Google product taxonomy · 2021-09-21
Water
The Google product category ID for Water is 420. It sits under Beverages 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
- 420
- Direct subcategories
- 4
- Categories below it in total
- 6
- Depth, on a branch that runs 5
- 3 / 5
- Others at this level
- 14
- Parent category
- Beverages
- 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 is second largest of the 15 categories under Beverages, with 6 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.
WaterCarbonated WaterFlavored Carbonated Water
The longest route down from here runs 2 more levels, ending at Flavored Carbonated Water (543534) on level 5: Water › Carbonated Water › Flavored Carbonated Water. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot Chocolate | 415 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Milk | 418 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Water — this page | 420 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| Coffee | 1868 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tea & Infusions | 2073 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Soda | 2628 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Juice | 2887 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sports & Energy Drinks | 5723 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-Dairy Milk | 5724 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Buttermilk | 6797 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Powdered Beverage Mixes | 6848 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vinegar Drinks | 7528 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eggnog | 8030 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fruit Flavored Drinks | 8036 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alcoholic Beverages | 499676 | 7 | 20 | 3 |
Using this value
Either form of this value goes in the google_product_category attribute: the numeric ID (420) or the full path ("Food, Beverages & Tobacco > Beverages > Water"). 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 | 420 |
| SKU-1001 | Your product title | "Food, Beverages & Tobacco > Beverages > Water" |
This path contains a comma, so the cell has to be quoted: unquoted, a CSV reader splits "Food, Beverages & Tobacco > Beverages > Water" into 2 columns and the row stops lining up with its header. The numeric ID, 420, contains no comma.
What sits under Water
4 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. Carbonated Water (543531) is the largest with 2 categories beneath it, so most of what sits under Water sits under that one name. 1 of the 4 carry subcategories of their own and the remaining 3 are leaves, which is worth knowing before you go looking for a narrower value that is not there.
Questions about Water
What is the Google product category ID for Water?
420. The full path, "Food, Beverages & Tobacco > Beverages > Water", 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 or one of its subcategories?
Prefer a subcategory when one fits: Water has 4 directly below it, starting with Carbonated Water (543531), Distilled Water (543530), Flat Mineral Water (543533), and 6 in total further down. 420 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 sit in the taxonomy?
At level 3, under Beverages (413). The chain from the top is Food, Beverages & Tobacco → Beverages → Water. If your product does not belong under Beverages, it does not belong here either — check the level above before going deeper.
What should I use if Water is not quite right?
Look across the rest of Beverages first — there are 14 other categories at this level: Alcoholic Beverages (499676), Buttermilk (6797), Coffee (1868), Eggnog (8030), Fruit Flavored Drinks (8036), Hot Chocolate (415), and 8 more. If none of them fits either, the problem is higher up: go back to Beverages (413) 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?
2 levels more. The longest route down from Water is Water > Carbonated Water > Flavored Carbonated Water, ending at Flavored Carbonated Water (543534) on level 5. Not every branch below Water runs that far, so the category that fits your product may stop earlier than this one does.
How big is Water compared with the categories next to it?
It is second largest of the 15 at its level, carrying 6 categories below it. Inside it, Carbonated Water (543531) is the biggest branch with 2 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?
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