Please choose your target country from the drop-down menu below. The content will be specific to the target country you select.
United States
 
In order to prevent suspension of your feed please read the Google Shopping policies very carefully before creating a feed.
This page lists all the attributes you need to provide in order for your products to be listed in Google Shopping. Some attributes are required for all items, some are required for certain types of items (such as apparel), and others are recommended. Failure to provide a required attribute may prevent that particular item from showing up in Google Shopping results, whereas failure to provide recommended attributes may result in items showing up less frequently. Read through the entire document to make sure your products show up on Google Shopping. For a basic overview of feeds, see this article. Before creating your feed, choose the file format that is right for you.
We use the term item to describe a single product listing. If you are using Text or Tab delimited format, an item is equivalent to one line in your data feed. Items are similar to products, but we assume that products can occur in multiple variations. These variations - product variants - differ by color, material, pattern, or size. We use item to refer to a single variation of a product.
We also accept feeds formatted according to the Yandex specifications for data feeds targeting Russia.
  • If you are using a delimited format, you can use the attribute names in either English or the language of your target country. Make sure that the attribute names (e.g., 'condition') and values (e.g., 'new') are always in the same language.
  • If you are using XML or API, you must use English attribute names shown within the brackets.
  • If you are using XML or API, you must use an underscore in place for a space within an attribute name (e.g., "image_link" instead of "image link".) A space within an attribute value is allowed (e.g., "in stock").

