Google product taxonomy · 2021-09-21
Writing & Drawing Instruments
The Google product category ID for Writing & Drawing Instruments is 977. It sits under Office Instruments 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.
This branch8
- Category ID
- 977
- Direct subcategories
- 7
- Categories below it in total
- 16
- Depth, on a branch that runs 7
- 3 / 7
- Others at this level
- 10
- Parent category
- Office Instruments
- 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, Writing & Drawing Instruments is the largest of the 11 categories under Office Instruments, with 16 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.
Writing & Drawing InstrumentsPens & PencilsPencilsWriting PencilsMechanical Pencils
The longest route down from here runs 4 more levels, ending at Mechanical Pencils (543660) on level 7: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clipboards | 935 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Magnifiers | 941 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pencil Sharpeners | 943 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Staplers | 947 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Writing & Drawing Instruments — this page | 977 | 7 | 16 | 4 |
| Call Bells | 2883 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Office Rubber Stamps | 4341 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Writing & Drawing Instrument Accessories | 4470 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Staple Removers | 4499 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tape Dispensers | 503746 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Letter Openers | 505830 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Using this value
Either form of this value goes in the google_product_category attribute: the numeric ID (977) or the full path ("Office Supplies > Office Instruments > Writing & Drawing 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 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 | 977 |
| SKU-1001 | Your product title | Office Supplies > Office Instruments > Writing & Drawing 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, 977, is the form that does not depend on how the file is quoted.
What sits under Writing & Drawing Instruments
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. Pens & Pencils (6065) is the largest with 7 categories beneath it, so most of what sits under Writing & Drawing Instruments sits under that one name. 2 of the 7 carry subcategories of their own and the remaining 5 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 Writing & Drawing Instruments
What is the Google product category ID for Writing & Drawing Instruments?
977. The full path, "Office Supplies > Office Instruments > Writing & Drawing 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 Writing & Drawing Instruments or one of its subcategories?
Prefer a subcategory when one fits: Writing & Drawing Instruments has 7 directly below it, starting with Art Charcoals (2623), Chalk (978), Crayons (979), and 16 in total further down. 977 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 Writing & Drawing Instruments sit in the taxonomy?
At level 3, under Office Instruments (2986). The chain from the top is Office Supplies → Office Instruments → Writing & Drawing Instruments. If your product does not belong under Office Instruments, it does not belong here either — check the level above before going deeper.
What should I use if Writing & Drawing Instruments is not quite right?
Look across the rest of Office Instruments first — there are 10 other categories at this level: Call Bells (2883), Clipboards (935), Letter Openers (505830), Magnifiers (941), Office Rubber Stamps (4341), Pencil Sharpeners (943), and 4 more. If none of them fits either, the problem is higher up: go back to Office Instruments (2986) 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 Writing & Drawing Instruments?
4 levels more. The longest route down from Writing & Drawing Instruments is Writing & Drawing Instruments > Pens & Pencils > Pencils > Writing Pencils > Mechanical Pencils, ending at Mechanical Pencils (543660) on level 7. Not every branch below Writing & Drawing Instruments runs that far, so the category that fits your product may stop earlier than this one does.
How big is Writing & Drawing Instruments compared with the categories next to it?
It is the largest of the 11 at its level, carrying 16 categories below it. Inside it, Pens & Pencils (6065) is the biggest branch with 7 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 Writing & Drawing Instruments and Writing & Drawing Instrument Accessories?
They sit side by side under Office Instruments and start with the same word, which is why they get swapped. Writing & Drawing Instruments is 977; Writing & Drawing Instrument Accessories is 4470. The paths are the reliable way to tell them apart — compare "Office Supplies > Office Instruments > Writing & Drawing Instruments" with "Office Supplies > Office Instruments > Writing & Drawing Instrument Accessories" before you submit.
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