephony sit in the taxonomy?
At level 3, under Communications (262). The chain from the top is Electronics → Communications → Telephony. If your product does not belong under Communications, it does not belong here either — check the level above before going deeper.
What should I use if Telephony is not quite right?
Look across the rest of Communications first — there are 8 other categories at this level: Answering Machines (266), Caller IDs (5275), Communication Radio Accessories (263), Communication Radios (2471), Intercom Accessories (5404), Intercoms (360), and 2 more. If none of them fits either, the problem is higher up: go back to Communications (262) 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 Telephony?
3 levels more. The longest route down from Telephony is Telephony > Mobile Phone Accessories > Mobile Phone Pre-Paid Cards & SIM Cards > Mobile Phone Pre-Paid Cards, ending at Mobile Phone Pre-Paid Cards (543515) on level 6. Not every branch below Telephony runs that far, so the category that fits your product may stop earlier than this one does.
How big is Telephony compared with the categories next to it?
It is the largest of the 9 at its level, carrying 20 categories below it. Inside it, Mobile Phone Accessories (264) 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.
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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