Knowledge base
Product verticals
A product vertical is a category of goods whose feed requirements go beyond the baseline, such as apparel needing colour, size, gender and age group. The requirements attach to the product category rather than the channel, so they apply wherever you advertise.
- Apparel and accessories 10 extra Apparel is the one vertical where a feed that satisfies the baseline specification still gets disapproved. Items in the Apparel & Accessories branch of the Google taxonomy additionally require colour, size, gender and age group in most major markets, and every variant must be grouped so a shopper can pick between them.
- Books, music and media 5 extra Media is the vertical where identifiers work best and are least forgiving. Every book has an ISBN and every commercial release has a barcode, so channels expect an exact identifier match, and the whole listing hangs on getting the edition and the condition right.
- Consumer electronics 7 extra Electronics is the vertical where identifiers are least negotiable, because every unit has a manufacturer barcode and channels use it to compare your price against everyone else selling the same model. In the EU, energy-labelled goods additionally need a certification declaration.
- Custom and handmade goods 5 extra Custom, handmade and made-to-order products have no manufacturer-assigned barcode, which makes them the one category where the identifier requirements are satisfied by declaring their absence. The correct feed uses brand with mpn, or sets identifier_exists to no, and does both deliberately rather than everywhere.
- Food and beverage 7 extra Food and drink feeds carry obligations no other vertical has: a unit price so shoppers can compare per kilo or per litre, an expiry date for perishable goods, and a multipack or bundle declaration. Alcohol is separately restricted and is refused outright on some channels.
- Health and beauty 6 extra Health and beauty feeds sit under advertising policy as much as feed specification. Cosmetics need unit pricing and shade handling, supplements run into healthcare restrictions that vary by market, and anything classed as adult content needs declaring rather than hiding.
- Home, garden and furniture 8 extra Home and furniture feeds live or die on dimensions and shipping. Shoppers need to know whether a sofa fits before they click, channels use product dimensions to show it, and oversized delivery costs have to be expressed in the feed rather than discovered at checkout.
- Jewellery and watches 8 extra Jewellery sits inside the Apparel & Accessories branch of the Google taxonomy, which means it inherits the apparel requirements: colour, size, gender and age group, on products where none of those feel natural. Ring sizing and material are where the real work is.
Frequently asked questions
Why do some product categories need extra feed attributes?
Because shoppers in those categories filter on things that do not exist elsewhere. Clothing is chosen by size and colour, food is compared by unit price, furniture is bought against a measurement, so the channel asks for the values that make those decisions possible.
How do I know which vertical applies to my products?
By the product category you submit, which is why the category mapping matters more than it appears to. Each page here lists the Google taxonomy branches its rules cover.
Do vertical requirements differ by channel?
The underlying requirement usually comes from the category rather than the channel, and Google documents it most explicitly. Enforcement varies, so an attribute that produces a warning on one channel can cause a rejection on another.