Optional Attributes and their Specifications for Google Shopping Feed

Introduction

In the previous article, we covered the attributes required for every product submitted for the Google Shopping feed. Google also has other optional attributes that can provide additional information about your products. These attributes are not required for every product, but submitting them when they are relevant can help to improve product performance.

This guide explains some of the key optional attributes, their specifications, and how they can be used.

Before You Begin

Before adding optional attributes to your product feed, keep the following points in mind:

• An optional attribute is not required for every product.
• Some attributes may become required or recommended depending on product type/category and target country.
• These are covered separately in our Category-Specific Attributes guide.
• Only submit an attribute when it is relevant to the product and you have accurate information available.
• Follow Google's formatting requirements and accepted values for each attribute.
• Google regularly updates its product data specifications, so the requirements and supported attributes may change over time.

Key Optional Attributes and Their Specifications

Below are some additional attributes that can improve the product visibility:

1. Additional Image

The additional image link attribute provides additional images of a product beyond the main image submitted through image link.

Additional images can show the product from different angles, show the product in use, or provide other useful visual information.

Additional images give shoppers more visual information before they decide whether to click or buy. It increases shoppers' engagement, builds confidence, and improves the overall product visibility experience.

Note: Up to 10 additional images can be submitted for a product or variant

Specifications:

• Submit a valid image URL beginning with http:// or https://.
• The image must comply with Google's image requirements.
• Additional images can be submitted in addition to the main image link.
• Use additional images to provide useful product views rather than duplicate versions of the same image.

2. Product Highlight

The product highlight attribute provides short, easy-to-read highlights describing the most important features or benefits of a product.

For example, a clothing product could include:

• Made from 100% organic cotton.
• Soft and breathable fabric.
• Machine washable.

Product highlights should focus on useful product information that shoppers can quickly understand.

Specifications:

• Each highlight should be a short, descriptive statement or sentence fragment.
• Avoid promotional language, excessive capitalization, or unnecessary repetition.
• Provide accurate information that is supported by the product.

3. Product Detail

The product detail attribute provides additional technical specifications or other structured information that is not already covered by another product attribute.

It contains three sub-attributes:

• Section Name — Optional but recommended
• Attribute Name — Required when using Product Detail
• Attribute Value — Required when using Product Detail

The information follows this structure:

Section Name: Attribute Name: Attribute Value

Example:

Display: Screen Size: 55 inches

Another example of a running shoe could be:

Material: Upper: Recycled Mesh

This attribute can be useful for products where technical specifications, compatibility, materials, dimensions, or other detailed information are important to shoppers.

Google currently describes product detail as an optional attribute with the above three sub-attributes.

Note: Product Highlight and Product Detail should not be confused with the product description. The description provides the main product information, while these attributes provide additional structured details.

4. Lifestyle Image

The lifestyle image link attribute can be used to provide an image that shows the product in a real-world setting, and make sure to submit images that comply with Google's image requirements and are appropriate for the product.

For example, a furniture store could provide an image of a sofa placed in a living room rather than only showing the product against a plain background.

Lifestyle images can help shoppers understand how a product may look when used in its intended environment.

5. Custom Labels

Custom Labels allow you to organize products into groups for reporting and bidding in Google Ads.

You can use up to five custom label attributes:

• Custom label 0
• Custom label 1
• Custom label 2
• Custom label 3
• Custom label 4

Using custom labels, different product groups can be created based on different filters to subdivide campaigns such as Pmax, standard shopping, and demand gen, and are not displayed to shoppers as product information.

Our plugin allows you to assign Custom Labels to products using Bulk Edit. Another option is to create Automated Feed Rules to assign Custom Labels based on conditions such as brand, product type, price, inventory, etc.

For detailed instructions, refer to:

• What are Custom Labels and how to assign them in our plugin?
• How to Assign Custom Labels at Variant Level Using Automated Rules

6. Cost of Goods Sold

The cost of goods sold attribute is the cost to purchase or produce the product.

COGS helps to calculate estimated gross profit on products if submitted with conversion with cart data.

Gross profit is the difference between the revenue and COGS

Note: Without reporting conversion with cart data, Google won't calculate the gross profit in the Google Ads account

Example:

If a product sells for $100 and its cost is $60, the COGS value can be submitted as:

60 USD

Important: COGS is different from the price attribute.

• Price = the price at which the product is offered for purchase.
• Cost of goods sold = actual purchase cost of the product.

Our plugin provides functionality for submitting the Cost Of Goods Sold. Refer to How to Submit Cost of Goods Sold & Auto-Pricing Minimum Price Attribute for WooCommerce Store for detailed instructions.

7. Unit Pricing Measure & Unit Pricing Base Measure

The unit pricing measure attribute specifies the quantity or measurement of a product as it is sold.

