Google product taxonomy · 2021-09-21
Office Instruments
The Google product category ID for Office Instruments is 2986. It sits under Office Supplies and has 11 subcategories of its own, so it is a predefined value you can send as it stands — but one of those 11 is usually the closer answer, and an interior category fits when a product genuinely spans the ones below.
- Category ID
- 2986
- Direct subcategories
- 11
- Categories below it in total
- 32
- Depth, on a branch that runs 7
- 2 / 7
- Others at this level
- 13
- Parent category
- Office Supplies
- 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, Office Instruments is second largest of the 14 categories under Office Supplies, with 32 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.
Office InstrumentsWriting & Drawing InstrumentsPens & PencilsPencilsWriting PencilsMechanical Pencils
The longest route down from here runs 5 more levels, ending at Mechanical Pencils (543660) on level 7: Office Instruments › Writing & Drawing Instruments › Pens & Pencils › Pencils › Writing Pencils › Mechanical Pencils. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Filing & Organization | 923 | 18 | 29 | 3 |
| General Office Supplies | 932 | 12 | 37 | 2 |
| Office Equipment | 950 | 10 | 15 | 2 |
| Presentation Supplies | 964 | 10 | 17 | 3 |
| Paper Handling | 2014 | 6 | 6 | 1 |
| Name Plates | 2435 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shipping Supplies | 2636 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Office Instruments — this page | 2986 | 11 | 32 | 5 |
| Impulse Sealers | 5829 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Book Accessories | 6174 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| Office Carts | 6373 | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| Office & Chair Mats | 6519 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Desk Pads & Blotters | 8078 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lap Desks | 8499 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Using this value
Either form of this value goes in the google_product_category attribute: the numeric ID (2986) or the full path ("Office Supplies > Office Instruments"). 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 11 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 | 2986 |
| SKU-1001 | Your product title | Office Supplies > Office Instruments |
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, 2986, is the form that does not depend on how the file is quoted.
What sits under Office Instruments
11 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. Writing & Drawing Instruments (977) is the largest with 16 categories beneath it, so most of what sits under Office Instruments sits under that one name. 2 of the 11 carry subcategories of their own and the remaining 9 are leaves, which is worth knowing before you go looking for a narrower value that is not there.
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 Office Instruments
What is the Google product category ID for Office Instruments?
2986. The full path, "Office Supplies > Office Instruments", 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 Office Instruments or one of its subcategories?
Prefer a subcategory when one fits: Office Instruments has 11 directly below it, starting with Call Bells (2883), Clipboards (935), Letter Openers (505830), and 32 in total further down. 2986 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 Office Instruments sit in the taxonomy?
At level 2, under Office Supplies (922). The chain from the top is Office Supplies → Office Instruments. If your product does not belong under Office Supplies, it does not belong here either — check the level above before going deeper.
What should I use if Office Instruments is not quite right?
Look across the rest of Office Supplies first — there are 13 other categories at this level: Book Accessories (6174), Desk Pads & Blotters (8078), Filing & Organization (923), General Office Supplies (932), Impulse Sealers (5829), Lap Desks (8499), and 7 more. If none of them fits either, the problem is higher up: go back to Office Supplies (922) 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 Office Instruments?
5 levels more. The longest route down from Office Instruments is Office Instruments > Writing & Drawing Instruments > Pens & Pencils > Pencils > Writing Pencils > Mechanical Pencils, ending at Mechanical Pencils (543660) on level 7. Not every branch below Office Instruments runs that far, so the category that fits your product may stop earlier than this one does.
How big is Office Instruments compared with the categories next to it?
It is second largest of the 14 at its level, carrying 32 categories below it. Inside it, Writing & Drawing Instruments (977) is the biggest branch with 16 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 Office Instruments and Office & Chair Mats?
They sit side by side under Office Supplies and start with the same word, which is why they get swapped. Office Instruments is 2986; Office & Chair Mats is 6519. The paths are the reliable way to tell them apart — compare "Office Supplies > Office Instruments" with "Office Supplies > Office & Chair Mats" before you submit.
Not sure this is the one?
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