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Feedy McFeed Feed Help

Setting Product Categories

Accurate product categorization improves ad targeting, helps shoppers find your products, and increases conversion rates.

Two Types of Categories

Section titled “Two Types of Categories”

Google Product Category (GPC)

Section titled “Google Product Category (GPC)”

Google’s standardized taxonomy with 6,000+ categories. Used by:

  • Google Shopping
  • Microsoft Shopping (accepts Google’s taxonomy)
  • Some Facebook features

Product Type

Section titled “Product Type”

Your own categorization hierarchy. Fully customizable and used for:

  • Campaign segmentation
  • Reporting
  • Internal organization

Google Product Category

Section titled “Google Product Category”

How It Works

Section titled “How It Works”

GPC uses a hierarchical path:

Apparel & Accessories > Clothing > Shirts & Tops > T-Shirts

Or the numeric ID:

212 (represents the same category)

Category Levels

Section titled “Category Levels”
LevelExample
1Apparel & Accessories
2Apparel & Accessories > Clothing
3Apparel & Accessories > Clothing > Shirts & Tops
4Apparel & Accessories > Clothing > Shirts & Tops > T-Shirts

Finding the Right Category

Section titled “Finding the Right Category”

Method 1: Google’s Taxonomy

Browse Google’s full taxonomy: Google Product Taxonomy

Method 2: AI Suggestions

Feedy McFeed Feed can suggest categories:

  1. Select products
  2. Click Optimize with AI
  3. Choose Categories
  4. Review and apply suggestions

Method 3: Competitor Research

  1. Search for similar products on Google Shopping
  2. Note what categories competitors use
  3. Match for comparable products

Setting Categories in Feedy McFeed Feed

Section titled “Setting Categories in Feedy McFeed Feed”

Individual Product:

  1. Go to Products
  2. Click on a product
  3. Find Google Product Category
  4. Start typing to search categories
  5. Select from suggestions
  6. Save

Bulk Assignment:

  1. Go to Products
  2. Filter by product type or collection
  3. Select all matching products
  4. Click Bulk Edit
  5. Set Google Product Category
  6. Apply

Feed-Level Default:

  1. Go to Feeds > select feed > Settings
  2. Set Default Google Product Category
  3. Applies to products without specific category

Product Type

Section titled “Product Type”

Your Own Hierarchy

Section titled “Your Own Hierarchy”

Create a hierarchy that makes sense for your business:

Men's > Shoes > Running > Trail Running
Women's > Accessories > Bags > Crossbody
Home > Kitchen > Cookware > Pots & Pans

Uses for Product Type

Section titled “Uses for Product Type”
Use CaseExample
Campaign structureBid differently on “Premium” vs “Budget” lines
ReportingSee performance by your categories
FilteringCreate feeds for specific types
PromotionsApply discounts to entire categories

Setting Product Type

Section titled “Setting Product Type”

From Shopify:

Feedy McFeed Feed can use your Shopify product type:

  1. In Shopify Admin, set product types consistently
  2. Feedy McFeed Feed maps them to product_type attribute

Custom Override:

  1. Go to Products
  2. Click on a product
  3. Find Product Type field
  4. Enter your custom hierarchy
  5. Save

Best Practices

Section titled “Best Practices”
  • Use consistent formatting (> as separator)
  • Be specific (3-4 levels deep)
  • Match your business structure
  • Use for campaign segmentation

Category Requirements by Platform

Section titled “Category Requirements by Platform”
PlatformGPC RequiredProduct Type
GoogleRecommendedOptional
FacebookRecommendedOptional
TikTokOptionalOptional
PinterestOptionalOptional
MicrosoftRecommendedOptional

Category Impact on Performance

Section titled “Category Impact on Performance”

Why Categories Matter

Section titled “Why Categories Matter”
BenefitDescription
Better targetingAds show to more relevant audiences
Accurate biddingPlatform knows true competition
Policy complianceSome categories have special requirements
Feature eligibilitySome features require specific categories

Category-Specific Requirements

Section titled “Category-Specific Requirements”

Certain categories have additional requirements:

CategoryAdditional Requirements
Apparelgender, age_group, color, size
Electronicscondition, brand
Softwarecondition: new
BooksISBN (GTIN)
Music/MoviesUPC, artist/director

Common Categorization Mistakes

Section titled “Common Categorization Mistakes”

❌ Too Generic

Section titled “❌ Too Generic”

Bad: “Apparel & Accessories” Good: “Apparel & Accessories > Clothing > Shirts & Tops > T-Shirts”

❌ Wrong Category

Section titled “❌ Wrong Category”

Bad: Listing a laptop case under “Bags” instead of “Electronics Accessories” Good: “Electronics > Electronics Accessories > Computer Accessories > Laptop Sleeves & Cases”

❌ Inconsistent Categories

Section titled “❌ Inconsistent Categories”

Bad: Some shirts in “T-Shirts”, others in “Tees”, others uncategorized Good: All similar products in the same category

AI Category Suggestions

Section titled “AI Category Suggestions”

Feedy McFeed Feed’s AI analyzes your products and suggests categories:

  1. Based on product title and description
  2. Compares to similar products
  3. Suggests most specific matching category

See AI Category Suggestions for details.

Bulk Category Management

Section titled “Bulk Category Management”

Export/Import Method

Section titled “Export/Import Method”
  1. Export products from Feedy McFeed Feed
  2. Add/edit category column
  3. Import updated file

Rule-Based Assignment

Section titled “Rule-Based Assignment”

Set rules to auto-assign categories:

  1. Go to Settings > Category Rules
  2. Create rules like:
    • Products containing “shirt” → T-Shirts category
    • Products in “Shoes” collection → Footwear category
  3. Apply rules to existing products
Section titled “Related Guides”