How do you set the Google Product Category for a Shopify Product without being an idiot?

Technical Q&A
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Topic summary

Users are seeking clarity on how to properly set Google Product Categories for Shopify products, specifically which field the Google & YouTube App actually reads.

Three conflicting theories exist:

  • The standard “Product Category” field under Product Organization is used
  • Only the metafield “mm-google-shopping.google_product_category” is used
  • Both fields sync automatically when one is updated

Current workarounds discussed:

  • Using the Google & YouTube App’s “Manage Products” button (criticized as impractical since it requires leaving the product page)
  • Third-party apps like “Multiple Google Shopping Feeds” that allow metafield selection
  • Auto-tagging features in some apps

Technical solution provided:
One user shared a GraphQL API mutation (curl command) to programmatically set product categories using Shopify’s taxonomy. This requires:

  • Product ID in format gid://shopify/Product/{product_id}
  • Category ID from Shopify’s product taxonomy (e.g., gid://shopify/TaxonomyCategory/hg-3-4-2-2)

Status: The core question about which field the native Google & YouTube App uses remains unanswered. Users express frustration with Google’s frequent interface changes and lack of clear documentation.

Summarized with AI on October 28. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

Using the Google & YouTube App’s Manage Product Button is not viable. I have to be able to set the Google Product Category while editing the product, and not leaving the product page to go someplace else completely.

I can’t believe any idiot would think that is a workable solution.

Which of the following statements is true?

Some say the Google Product Category is set in the Product Page under Product Organization in the Field Product Category. That the Google & YouTube App only uses that and nothing else.

Others say that Field Product Category is not used by the Google & YouTube App. Only the metafield “mm-google-shopping.google_product_category” is used and nothing else.

Still others say that when you update the Field Product Category, it will also update the metafield “mm-google-shopping.google_product_category” so the two match always.

1 Like
2

I understand your frustration, Google constantly moves things around, for some weird reason, but not really a good reason from the perspective of the user.

This happens with all Google products, from Google Ads to Google Merchant Center, and it’s a pain to keep up.

Editing products is now located by going to the app > and on the homepage of the app, you will see manage products. You can edit the categories here.

As to the metafields, I don’t know which one is used. As I use https://apps.shopify.com/multiple-google-shopping-feeds I can select which ever metafield I need.

Although I don’t use the default values, as the app is pretty good at auto tagging the categories.

3

Not what I was looking for. I was hoping for something better, and clarification for the default built in fields.

1 Like
4

Yes I need to know this to - you didnt answer the question. we need to know how google determines the google category ie from what shopify information

5

If you want to know what values are accepted, please have a look at: https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324436

Then to set it you can do it in your app and edit the fields.

Or you can do it after the fact, have a look at:

6

I hope someone finds this useful. It took a while to find this.

curl -X POST
-H “X-Shopify-Access-Token: {token}”
-H “Content-Type: application/json”
-d ‘{
“query”: “mutation productUpdate($input: ProductInput!) { productUpdate(input: $input) { product { id title category { id fullName } } userErrors { field message } } }”,
“variables”: {
“input”: {
“id”: “gid://shopify/Product/{product_id}”,
“category”: “gid://shopify/TaxonomyCategory/{category_id}”
}
}
}’
'https://site-name.myshopify.com/admin/api/2025-01/graphql.json’|jq

Go here: https://shopify.github.io/product-taxonomy/releases/2025-03/

You can find something like this gid://shopify/TaxonomyCategory/hg-3-4-2-2 for the id

7

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