Basic Product Information

The following attributes contain basic information about your items.
The identifier for each item has to be unique within your account, and cannot be re-used between feeds. If you have multiple feeds, ids of items within different feeds must still be unique. You can use any sequence of letters and digits for the item id.
When to include: Required for all items.
TypeAlphanumeric characters
Text/Tab delimitedtddy123uk
XMLtddy123uk
Important:
  • Once an item is submitted, the id must not change when you update your data feed or be used for a different product at a later point in time.
  • For Switzerland only: If your website is in multiple languages, submit one feed per language. You may re-use the same id for the same item in each version of the feed for each language.
This is the name of your item which is required. We recommend you include characteristics such as color or brand in the title which differentiates the item from other products.
When to include: Required for all items.
TypeText. Should not be longer than 70 characters
Text/Tab delimitedMens Pique Polo Shirt
XMLMens Pique Polo Shirt
Important:
  • Follow our Editorial guidelines closely. For example, do not include any promotional text such as "Free shipping", and do not use BLOCK CAPITALS.
  • For variant products, you are required to include the common title of the variant items. For example if “Mens Pique Polo Shirt” is available in red and blue colors, you can have one of the following titles:
    • Mens Pique Polo Shirt (Can be used for both variants)
    • Mens Pique Polo Shirt - Red (For the red shirt)
    • Mens Pique Polo Shirt - Blue (For the blue shirt)
  • For mobile devices bundled with service contracts, you may include a price value of 0.00 USD for your items. The items must be submitted with the ‘google product taxonomy’ value of ‘Electronics > Communications > Telephony > Mobile Phones’ for phones or 'Electronics > Computers > Tablet Computers' for tablets and include the phrase “with contract” (or equivalent language) in the ‘title’.
  • For mobile phones or tablets with payments plans in the US, submit the price of the downpayment as your ‘price’. The ‘title’ must include the phrase “with payment plan” (or equivalent language). For feeds targeting Brazil, please use the ‘installment’ attribute to submit mobile devices or tablets with payment plans. Phones or tablets with payment plans are not allowed in other target countries.
Include only information relevant to the item. Describe its most relevant attributes, such as size, material, intended age range, special features, or other technical specs. Also include details about the item’s most visual attributes, such as shape, pattern, texture, and design, since we may use this text for finding your item.
We recommend that you submit around 500 to 1,000 characters, but you can submit up to 10,000 characters. Descriptions should follow standard grammar rules and end with a punctuation mark.
When to include: Required for all items.
TypeText
Text/Tab delimitedSolid red, queen-sized bed sheets made from 100% woven polyester 300 thread count fabric. Set includes one fitted sheet, one flat sheet, and two standard pillowcases. Machine washable; extra deep fitted pockets.
XMLSolid red, queen-sized bed sheets made from 100% woven polyester 300 thread count fabric. Set includes one fitted sheet, one flat sheet, and two standard pillowcases. Machine washable; extra deep fitted pockets.
Important:
  • Make sure to follow our Editorial guidelines closely. For example, do not include any promotional text such as "Free shipping", do not use BLOCK CAPITALS, and do not include a description of your brand or company.
  • Additionally, the following information should not be included in descriptions:
    • Links to your store or other websites
    • Billing, payment, or sales information
    • References to internal categorization systems, e.g. "Toys & Games > Toys > Baby Dolls"
    • Comparisons to other products beyond the item you’re selling, e.g. “even better/faster/larger than X”
    • Details about other products, accessories, or similar items available
The 'google product category' attribute indicates the category of the product being submitted, according to the Google product taxonomy. This attribute accepts only one value, taken from the product taxonomy tree. If your items fall into multiple categories, include only one category which is the most relevant.
Any category from Google’s product taxonomy must include the full path. For example, 'Apparel & Accessories > Clothing > Jeans' is an acceptable value, but 'Jeans' is not.
When to include: For all target countries except Canada, India, and Russia, ‘google product category’ is required for all items that fall within the 'Apparel & Accessories', 'Media', and 'Software' categories. If your products do not fall into one of those categories - or if your feed targets Canada, India, or Russia - this attribute is recommended but not required.
TypePredefined values from Google's product taxonomy
Text/Tab delimitedApparel & Accessories > Clothing > Dresses
XMLApparel & Accessories > Clothing > Dresses
Additional category requirements: For items that fall into the categories listed below, the value you submit for ‘google product category’ must use the categories as they appear below or the more specific categories provided in the full Google product taxonomy. It is not sufficient to provide the highest-level categories, such as 'Apparel & Accessories' or ‘Media’, for these items.
  • 'Apparel & Accessories > Clothing'
  • 'Apparel & Accessories > Shoes'
  • 'Apparel & Accessories > Clothing Accessories > Sunglasses'
  • 'Apparel & Accessories > Handbags, Wallets & Cases > Handbags'
  • 'Apparel & Accessories > Jewelry > Watches'
  • 'Media > Books'
  • 'Media > DVDs & Movies'
  • 'Media > Music'
  • Software > Video Game Software' (Note: this category includes all computer games)
Category for bundles: Provide the most appropriate categorization for bundled products of differing product types. If the bundle contains a main product, the category of the main product is most appropriate. For example, if you are submitting a digital SLR camera bundled with a bag, ‘Cameras & Optics > Cameras > Digital Cameras’ is an appropriate category to submit for the bundled item.
Category for mobile devices or tables with a price of 0.00 USD: For mobile devices bundled with service contracts, you may include a price value of 0.00 USD for your items. The items must be submitted with the ‘google product taxonomy’ value of ‘Electronics > Communications > Telephony > Mobile Phones’ for phones or 'Electronics > Computers > Tablet Computers' for tablets and include the phrase “with contact” (or equivalent language) in the ‘title’.
Examples of ‘google product category’ submissions:
Leggings fall under the 'Apparel & Accessories > Clothing' category specified above. When submitting leggings:
  • Acceptable categories:
    • 'Apparel & Accessories > Clothing'
    • 'Apparel & Accessories > Clothing' > Pants'
    • 'Apparel & Accessories > Clothing' > Pants > Leggings'
  • Invalid categories
