Google Merchant Center plays a vital role in making your eCommerce products visible in Shopping Ads. While most advertisers focus on getting their feed approved and running ads, one often overlooked element—Google Merchant Center Product Types—can make a significant impact on your campaigns.
Product Types are not just about feed organization—they are crucial for two reasons:
- Segmenting Shopping Campaigns: Broad Product Types (Levels 1 and 2) help structure your campaigns and allocate budgets.
- Adding Long-Tail Keywords: Detailed Product Types (Levels 3 and beyond) align with specific, purchase-intent-driven search queries, driving better traffic and ROAS.
Let’s dive deeper into why adding and optimizing Product Types is essential for success. According to Google’s Merchant Center Help documentation, Product Types can improve how your ads are structured, targeted, and ultimately perform.
What Are Google Merchant Center Product Types?
Product Types are labels you define to categorize your products in Google Merchant Center. Unlike Google’s predefined product categories, Product Types are entirely up to you, giving you flexibility to structure your feed according to your business needs.
For example, if you sell clothing, your Product Type could look like this:
Clothing > Women’s Clothing > Dresses > Maxi Dresses
This hierarchy not only helps organize your products but also plays a critical role in campaign segmentation and keyword strategy, as we’ll explore below.
Product Types act as the backbone of your Shopping campaigns. They enable better ad group segmentation, making it easier to target specific products or categories. Without them, your campaigns might lack focus, leading to inefficiencies in ad spend.
For instance:
- Broad Product Types, like Clothing > Women’s Clothing, allow you to group similar products together for top-level campaign segmentation.
- Detailed Product Types, like Clothing > Women’s Clothing > Dresses > Maxi Dresses > Summer Maxi Dresses target more specific searches, ensuring your ads appear in front of high-intent shoppers.
Unlocking Long-Tail Keywords with Google Merchant Center Product Types
This is where Product Types truly shine.Beyond feed organization, Product Types—particularly at deeper levels—are a hidden treasure for generating long-tail keywords, which can significantly boost your Shopping campaign performance.Using Broad Merchant Center Product Types for Campaign Segmentation
The first two levels of Product Types (e.g.,Clothing > Women’s Clothing) serve as broad categorizations. These are ideal for structuring Shopping campaigns and allocating budgets. For example:- Campaign 1: Clothing > Women’s Clothing
- Campaign 2: Clothing > Men’s Clothing
Leveraging Google Merchant Center Product Types 3 and Beyond for Long-Tail Keywords
The deeper levels of Product Types (e.g., Clothing > Women’s Clothing > Dresses > Maxi Dresses > Summer Maxi Dresses) are where the magic happens. These labels reflect highly specific product attributes and align directly with the long-tail search queries your customers are using, such as:- “Summer maxi dresses under $50”
- “Formal women’s dresses with lace details”
- Help Google better understand your products.
- Increase visibility for specific, purchase-intent-driven searches.
- Improve ROAS by capturing qualified traffic.
Product Types vs. Product Categories: Know the Difference
It’s easy to confuse Product Types with Google’s Product Categories. Here’s the key difference:
- Product Categories: Predefined by Google and mandatory for certain verticals.
- Product Types: Labels you define for internal organization.
While Product Categories ensure compliance, Product Types offer flexibility, enabling you to align your feed structure with your advertising strategy.
Common Mistakes When Setting Product Types
Many advertisers overlook the importance of Product Types, often making avoidable mistakes that limit their campaigns’ potential. Here are the most common pitfalls and how to avoid them:
Using Generic Labels
Using overly broad or vague terms like “Products,” “Sale,” or “Items” as Product Types is a missed opportunity. These labels do nothing to help organize your feed or inform Google about the specifics of your products.- Why It’s a Problem: Generic labels provide little to no context, making it harder for Google to accurately match your products to relevant search queries.
- How to Fix It: Be descriptive. Instead of “Products,” use labels like “Clothing > Women’s Clothing > Dresses > Maxi Dresses” to provide clear context.
Overcomplicating the Hierarchy
Some advertisers overcomplicate their Product Types by creating hierarchies that are too detailed, making them cumbersome to manage. However, when used strategically, deeper hierarchies (Level 4 and beyond) are a valuable tool for all businesses, providing opportunities to add long-tail keywords that can boost traffic and conversions.Why It’s a Problem to Overcomplicate
While detail is valuable, excessively long or poorly structured hierarchies can:- Create unnecessary complexity in feed management.