It is useful for products where shoppers may want to compare prices based on a standard unit, such as:

• Food
• Beverages
• Perfume
• Flooring
• Office supplies
• Hardware

Examples:

• 750ml
• 1kg
• 5m
• 10ct

Google supports specific units for weight, volume, length, area, and count.

For example, a 500 g pack of coffee is sold for $12.

The unit pricing measure represents the amount being sold, while the base measure provides the denominator used to calculate the unit price.

Important: In some countries and regions, unit pricing information may be required by local regulations for applicable products. Always check Google's current requirements for your target country.

8. Shipping Label

The shipping label attribute lets you group products so that you can apply specific shipping settings to them in Google Merchant Center.

For example, you may assign:

• Oversized
• Perishable
• Free Shipping
• Fragile

The value of the shipping label is not displayed to shoppers. Instead, it is used to identify the product group when configuring shipping services in Merchant Center.

Our plugin allows you to assign Shipping Labels to products, including assigning labels to groups of products using filters and bulk editing.

For detailed instructions, refer to What are Shipping Labels and How to Assign them in Simprosys Product Feed for WooCommerce?

9. Shipping Dimensions shipping width, shipping length, shipping height

Shipping dimension attributes provide the dimensions used for shipping calculations.

These attributes can be useful for products where the package size affects shipping costs, particularly for bulky or oversized products.

Examples include:

• Furniture
• Large appliances
• Equipment
• Oversized products

Examples:

• shipping width = 30 cm
• shipping length = 100 cm
• shipping height = 20 cm

Use the dimensions and units required by Google's current specifications.

Supported Units:

• shipping width = in, cms
• shipping length = in, cms
• shipping height = lb, oz, g, kg

Maximum Supported Values:

• shipping width = 0–2000 lbs for imperial & 0–1000 kg for metric
• shipping length = 1–150 for inches & 1–400 for cm
• shipping height = 1–150 for inches & 1–400 for cm

10. Product Dimensions product length, product width, product height

Product dimension attributes provide the physical dimensions of the product.

The three attributes are:

• product length
• product width
• product height

For example:

• product length = 100 cm
• product width = 20 cm
• product height = 15 cm

These attributes can be useful for products where physical size is an important consideration for shoppers.

Important: Shipping dimensions describe the dimensions relevant to shipping, while product dimensions describe the physical dimensions of the product. Do not interchange the values of these 2 different attributes.

11. Return Policy Label

The return policy label attribute allows products to be associated with a specific return policy.

This can be useful when different groups of products in your store have different return conditions.

For example, you may have separate policies for:

• Standard products
• Customized products
• Clearance products

A return policy label helps identify which return policy applies to a particular product when your Merchant Center setup supports product-level return policy assignment.

Important: The label itself does not replace the return policy configuration in Google Merchant Center. The applicable return policy must still be configured according to Google's requirements.

12. Certification

The certification attribute provides certification information for applicable products.

It is relevant for products required by the local regulation, such as energy efficiency ratings and CO2 class.

For example, a product may have a relevant energy efficiency certification or rating.

Important: Do not enter an arbitrary rating or certification value. Use the certification information and format specified by Google for the applicable product and target market.

For example:

The certification attribute uses the following sub-attributes:

Certification requirements can vary by product type and country, so refer to Google's current specification when this attribute applies to your products.

13. Tax Category

The tax category attribute can be used to classify products according to the tax categories configured for your Merchant Center account.

It can be useful when different products require different tax treatment.

For example, products may be assigned to different tax categories based on the applicable tax rules.

Important: Tax requirements vary by country. Do not use this attribute based solely on the product's WooCommerce tax class. Verify the applicable Google Merchant Center tax requirements for your target country before submitting tax-related product data.

Example: Using Optional Attributes for a WooCommerce Product

Suppose you sell a cotton jacket through your WooCommerce store.

The product has multiple images, uses a US sizing system, and you want to organize it into a seasonal Google Ads campaign.

Relevant feed data could include:

In this example:

• The additional image provides another view of the jacket.
• The size system identifies the sizing standard.
• Custom Labels help organize the product for campaign reporting and bidding.
• COGS provides cost information.
• The Shipping Label groups the product for shipping configuration.

The product does not need to use every optional attribute. Only the attributes that are relevant to the product and your feed setup should be submitted.

Best Practices for Optional Attributes

Follow these practices when adding optional attributes to your Google Shopping feed:

• Submit relevant information
• Use accurate values
• Follow Google's format
• Keep product data consistent
• Use product-level information where applicable
• Don't confuse optional attributes with conditional requirements

Review Merchant Center diagnostics

After your feed is submitted, review the Needs attention page for warnings and errors in Google Merchant Center. If Google identifies a missing or invalid value, check the applicable attribute's specification and update the product data accordingly.

Need More Help?

If you need assistance with any of the information stated above, feel free to contact our support team by dropping an email at support@simprosys.com