    • 'Apparel & Accessories'
    • Failing to provide any 'google product category'
Rings do not fall under the specific categories listed above. When submitting rings:
  • Acceptable categories:
    • 'Apparel & Accessories'
    • 'Apparel & Accessories > Jewelry
    • 'Apparel & Accessories'> Jewelry > Rings'
  • Invalid categories:
    • Failing to provide any 'google product category'
For all your items, conforming to the above guidelines is required. However, it is strongly recommended that you use the most specific applicable category for all your items from the full Google product taxonomy.
This attribute also indicates the category of the product being submitted, but you can provide your own classification. Unlike the 'Google product category', you can include more than one 'product type' attribute value if products apply to more than one category. Please include the full category string. For example, if your products belong inRefrigerators list the full string: Home & Garden > Kitchen & Dining > Kitchen Appliances > Refrigerators. Any separator such as > or / may be used.
When to include: Strongly recommended for all items if you have a categorization for your items.
TypeText. You may include multiple product types if it's appropriate for your item. Separate by a comma for tab-delimited; Include multiple attributes for XML.
Text/Tab delimitedHome & Garden > Kitchen & Dining > Appliances > Refrigerators
XMLHome & Garden > Kitchen & Dining > Appliances > Refrigerators
The user is sent to this URL when your item is clicked on Google Shopping. We also refer to this as the landing page. It must point to a page showing the exact item the user was looking at. You can use tracking URLs to distinguish users coming from Google Shopping.
The URL contained in this attribute is a direct link to your product page. In addition to the 'link' attribute, you may also specify an 'adwords redirect' attribute for tracking purposes. If you specify the 'adwords redirect' attribute, the user is sent to the URL specified in the 'adwords redirect' attribute. This URL must redirect to the same website as the one specified in the 'link' attribute. If you don’t specify the 'adwords redirect' attribute, the user is directly sent to the URL specified in the 'link' attribute
When to include: Required for all items.
TypeURL (this must include the http:// portion)
Text/Tab delimitedhttp://www.example.com/asp/sp.asp?cat=12&id=1030
XMLhttp://www.example.com/asp/sp.asp?cat=12&id=1030
Important:
  • Read our policies carefully. All your URLs must link directly to webpages about your products without pop ups. We don't allow landing pages requiring sign ups, passwords, or direct links to files/email addresses.
  • If you're performing maintenance on your site that affects your landing pages, you're required to remove your items from Google Shopping during that time.
  • If multiple products are on the same page, it has to be straightforward for the user to find the right product. We recommend only one product per page.
  • For variations of the same product, we recommend you submit URLs that pre-select the variant which the user clicked on in Google Shopping.
  • The URL must not redirect or forward to a location external to your site.
  • The URL must start with 'http://' or 'https://' and use the domain name you verified in Google Webmaster Tools and in the Settings of your Merchant Center account.
  • Any symbols used must be replaced by URL encoded entities (e.g. comma = %2C).
This is the URL of an associated image for a product.
If you have multiple different images of the item, submit the main image using this attribute, and include all other images in the 'additional image link' attribute.
Image size:
  • Submit the largest, full-size image you have for the product, up to 4MB file size.
  • We recommend images at least 800 pixels in height and width.
  • Do not scale up images or submit thumbnails.
  • For apparel products we require images of at least 250 x 250 pixels.
When to include: Required for all items.
TypeURL. (Must start with 'http://' or 'https://'.)
Text/Tab delimitedhttp://www.example.com/image1.jpg
XMLhttp://www.example.com/image1.jpg
Important:
  • If you have no image of the item, you cannot submit the item.
  • For products that fall under “Apparel & Accessories” and all corresponding sub-categories in feeds targeting the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP: If you are submitting product variants that differ in ‘‘color’, or ‘pattern’, or ‘material’, we require you to submit specific images corresponding to each of these variants. If you do not have the correct image for the variation of the product, you may not submit that variant. We recommend specific images for ‘size’ variants too. However, if these are not available you may submit the same image URL for items that differ in ‘size’.
  • For all other countries and categories: If you cannot provide the appropriate images to submit your items as variants, you may list your variant products as a single item with multiple values for the variant attributes and provide the available image.
  • The image must display the product. Do not submit a placeholder such as "No image", logo of the brand or logo of your store.
  • Images of products must not contain logos or other promotions within the image.
  • The main image of a multipack must display a single unit of the product.
Formatting:
  • The accepted image formats are non-animated GIF (.gif), JPEG (.jpg/.jpeg), PNG (.png), BMP (.bmp), and TIFF (.tif/.tiff) and the file extensions for these images should correspond to their format.
  • The accepted URL protocols are ‘http’ and ‘https’. Any symbols used within the image URL must be replaced by URL encoded entities (e.g. comma = %2C).
If you have additional images for this item, include them in this attribute. For example, if you have images that show the product from a different angle than the main image, or if you have images of the packaging or the product in various settings.
You can include up to 10 additional images per item by including the attribute multiple times. For tab-delimited, separate each URL by a comma. For XML, include each URL as a separate attribute.
When to include: For all items with multiple images.
TypeURL (Must include the http:// portion.)
Text/Tab delimitedhttp://www.example.com/image1.jpg
XML
http://www.example.com/image1.jpg
Important:
  • The same rules as for image link apply.
There are only three accepted values:
  • 'new': The product is brand-new and has never been used. It's in its original packaging which has not been opened.
  • 'refurbished': The product has been restored to working order. This includes, for example, remanufactured printer cartridges.
  • 'used': If the two previous values don't apply. For example, if the product has been used before or the original packaging has been opened or is missing.
When to include: Required for all items.
TypeThree predefined values accepted:
  • 'new'
  • 'used'
  • 'refurbished'
Text/Tab delimitedused
XMLused
Important:
  • If you are submitting the attribute names in English, you must provide the attribute values in English as well.

