Google product taxonomy · 2021-09-21
Computers
The Google product category ID for Computers is 278. It sits under Electronics and has 10 subcategories of its own, so it is a predefined value you can send as it stands — but one of those 10 is usually the closer answer, and an interior category fits when a product genuinely spans the ones below.
- Category ID
- 278
- Direct subcategories
- 10
- Categories below it in total
- 15
- Depth, on a branch that runs 4
- 2 / 4
- Others at this level
- 18
- Parent category
- Electronics
- 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, Computers is seventh largest of the 19 categories under Electronics, 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.
ComputersHandheld DevicesData Collectors
The longest route down from here runs 2 more levels, ending at Data Collectors (5256) on level 4: Computers › Handheld Devices › Data Collectors. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audio | 223 | 7 | 66 | 3 |
| Communications | 262 | 9 | 32 | 4 |
| Computers — this page | 278 | 10 | 15 | 2 |
| GPS Navigation Systems | 339 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marine Electronics | 340 | 6 | 6 | 1 |
| Networking | 342 | 10 | 14 | 2 |
| Print, Copy, Scan & Fax | 345 | 6 | 18 | 3 |
| Video | 386 | 10 | 35 | 3 |
| Radar Detectors | 912 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Video Game Console Accessories | 1270 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Video Game Consoles | 1294 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Components | 1801 | 5 | 7 | 2 |
| Electronics Accessories | 2082 | 18 | 167 | 4 |
| Arcade Equipment | 3356 | 6 | 6 | 1 |
| Circuit Boards & Components | 3702 | 7 | 28 | 3 |
| GPS Accessories | 3895 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Toll Collection Devices | 4488 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GPS Tracking Devices | 6544 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Speed Radars | 500091 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Using this value
Either form of this value goes in the google_product_category attribute: the numeric ID (278) or the full path ("Electronics > Computers"). 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 10 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 | 278 |
| SKU-1001 | Your product title | Electronics > Computers |
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, 278, is the form that does not depend on how the file is quoted.
What sits under Computers
10 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. Handheld Devices (298) is the largest with 3 categories beneath it, so most of what sits under Computers sits under that one name. 2 of the 10 carry subcategories of their own and the remaining 8 are leaves, which is worth knowing before you go looking for a narrower value that is not there.
Questions about Computers
What is the Google product category ID for Computers?
278. The full path, "Electronics > Computers", 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 Computers or one of its subcategories?
Prefer a subcategory when one fits: Computers has 10 directly below it, starting with Barebone Computers (5254), Computer Servers (331), Desktop Computers (325), and 15 in total further down. 278 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 Computers sit in the taxonomy?
At level 2, under Electronics (222). The chain from the top is Electronics → Computers. If your product does not belong under Electronics, it does not belong here either — check the level above before going deeper.
What should I use if Computers is not quite right?
Look across the rest of Electronics first — there are 18 other categories at this level: Arcade Equipment (3356), Audio (223), Circuit Boards & Components (3702), Communications (262), Components (1801), Electronics Accessories (2082), and 12 more. If none of them fits either, the problem is higher up: go back to Electronics (222) 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 Computers?
2 levels more. The longest route down from Computers is Computers > Handheld Devices > Data Collectors, ending at Data Collectors (5256) on level 4. Not every branch below Computers runs that far, so the category that fits your product may stop earlier than this one does.
How big is Computers compared with the categories next to it?
It is seventh largest of the 19 at its level, carrying 15 categories below it. Inside it, Handheld Devices (298) is the biggest branch with 3 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.
Free, no account. Or map a whole catalog