When it comes to Google Shopping feeds, some attributes look straightforward...until you dig a little deeper. Google Product Category is one of those. On the surface, it's just picking a category from Google's taxonomy, right? But underneath, it tells a bigger story about how Google has shifted over time in how it reads your catalog—and how much influence you actually have.

In this video, we dive into what the Google Product Category attribute really is today, how it's changed (spoiler: it's no longer required!), when you should override Google's guesses, and why relying too much on it can actually hold your campaigns back. If you care about sending cleaner, smarter signals to Google’s algorithm, this is a feed attribute you need to understand.

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Part 1 - Video Transcript (Edited for Readability)

Hello Merchant Center Mastery friends! Excited to share another video with you today—though I clearly still need to work on my intros and outros.

Today’s topic: Google Product Category.

This fits into one of our video series focusing on individual feed attributes. The cool thing? Google is constantly improving Merchant Center attributes. Sure, it can be frustrating when things change, but honestly, a lot of these updates have been really smart. (For example, minimum advertised price—MAP—issues are handled much better today.)

Google Product Category has changed too. Here’s the short version:

• It used to be required for Shopping feeds.
• As of March 27, 2019, it’s no longer required.
• Google now automatically assigns a category if you don't submit one.

So even if you don’t fill it out, your products are still categorized—just maybe not how you want!

What’s the difference now?
Google Product Category is optional, but it matters in four specific use cases where manual overrides are helpful:

1. Calculating US sales tax correctly.
2. Enforcing attribute requirements for certain verticals (like apparel).
3. Targeting campaigns based on category.
4. Correctly classifying alcohol products.

That said, I don’t recommend using Google Product Category for campaign segmentation. It's an outdated and limited system compared to using Product Type—which better reflects how you categorize your products, matches your audiences, and helps you control bids smarter.

Bottom line: Understand Google Product Category, but build your Shopping structures around Product Type. It's a subtle shift that can lead to a much stronger feed and campaign strategy.

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Part 2 - Video Transcript (Edited for Readability)

How should you structure your product type in Google Merchant Center?
It’s a balance. On one hand, dynamically generated product types (like those pulled from Shopify via Simprosys) help automate updates. On the other, there’s real value in creating intentional, well-structured taxonomies that give Google better context.

We often recommend Simprosys for Shopify clients—it’s affordable and works well. But here's the catch: it syncs Shopify product types directly into Merchant Center, and those are often single-word values like “Marine” or “Cycling.” They aren’t wrong… just not very descriptive.

There are times we leave those as-is—especially for clients with thousands of SKUs and small budgets where manual editing isn’t realistic. But even then, you need a process to monitor new SKUs and how they affect campaign structures if you rely on product type segmentation.

Pro tip: use an “Everything Else” ad group to catch any products that slip through your filters. Once you see spend accruing there, it’s your signal that new SKUs may need to be sorted.

For clients with tighter product ranges or more budget flexibility, it’s worth building a custom product type structure. Think in terms of tiers. Start broad and go deeper:

• Cycling > Accessories > Phone Mounts > Road Bike Phone Mounts
• Or: Phones & Accessories > Phone Mounts > Cycling > Road Bike

Both approaches are valid—it depends on how you categorize and advertise. What matters most is that it’s intentional and reflects real buying behavior.

A well-built product type structure also unlocks powerful reporting in Google Ads. Want to know how “Phone Mounts” perform across all categories? That’s possible when your taxonomy is clean and tiered.

Finally, remember: Google recommends at least three tiers in your product types. And being descriptive—yes, even a little keyword-stuffy—is still useful. For example:

• Cycling > Bicycle Accessories > Phone Mounts > Road Bike Mounts

That tells Google more than just “Accessories.”

So whether you're automating or hand-crafting your taxonomy, take the time to think it through. Product type isn't just an attribute—it's a strategic lever.

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