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The Google Product Category [google_product_category] attribute is used to categorize an item. This category is selected from the Google’s taxonomy. The full list of product categories can be found here.
Placing products in product categories is designed to help potential customers navigate their way to your product.
This makes it paramount that you select the correct category for your product. Otherwise, you may end up with customers struggling to find what they are looking for.
For some item types, using a Google product category is required. These include items within Clothing & Accessories, Media & Software.
Otherwise, using the product category data feed attribute is entirely optional. However, it is recommended. It will help Google identify your product and match it to a potential customer’s search.
Having the most accurate descriptions and attributes for each item will also help to improve click-through-rate in campaigns.
The more accurate your attributions, the more often you’ll be shown to the right searches. This improves both actual and expected CTR (click-through-rate).
The following are the bare-minimum requirements that must be adhered to to ensure your product is approved and shows up for relevant searches.
Related: How to Fix Incorrectly Assigned Google Product Category
Aside from the minimum requirements, there are a number of best practices for product categories to help boost campaign performance. These are as follows:
Google Product Categories are essential for certain categories. Where it’s not required, it’s still recommended to use the product category attribute.
It helps improve the relevancy of your product and helps to match this to a customer’s search.
DataFeedWatch is data feed optimization and management software that enables merchants on Magento, Shopify, Volusion, 3Dcart, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, OpenCart, VersaCommerce, and numerous other shopping carts to optimize their product data feed for Google and 2000+ Shopping Channels in 60 countries. The most intuitive and easy data feed management and optimization tool on the market. Free trial and live demo available.