Availability & Price

The attributes in this section are required in order to specify the availability and prices of your items. The availability and prices of your items can change quite frequently, and you need to make sure Google is notified of these changes as they happen. You can find advice on providing the most up-to-date or fresh data here.
We regularly check these attributes, and if the values provided in these attributes are found to be different from the information presented on your website, we will remove all your items from Google Shopping. Please see our policies for more details.
The availability attribute only has four accepted values:
  • 'in stock': Include this value if you are certain that it will ship (or be in-transit to the customer) in 3 business days or less. For example, if you have the item available in your warehouse.
  • 'available for order': Include this value if it will take 4 or more business days to ship it to the customer. For example, if you don’t have it in your warehouse at the moment, but are sure that it will arrive in the next few days. For unreleased products, use the value 'preorder'
  • 'out of stock': You’re currently not accepting orders for this product. (Important tip: When your products are out of stock on your website, don't remove them from your data feed. Provide this value instead).
  • 'preorder': You are taking orders for this product, but it’s not yet been released.
When to include: Required for all items.
TypeFour predefined values accepted:
  • 'in stock'
  • 'available for order'
  • 'out of stock'
  • 'preorder'
Text/Tab delimitedin stock
XMLin stock
Important:
  • You need to clearly indicate the availability of an item on the item's landing page by either explicitly noting the status (such that it's clear which of the above values describe the availability of the item), or mention how many days it takes until the item ships.
  • Items that are no longer sold have to be removed from the feed entirely.
  • If you are submitting the attribute names in English, you must provide the attribute values in English as well.
The price of the item has to be the most prominent price on the landing page. If multiple items are on the same page with multiple prices, it has to be straightforward for the user to find the correct item and corresponding price.
When to include: Required for all items.
TypeNumber
Text/Tab delimited15.00 USD
XML15.00 USD
Important:
  • For the US, don't include tax in the price. For all other countries except Canada and India, value added tax (VAT) has to be included in the price.
  • The price must include a currency according to ISO 4217 Standard.
  • Make sure to read our policies in detail. Only items with fixed prices are allowed in Google Shopping. Items with variable prices, such as auctions, and prices that require a membership in a club are not allowed.
  • For items sold in bulk quantities, the price for the lowest purchasable number of items must be provided (not the per unit price) and the same price has to be straightforward to find on the landing page.
  • For products on sale, we recommend including the 'sale price' attribute and submit the regular price (before sale) in the 'price' attribute. In this case, the sale price (instead of the regular price) must be straightforward to find on the page.
  • You must not include a price value of 0.00 USD for your items. Items with zero prices may not appear in the search results (Note: The only exception is mobile devices bundled with service plans as detailed below).
  • For mobile devices bundled with service contracts, you may include a price value of 0.00 USD for your items. The items must be submitted with the ‘google product taxonomy’ value of ‘Electronics > Communications > Telephony > Mobile Phones’ for phones and 'Electronics > Computers > Tablet Computers' for tablets and include the phrase “with contract” (or equivalent language) in the ‘title’.
  • For mobile phones or tablets with payments plans in the US, submit the price of the downpayment as your ‘price’. The ‘title’ must include the phrase “with payment plan” (or equivalent language). For feeds targeting Brazil, please use the ‘installment’ attribute to submit mobile devices or tablets with payment plans. Phones or tablets with payment plans are not allowed in other target countries.
Please note that you can use unit pricing and 'installment' attributes to submit price-related information for applicable target countries.
Use this attribute to submit the advertised sale price of the item. Learn more about submitting sale price information.
When to include: Recommended for items on sale. If your item is on sale and you don’t include this attribute, the sale price must be updated as the value in the 'price' attribute.
FormatNumber
Text/Tab delimited15.00 USD
XML15.00 USD
Important:
  • You must still include the 'price' attribute in your feed, which must reflect the non-sale price you have previously sold the item for.
  • The price must include a currency.
  • Submitted sale prices must exactly match the price displayed on your website. Both prices must be displayed on the landing page (the regular price and the sale price), but the sale price must be most prominent.
  • You must not include a price value of 0.00 USD for your items. Items with zero prices may not appear in the search results.
Used in conjunction with sale price. This attribute indicates the date range during which the sale price applies. Learn more about submitting sale price information.
When to include: Recommended for items which use the 'sale price' attribute.
FormatStart and end dates separated by a forward slash (/). The start is specified by the format (YYYY-MM-DD), followed by the letter ‘T’, the time of the day when the sale starts, followed by an expression of the timezone for the sale. The end date should be in the same format.
Text/Tab delimited2011-03-01T13:00-0800/2011-03-11T15:30-0800
XML2011-03-01T13:00-0800/2011-03-11T15:30-0800

Unique Product Identifiers

Unique product identifiers are product codes or other identifying values associated with an individual product:
  • Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) submitted through the ‘gtin’ attribute. GTINs include UPCEAN (in Europe), JAN(in Japan), and ISBN;
  • Manufacturer Part Number (MPN) submitted through the 'mpn' attribute; and
  • The manufacturer's brand name in the 'brand' attribute.
Custom goods are one-of-a-kind items for which no unique product identifiers exist, like vintage goods, collectibles, art, perishables, books published before 1970, and other special items.

Unique Product Identifier Rules

  • Apparel categories: 'brand' is required. Additionally, for the categories listed below, you must submit at least 1 out of 'gtin' or 'mpn’:
    • 'Apparel & Accessories > Shoes'
    • 'Apparel & Accessories > Clothing Accesories > Sunglasses'
    • 'Apparel & Accessories > Handbags, Wallets & Cases > Handbags'
    • 'Apparel & Accessories > Jewelry > Watches'
  • Media and software categories: 'gtin' is required
  • All other categories: at least 2 of the following 3 identifiers are required: ‘brand’, ‘gtin’, and ‘mpn’.
  • Exception: in categories where unique product identifiers are required but no such identifier exists for an item (e.g. custom goods), submit 'identifier exists' with a value of FALSE.
If you don't provide the required unique product identifiers, your items may be removed from Google Shopping. For all of your items, we recommend submitting all three attributes (‘brand’, ‘mpn’, and ‘gtin’) where available.
When to include: Required according to the Unique Product Identifier Rules for all target countries except for Canada, India, and Russia. This attribute is recommended for Canada, India, and Russia.
TypeText
Text/Tab delimitedAcme
XMLAcme
Important:
  • You must not provide your store name as the brand unless you manufacture the product.
Use the 'gtin' attribute to submit Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) in one of the following formats:
  • UPC (in North America): 12-digit number such as 3234567890126
  • EAN (in Europe): 13-digit number such as 3001234567892
  • JAN (in Japan): 8 or 13-digit number such as 49123456 or 4901234567894
  • ISBN (for books): 10 or 13-digit number such as 0451524233. If you have both, only include 13-digit number.
When to include: Required according to the Unique Product Identifier Rules for all target countries except for Canada, India, and Russia. This attribute is recommended for Canada, India, Russia.
Type8-, 12-, or 13-digit number (UPC, EAN, JAN, or ISBN)
Text/Tab delimited3234567890126
XML3234567890126
A Manufacturer Part Number is used to reference and identify a product using a manufacturer specific naming other than GTIN.
When to include: Required according to the Unique Product Identifier Rules for all target countries except for Canada, India, and Russia. This attribute is recommended for Canada, India, and Russia.
TypeAlphanumeric characters
Text/Tab delimitedGO12345OOGLE
XMLGO1234568OOGLE
Important:
  • MPNs are assigned by a manufacturer. A merchant-assigned identifier is not an appropriate value for this attribute, except in cases where the seller is also the manufacturer of the item.
  • MPNs should typically be specific to a single unique product. For example, different colors of a product should have different MPNs.
In categories where unique product identifiers are required, merchants must submit the ‘identifier exists’ attribute with a value of FALSE when the item does not have unique product identifiers appropriate to its category, such as GTIN, MPN, and brand.
When to include: Required according to the Unique Product Identifier Rules for all target countries except for Canada, India, and Russia. This attribute is recommended for Canada, India, and Russia.
TypeBoolean: TRUE or FALSE
Text/Tab delimitedFALSE
XMLFALSE
Important:
  • When the attribute is not specified, the default value is TRUE.