- Lead to inconsistency across products.
- Cause confusion if the Product Types are not logically organized.
Best Practice: Focus on Levels 1 to 3 for Segmentation
For most advertisers, a well-structured hierarchy up to Level 2 or 3 is sufficient for organizing and segmenting campaigns effectively:- Level 1: Broad category (e.g., Clothing
- Level 2:Subcategory (e.g., Women’s Clothing).
- Level 3:Specific product type (e.g., Dresses)
Why Levels 4 and Beyond Matter for All Businesses
Level 4 and beyond are not optional—they’re the best place to incorporate long-tail keywords, which are critical for driving high-intent, low-competition traffic. For example:- Clothing > Women’s Clothing > Dresses > Maxi Dresses > Summer Maxi Dresses
- Target Long-Tail Keywords: Queries like “Summer maxi dresses under $50” align directly with the deeper levels of your Product Type hierarchy.
- Boost Ad Relevance: Detailed Product Types help Google’s algorithm match your ads to highly specific searches.
- Improve ROAS: Long-tail keywords generally have less competition, lower CPCs, and higher conversion rates.
Why All Businesses Should Use Levels 4 and Beyond
Whether you manage a small catalog or a large one, the benefits of leveraging deeper levels include:- Precision in Search Targeting: Helps capture niche traffic with high purchase intent.
- Seasonal and Attribute-Specific Traffic: Enables targeting based on specific attributes like “Summer,” “Formal,” or “Casual.”
- Cost Efficiency: Long-tail keywords lower ad competition, saving budget while driving quality clicks.
- Broad Search: “Dresses”
- Long-Tail Keyword: “Summer maxi dresses under $50”
Striking the Right Balance
To maximize the impact of Product Types:- Levels 1 to 3: Focus on these for campaign segmentation and budget allocation.
- Levels 4 and Beyond: Use these to enhance your feed with long-tail keywords that target specific search queries.
Leaving Product Types Blank
Leaving the Product Types field empty is one of the biggest mistakes you can make.- Why It’s a Problem: Without detailed Product Types, your products lose out on the potential for better ad targeting, relevance, and visibility.
- How to Fix It: Always populate the Product Types field. The more detail you provide, the better Google understands your product, improving matching accuracy and increasing your chances of driving sales.
How to Avoid These Mistakes
To maximize the impact of Product Types, ensure your labels are:- Meaningful: Use language that reflects the product’s category and key attributes.
- Actionable: Align Product Types with your campaign goals for better segmentation and targeting.
- Descriptive: Go deeper into the hierarchy when managing larger catalogs to unlock high-value long-tail keyword opportunities.
- Bad: “Items”
- Good: “Clothing > Women’s Clothing > Dresses > Maxi Dresses > Summer Maxi Dresses”
How to Optimize Product Types for Maximum Impact
Creating effective Product Types doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are some tips:
- Use consistent formatting: Start with broader categories and narrow them down.
- Prioritize high-traffic products: Focus on best-sellers or seasonal items.
- Avoid duplication: Ensure your Product Types are unique and distinct from Product Titles.
For example:
- Bad: “Women’s Clothes > Clothes > Dresses.”
- Good: “Clothing > Women’s Clothing > Formal Dresses.”
Use tools like FeedOps to optimize Product Types. You can optimize them manually, with Feed Rules, or using AI-powered enhancements.
Using AI to Enhance Product Types in Your Feed
Manually managing Product Types for hundreds or thousands of SKUs can be overwhelming. Tools like FeedOps use AI to:
- Automatically suggest optimized Product Types.
- Identify missing or inconsistent labels.
- Streamline your feed setup for maximum efficiency.
By leveraging AI, you save time while ensuring your feed is fully optimized for better ad performance.
View the demo now to see how it works!
Conclusion: The Competitive Edge of Optimized Product Types
Adding and optimizing Product Types in Google Merchant Center is more than just a technical requirement—it’s a competitive edge. A well-organized feed improves ad relevance, drives better ROAS, and simplifies campaign management. Whether you’re a small business or an enterprise, investing time in Product Types pays off in the long run.
If you’re ready to unlock the full potential of your Shopping campaigns, start by auditing your feed and aligning your Product Types with your goals. Not sure where to begin? Contact us for a free consultation.
