# Product category mapping review

By George Kelly · prepared October 4, 2026

This is a manual decision worksheet. It does not classify a product, submit a feed, or establish acceptance. Keep one record per exact item or bundle. Leave unknown facts blank and record a hold when they matter to the decision.

## Product evidence

| Field | Your record |
| --- | --- |
| Item or exact bundle ID | |
| Observation date and time | |
| Main product function | |
| Evidence reference and product owner | |
| Conflicting descriptions or unknown facts | |
| Confirmed main product, if a bundle | |

## Merchant classification

| Field | Your record |
| --- | --- |
| Source taxonomy and version | |
| Source category ID and namespace | |
| Full merchant navigation breadcrumbs | |
| Proposed primary product_type | |
| Why this should be the first value for reporting | |
| Owner who approved the hierarchy | |

## Google classification

| Field | Your record |
| --- | --- |
| Observed Google-assigned category, if available | |
| Reason for an override, or no override proposed | |
| Applicable product-specific requirement and source | |
| Official taxonomy file URL | https://www.google.com/basepages/producttype/taxonomy-with-ids.en-US.txt |
| Taxonomy header and retrieval date | |
| Candidate category ID | |
| Candidate full official path | |
| Evidence that the category fits the main function | |
| Submitted representation: ID or full path | |
| Proposed value in google_product_category | |

Record both the ID and path as review evidence when useful. Supply one representation in the actual Google field. An internal source ID or a merchant breadcrumb does not become a Google taxonomy value because its name looks plausible.

## Review decision

- Decision: unreviewed / review_candidate / hold
- Unresolved evidence or hierarchy decision:
- Review owner:
- Next action:
- Review date:
- Later destination observation and time, if a change is authorized:

A review_candidate is ready for human inspection. It is not a claim that the destination received, accepted, classified, or displayed the product.

## Fictional worked case

A fictional store sells a confirmed ceramic drinking mug and groups it under Home > Gifts > Ceramic Mugs. A fictional Shopping campaign uses Google category groups. The reviewer examines Google ID 2169 in the official taxonomy and keeps the merchant breadcrumb as product_type. The fields answer separate questions. This small candidate is not a complete feed.

The accompanying JSON contains six fictional cases and a blank structured record: product-category-mapping-review.json.

## Source checks

- Google category and override scope: https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324436?hl=en
- Merchant product_type format and first-value use: https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324406?hl=en
- Submission requirements: https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/7052112?hl=en
- Invalid category values: https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/12469137?hl=en
- Official taxonomy: https://www.google.com/basepages/producttype/taxonomy-with-ids.en-US.txt

Checked October 4, 2026. The file served on that date carries version header 2021-09-21. Recheck the current source and applicable product requirements before a material change.