Examples of unique product identifier submissions:

Books
  • Rare old books: submit ‘identifier exists’ with a value of FALSE.
  • New books (published after 1970): provide ISBN in the ‘gtin’ attribute.
Custom Goods
  • Hand made goods: submit ‘identifier exists’ with a value of FALSE.
  • Antique goods: submit ‘identifier exists’ with a value of FALSE.
Apparel
  • Mass produced clothing: provide ‘brand’.
  • Custom clothing: submit ‘identifier exists’ with a value of FALSE.
Multipacks
  • Manufacturer-defined multipack: follow the Unique Product Identifier Rules as described above. This multipack should be treated as a single item.
  • Merchant-defined multipack: follow the Unique Product Identifier Rules as described above for the individual base item in the multipack.
Product Bundles
  • A manufacturer-defined bundle (e.g., a camera body with a lens): follow the Unique Product Identifier Rules as described above. This bundle should be treated as a single item.
  • A merchant-defined bundle (e.g., a custom bundle of camera, lens, and case): submit ‘identifier exists’ with a value of FALSE for these items and do not provide unique product identifiers, even if the bundle contains some individual items that have unique product identifiers.

Apparel Products

Apparel includes all products that fall under 'Apparel & Accessories' (including all sub-categories) in Google’s product taxonomy.
For feeds targeting the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP:: The following attributes in this section are required across all products in the 'Apparel & Accessories' product category (including all subcategories):
  • gender
  • age group
  • color
In addition, the ‘size’ attribute is only required for the apparel subcategories 'Apparel & Accessories > Clothing' and 'Apparel & Accessories > Shoes'. Recommended for other product categories (might become required in the future).
For all other countries: While the apparel attributes listed here are not currently required for countries outside the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP, they may become required in the future. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you include all the relevant attributes where possible.
Three predefined values accepted:
  • Male
  • Female
  • Unisex
When to include: Required for all apparel items in feeds that target the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP. Recommended for other countries and product categories (might become required in the future).
FormatThere are only three values accepted:
  • Male
  • Female
  • Unisex
Text/Tab delimitedmale
XMLmale
Important
  • If you are submitting the attribute names in English, you must provide the attribute values in English as well.
  • This attribute is required for items in the ‘apparel and accessories’ category targeting the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP. However, this attribute is only recommended for ‘pinback buttons’, ‘tie clips’, ‘wristbands’, ‘shoe covers’, ‘shoe laces’, ‘spurs’, ‘watch bands’ within the ‘apparel and accessories’ category.
The only two accepted values of this attribute are:
  • Adult
  • Kids
When to include: Required for all apparel items in feeds that target the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP. Recommended for other countries and product categories (might become required in the future).
FormatThere are only two values accepted:
  • Adult
  • Kids
Text/Tab delimitedadult
XMLadult
Important:
  • If you are submitting the attribute names in English, you must provide the attribute values in English as well.
  • This attribute is required for items in the ‘apparel and accessories’ category targeting the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP. However, this attribute is only recommended for ‘pinback buttons’, ‘tie clips’, ‘wristbands’, ‘shoe covers’, ‘shoe laces’, ‘spurs’, ‘watch bands’ within the ‘apparel and accessories’ category.
  • If an item is not clearly just for ‘kids, it should be declared as ‘adult’, as only one value may be submitted per item.
Note: This attribute is also described in the section on Variant Products. Please do not submit two versions of this attribute per item.
This defines the dominant color(s) for an item. When a single item has multiple colors, you can submit up to two additional values as accent colors:
  • Combine the colors with ‘/’ in order of prominence (dominant color first, then at most two accent colors). For example, a black shoe with green accents should have a color value of 'Black / Green'. In the case of non-deformable goods in Apparel like jewelry or wooden accessories where finishes or materials are equivalent to color, the finish or material name can be submitted in the color attribute (e.g., 'Mahogany' vs. 'Stainless Steel' vs. 'Rose Gold').
  • Limit the number of colors submitted to three values.
  • If you're using XML, you must represent the '/' with /
When to include: Required for all apparel items in feeds that target the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP. Recommended for other countries and product categories (might become required in the future).
TypeText
Text/Tab delimitedBlack
XMLBlack
What not to include:
  • Color values that contain numbers (e.g., '0 2 4 6 8')
  • Color values that contain non-alphanumeric characters (e.g., '#fff000')
  • Single letter color values (e.g., 'G') in Latin-based languages. Single letter color values in Chinese-Japanese-Korean languages (e.g., '红') are acceptable.
  • Color values that reference the product or product image (e.g., 'see image')
  • Descriptive values that are not actually valid color names (e.g. multicolor, various, variety, see image, N/A)
  • Long color values exceeding 40 characters
  • Long color values that are aggregates of several other colors (e.g., RedPinkBlue). Instead:
    • If you are trying to indicate multiple colors for a single item (not product variants), specify a primary color, optionally followed by at most two secondary colors, separated by a '/'. Here replace RedPinkBlue withRed/Pink/Blue
    • If you are trying to indicate multiple colors for multiple similar items (product variants), submit these as separate products each with the same item group ID and a different color value.
A note on invalid submissions:
  • If you submit a color value that violates the syntactic rules above, we may reject the entire item at the time of feed submission.
  • We regularly verify the correctness of the attributes you submit, including color. If the values provided are found to be incorrect, we may remove all of your items from Google Shopping.
Important:
  • This attribute is required for all items in the ‘Apparel & Accessories’ category targeting the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP.
  • For apparel variants submitted to the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP: Each different color or color combination must be submitted as its own item, in conjunction with the 'item group id'. Visit submitting apparel products for more details.
  • Use consistent names of colors across variants of the same product, as well as across multiple products of the same category.
  • The values you provide may be displayed to users, so provide values that they will be able to understand.
Note: This attribute is also described in the section on Variant Products. Please do not include two versions of this attribute per item.
This indicates the size of a product. You may any provide values which are appropriate to your items. Examples for sizing values can be found in this article.
When to include: Required for all apparel items in the 'clothing' and 'shoes' product categories in feeds that target the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP. Recommended for other countries and product categories (might become required in the future).
TypeText
Text/Tab delimitedXL
XMLXL
Important:
  • This attribute is required for ‘clothing’ and ‘shoes’ sub-categories within the ‘apparel and accessories’ category targeting the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP.
  • For apparel variants submitted to the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP: Each different size or size combination must be submitted as its own item, in conjunction with the 'item group id'. Visit submitting apparel products for more details.
  • If sizes are complex, condense them into one value (e.g., “16/34 Tall” for neck size 16 inches, sleeve length 34 inches, and “Tall” fit).
  • Use consistent size values across variants of the same product, as well as across multiple products of the same category. For example, within a group of t-shirts, use “S”, “M” , and “L” as sizes, not “S”, “Medium” , and “Lrg”.
  • You may use the same ‘image’ URL value for size variants if specific images are not available but we recommend that the ‘link’ attribute leads to a page which specifies all the details about the variant item.
  • The values you provide may be displayed to users, so provide values that they will be able to understand.
Submitting variant apparel products
If you have apparel products which vary by ‘size’, ‘color’, ‘pattern’, or ‘material’, you must include all the required attributes outlined in this section, and also follow the approach outlined below.

