How to Categorize Products for Google Shopping

Understanding Google Product Taxonomy

Google Product Taxonomy is the official categorization standard used by Google Shopping, Merchant Center, and many other platforms worldwide. With over 6,000 categories spanning all product types, it has become the de facto standard for product classification across the e-commerce industry.

When you submit products to Google Shopping, proper categorization using the google_product_category attribute is essential for ad approval, accurate targeting, and optimal performance. Products with incorrect or missing categories may be disapproved, shown to irrelevant audiences, or perform poorly in Shopping campaigns. Google uses these categories to match your products with relevant search queries and shopping intent.

The Google Product Taxonomy uses a hierarchical structure with categories separated by " > " symbols. For example, "Electronics > Computers > Laptops" represents a three-level category path. Google recommends using the most specific category available for your product type. Our AI-powered API automatically identifies the optimal category path for maximum visibility and ad performance.

Google Product Taxonomy Structure

Google's taxonomy is organized hierarchically with 21 top-level categories and thousands of subcategories. Each product should be assigned to the most specific applicable category for optimal Shopping performance.

Top-Level Google Categories

API Integration Guide

Integrate our Google Shopping categorization API into your application or product feed workflow.

import requests

def categorize_for_google(product_description, api_key):
    base_url = "https://www.productcategorization.com/api/ecommerce/ecommerce_category6_get.php"
    params = {
        "query": product_description,
        "api_key": api_key,
        "data_type": "google"
    }
    response = requests.get(base_url, params=params)
    return response.json()

# Example usage
result = categorize_for_google(
    "Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Gen Wireless Earbuds with MagSafe",
    "your_api_key_here"
)
print(f"Google Category: {result['category']}")

async function categorizeForGoogle(productDescription, apiKey) {
    const baseUrl = 'https://www.productcategorization.com/api/ecommerce/ecommerce_category6_get.php';
    const params = new URLSearchParams({
        query: productDescription,
        api_key: apiKey,
        data_type: 'google'
    });
    const response = await fetch(`${baseUrl}?${params}`);
    return response.json();
}

// Example usage
categorizeForGoogle('Nike Air Max 270 Running Shoes Mens Size 10', 'your_api_key')
    .then(result => console.log('Google Category:', result.category));