product_type
Your own internal product taxonomy — free-form, hierarchical, used by you to segment your catalog for product set rules, reporting, and campaign structure. Separate from `google_product_category`, which uses Google's published taxonomy.
Also known as: product_category , internal_category
Channel support
| Channel | Status | Field name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Merchant Center | Recommended | product_type | Strongly recommended even though optional — it's the field PMax product groups filter on. Docs → |
| Meta Commerce Manager | Recommended | product_type | Used as a product set rule filter in Advantage+ Catalog Ads. |
| TikTok Shop | Optional | category_path | — |
| Pinterest Catalog | Recommended | product_type | — |
| Amazon | Not supported | — | Use Amazon's browse-node taxonomy instead. |
| Bing Merchant Center | Recommended | product_type | — |
Why it matters
`product_type` is the field channels use when you build product set rules. Where `google_product_category` controls policy and broad ad eligibility, `product_type` controls how *you* segment within those bounds — what ends up in your high-margin product set, your seasonal set, your new-arrivals set.
`product_type` is your taxonomy, complementary to Google's. Where `google_product_category` controls policy and broad ad eligibility, `product_type` controls how you segment within those bounds — what ends up in your "high-margin" product set, your "seasonal" set, your "new-arrivals" set. The two work together: Google's taxonomy is the rules engine, your taxonomy is the strategy layer.
Most starter feeds either skip `product_type` entirely or set it equal to `google_product_category`. Both are wasted opportunities. The field exists to model your catalog the way *you* think about it. A retailer might use sub-brand hierarchies; a marketplace might use fulfillment-method hierarchies; a niche store might use customer-segment hierarchies. The depth and structure are up to you.
The one rule worth following: be consistent. `Apparel > Mens > Outerwear > Jackets > Lightweight` and `Apparel > Men > Outerwear > Jacket > Light` create two product sets that should be one, and the algorithm can't tell that's a typo. Pick a vocabulary, document it, enforce it at feed-generation time.
Format rules
-
Hierarchical, separated by ' > ' (space-arrow-space)
Applies to: Google Merchant Center, Meta Commerce Manager, Pinterest Catalog, Bing Merchant Center
-
Maximum 750 characters
Applies to: Google Merchant Center
-
Free-form — no canonical taxonomy to match against
Applies to: Google Merchant Center, Meta Commerce Manager, Pinterest Catalog, Bing Merchant Center
-
Consistency across SKUs matters — 'Apparel > Mens' and 'Apparel > Men' create two product sets that should be one
Applies to: Google Merchant Center, Meta Commerce Manager, Pinterest Catalog, Bing Merchant Center
Valid examples
Apparel > Mens > Outerwear > Jackets > Lightweight Deep hierarchy useful for granular product sets
Home & Garden > Kitchen > Cookware > Frying Pans > Non-stick Combines vertical and material classification
Common mistakes
Mens jackets, lightweight, outerwear Comma-separated tags — not hierarchical, won't power product sets
Misc Catch-all bucket defeats the purpose
Related fields
google_product_category Assigns each product to a node in Google's predefined product taxonomy — ~6,000 hierarchical categories covering all major retail verticals. The single most consequential categorisation field in any modern feed.
Read morecustom_label_0 The first of five free-text custom label fields you can use to tag products with your own segmentation logic — margin tiers, ROAS bands, seasonal flags, anything that's useful for product set rules or campaign segmentation.
Read moreCommon issues involving this field
Related tools
FAQ
Can product_type be the same as google_product_category?
It can, and many starter feeds do this. But you're throwing away the field's value. `product_type` lets you model your catalog the way *you* think about it — by margin, by season, by sub-brand — separately from how Google thinks about it.
How deep should the product_type hierarchy go?
Deep enough that any product set rule you want to write can target a single product_type prefix. If you find yourself writing 'product_type contains X AND custom_label_0 = Y' rules, you probably need to push X deeper into product_type.
Does product_type affect SEO or ad delivery?
Not directly — it's not a public-facing field. But because Advantage+ and PMax use it for product set rules, getting it right indirectly drives delivery quality through better segmentation.
Last reviewed: 26 May 2026
Why wait? Try it free today.
Stop managing feeds manually. Start optimising with AI in 30 seconds.
- Free plan, no credit card required
- 1 brand, 1 feed, 100,000 products per feed
- Full AI Product Optimisation, Rule Engine, and 200+ channel exports
- Pay only for AI credits when you need them