Product Variants

We define variants as a group of identical products that only differ by the attributes ‘color’, ‘material’, ‘pattern’, or ‘size’.
Variant-level information is required only for products in the “'Apparel & Accessories' category, and all related subcategories. Apparel variants are only required for feeds targeting the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP. For feeds targeting other countries, the attributes are recommended and may be required in the future.
If you don't include variant attributes in your feed, you shouldn't submit several variants of the same product as separate listings (ex: the same product in different colors, sizes). These items will be considered as duplicates which is against our Program Policies. You can find more details about submitting variant data below.
By submitting variant products, you will help shoppers find what they are looking for more easily by either enabling them to navigate between the different product variations on a details page or helping them discover additional colors, sizes, patterns etc. for a given product.
How to submit variant data
  • Begin by submitting an item for each variant. For example, if you offer a t-shirt in 4 colors and 5 sizes, you need to submit 20 item variants.
  • Include unique ‘id’ attribute values for each item variant, just like you would for all the other items in your feed.
  • To identify these items as variants of one another, you are required to include the ‘item group id’ attribute (required for apparel items in the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP) and submit identical values of this attribute for each variant in a given group.
  • Include variant attributes that indicate what makes each variant unique . You can use one or more of the following attributes: ‘color’, ‘material’, ‘pattern’, or ‘size’.
  • You must only include single values for each of these variant attributes and the values of these attributes must be unique across all variants in the group. For example: If one item in a variant group includes the values “Blue” and “L” for the ‘color’ and ‘size’ attributes, all other items in the variant group must have values for ‘color’ and ‘size’, and each offer must have a different combination of values for those attributes.
  • You only need to send us data for variant attributes if your product varies by that specific attribute. So, if your shirts are all made of cotton, there’s no need to send the “Material” attribute. However, if your shirts were available in three colors and three sizes, you would send us nine separate line items, varying by color and size.
  • For apparel items, it is required that you provide a unique image of the specific variant if the item differs by ‘color’, ‘pattern’ or ‘material’. For variants that differ only by ‘size’, you may submit identical images. We recommend sending separate images for variant products in other categories as well. But at this time we will not enforce this as a requirement for any category other than Apparel & Accessories.
  • We also recommend you submit URL links that pre-select the variant. For example, if a user selects the red dress in size 10, they should be taken to a landing page, where the “red” and “size 10” options are already selected. If this is not possible, you may include identical link attribute values for each of the variant items within a group.
For apparel variants in feeds targeting the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP:
For apparel products that vary by 'color', 'material', 'pattern', and/or 'size', it is required to include the ‘item group id’ for each variant, where each item has a unique combination of attribute values to describe each variant.
For all other countries and categories:
All variant attributes in this section are recommended for apparel- and non-apparel variants, but may become required in the future. However, If you choose to include ‘item group id’, it is required that you also include at least one of the following variant attributes: ‘color’, ‘size’, ‘pattern’, ‘material’ and following the corresponding variant guidelines.
Please see this article for more information on submitting variant apparel products.
Important: When naming your variant products, be sure to include the title common to all variant items. Visit the ‘title’ attribute for more details.
All items that are color/material/pattern/size variants of the same product must have the same item group id. If you have a “Parent SKU” that is shared by all variants of a product, you can provide that as the value for 'item group id'.
When to include:Required for variant apparel products in the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP. For other countries, if variant data is submitted with specific images then include the ‘item group ID’.
TypeAlphanumeric code
Text/Tab delimitedAB12345
XMLAB12345
Important:
  • This attribute is required only for variant apparel products in the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP.
  • The ‘Item group id’ attribute is different from the ‘ID’ attribute. An ‘Item group ID’ attribute will have common values for a group of variants whereas the ‘ID’ attribute should have unique values across a group of variants and for all other items, as well.
  • The values provided for item group id must be unique between products, and only shared by items that are variants of the same product.
  • If you send us an ‘item group id’ attribute, we will automatically look for variant attributes. Conversely, if you did send us ‘Item group id’, you should ensure you send us at least one variant attribute.
Note: This attribute is also described in the section on Apparel Products. Please do not submit two versions of this attribute per item.
This defines the dominant color(s) for an item. When a single item has multiple colors, you can submit up to two additional values as accent colors:
  • Combine the colors with ‘/’ in order of prominence (dominant color first, then at most two accent colors). For example, a black shoe with green accents should have a color value of 'Black / Green'. In the case of non-deformable goods in Apparel like jewelry or wooden accessories where finishes or materials are equivalent to color, the finish or material name can be submitted in the color attribute (e.g., 'Mahogany' vs. 'Stainless Steel' vs. 'Rose Gold').
  • Limit the number of colors submitted to three values.
  • If you're using XML, you must represent the '/' with /
When to include: Required for all apparel items in feeds that target the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP. Recommended for other countries and product categories (might become required in the future).
TypeText
Text/Tab delimitedBlack
XMLBlack
What not to include:
  • Color values that contain numbers (e.g., '0 2 4 6 8')
  • Color values that contain non-alphanumeric characters (e.g., '#fff000')
  • Single letter color values (e.g., 'G') in Latin-based languages. Single letter color values in Chinese-Japanese-Korean languages (e.g., '红') are acceptable.
  • Color values that reference the product or product image (e.g., 'see image')
  • Descriptive values that are not actually valid color names (e.g. multicolor, various, variety, see image, N/A)
  • Long color values exceeding 40 characters
  • Long color values that are aggregates of several other colors (e.g., RedPinkBlue). Instead:
    • If you are trying to indicate multiple colors for a single item (not product variants), specify a primary color, optionally followed by at most two secondary colors, separated by a '/'. Here replace RedPinkBlue withRed/Pink/Blue
    • If you are trying to indicate multiple colors for multiple similar items (product variants), submit these as separate products each with the same item group ID and a different color value.
A note on invalid submissions:
  • If you submit a color value that violates the syntactic rules above, we may reject the entire item at the time of feed submission.
  • We regularly verify the correctness of the attributes you submit, including color. If the values provided are found to be incorrect, we may remove all of your items from Google Shopping.
Important:
  • This attribute is required for all items in the ‘Apparel & Accessories’ category targeting the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP.
  • For apparel variants submitted to the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP: Each different color or color combination must be submitted as its own item, in conjunction with the 'item group id'. Visit submitting apparel products for more details.
  • Use consistent names of colors across variants of the same product, as well as across multiple products of the same category.
  • The values you provide may be displayed to users, so provide values that they will be able to understand.
The material or fabric that a product is made out of. For example, a high heel pump might have values of “Leather”, “Denim”, “Suede”, etc.
When to include: Required for all apparel variants that differ by material for feeds that target the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP. Recommended for other countries and product categories (might become required in the future).
TypeText
Text/Tab delimitedLeather
XMLLeather
Important:
  • For apparel variants submitted to the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP: Each item that differs in ‘material’ must be submitted as its own item, in conjunction with the 'item group id'.
  • The values you provide may be displayed to users, so provide values that they will be able to understand.
The pattern or graphic print featured on a product. For example, a t-shirt might have a logo of a sports team and have pattern values of “Bears”, “Tigers”, etc. A dress might come in two prints, and have pattern values of “Polka Dot”, “Striped”, “Paisley”, etc.
As a rule of thumb, if a user can choose to select different patterns on the landing page of your product, include all variant items in the same item group. Otherwise, use separate item groups.
When to include: Required for all apparel variants that differ by pattern for feeds that target the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP. Recommended for other countries and product categories(might become required in the future).
TypeText
Text/Tab delimitedStriped
XMLStriped
Important:
  • For apparel variants submitted to the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP: Each item that differs in ‘pattern’ must be submitted as its own item, in conjunction with the 'item group id'.
  • The values you provide may be displayed to users, so provide values that they will be able to understand.
Note: This attribute is also described in the section on Variant Products. Please do not include two versions of this attribute per item.
This indicates the size of a product. You may any provide values which are appropriate to your items. Examples for sizing values can be found in this article.
When to include: Required for all apparel items in the 'clothing' and 'shoes' product categories in feeds that target the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP. Recommended for other countries and product categories.
TypeText
Text/Tab delimitedXL
XMLXL
Important:
  • The values you provide may be displayed to users, so provide values that they will be able to understand.
  • For apparel variants submitted to the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP: Each different size or size combination must be submitted as its own item, in conjunction with the 'item group id'. Visit submitting apparel products for more details.
  • If sizes are complex, condense them into one value (e.g., “16/34 Tall” for neck size 16 inches, sleeve length 34 inches, and “Tall” fit).
  • Use consistent size values across variants of the same product, as well as across multiple products of the same category. For example, within a group of t-shirts, use “S”, “M” , and “L” as sizes, not “S”, “Medium” , and “Lrg”.
  • You may use the same ‘image’ URL value for size variants if specific images are not available but we recommend that the ‘link’ attribute leads to a page which specifies all the details about the variant item.

Tax & Shipping

Taxes and shipping are an important part of the total cost of items. In fact, shipping cost is the most common reason for users abandoning their shopping choices. The 'tax' attribute is only applicable to feeds targeting the US - for all other countries except for Canada and India, value added tax (VAT) has to be included in the price. For Canada and India, it is required to submit prices that are exclusive of applicable taxes.
There are three ways to specify tax (US only) and shipping costs:
  1. Settings in the Merchant Center: We offer various ways to specify tax and shipping costs if your pricing structure is relatively simple. For example, if you have one shipping price for all your items, or if you use a structure based on the weight of the packaged item (in that case, include the shipping weight attribute), our system can easily accommodate your tax and shipping information. Learn more.
  2. Attributes in the feed: By using the tax and shipping attributes below, you can model more complex tax and shipping cost structures.
  3. Combination of the two: You can specify default tax and shipping information in the Merchant Center, and then override those defaults for certain products by specifying the attributes below.
You are required to use one of the ways above to specify tax and shipping in the US, and only shipping information in the UK, Germany and France.
If you can’t provide accurate tax or shipping information, please provide estimates. For example, you can provide tax as well as shipping cost for each product and state individually by using the tax and shipping attributes. Please estimate tax and shipping costs such that the total cost in Google Shopping results is either correct or overestimated for the majority of users.
The tax attribute is an item-level override for merchant-level tax settings as defined in your Google Merchant Center account. This attribute is only accepted in the US, if your feed targets a country outside of the US, please do not use this attribute.
This attribute has four parts:
  • country (optional): The country an item is taxed in according to ISO 3166 standard (at the moment, it's always 'US')
  • region (optional): The geographic region that a tax rate applies to. In the US, the two-letter state abbreviation, ZIP code, or ZIP code range using * wildcard.
  • rate (required): The tax rate as a percent of the item price, i.e., a number as a percentage
  • tax_ship (optional): Boolean value for whether you charge tax on shipping, y for yes or n for no - the default value is n
You can include this attribute up to 100 times to specify taxes for each state individually. If you decide to submit it explicitly for each state, make sure to cover every state (even the states where you do not charge tax). Note you can also specify that you charge no tax for a state.
When to include: For items in feeds which target the US, use this attribute if you want to specify taxes for a particular item, or you want to override the default tax costs specified in the Merchant Center settings. If you do not provide tax information using one of these methods for each item, your items won’t show up in Google Shopping results.Learn more.
TypeEach tax attribute group consists of four sub-attributes:

NameRequirementDescriptionExamples
countryrequiredThe country an item is taxed in (as an ISO 3166country code)US
regionoptionalThe geographic region that a tax rate applies to, e.g., in the US, the two-letter state abbreviation, ZIP code, or ZIP code range using * wildcardCA, 946*
raterequiredThe tax rate as a percent of the item price, i.e., number, as a percentage5.00
tax_shipoptionalBoolean value for whether you charge tax on shipping, 'y' for yes or 'n' for no - the default value is 'n'y
Note: You can submit multiple values for this attribute.
Text/Tab delimitedSeparate each sub-attribute with a colon, and each tax attribute group with a comma. Do not enclose sub-attribute values within quotations. All colons, even for blank values, are required, i.e., three colons are required.
::0:
US::0:
US:CA:8.25:y,US:926*:8.75:y
XMLThe four sub-attributes are country, region, rate, and tax ship. Include each tax attribute group as a separate attribute.

   US
   MA
   5.00
   y