Google Product Category Association (Age Group & Gender)
Map your store's categories to Google's official product taxonomy and assign age group and gender signals per category — so Facebook and Instagram can correctly classify and surface your products to the right audiences.
Available since v1.1.0
Overview
Facebook's catalogue format accepts a google_product_category field for every product. When this field is populated with a valid Google taxonomy entry, Facebook uses it to place your products in the correct category on the platform, improve ad targeting, and avoid misclassification warnings in Commerce Manager.
The module lets you assign these mappings at the category level rather than per product. You pick a Google taxonomy category once for a shop category, and every product in that category automatically carries the correct value in the generated feed. This saves hours of manual editing and keeps mappings consistent across your catalogue.
Beyond the taxonomy itself, two additional category-level signals help Facebook serve the right shoppers:
- Age Group — declares the intended age range for products in a category (Adult, Teen, Kids, Toddler, Infant, Newborn, All Ages).
- Gender — declares whether products are intended for Female, Male, or Unisex audiences.
Both signals are written directly to each product's feed entry, which Facebook uses for audience filtering and dynamic ad personalisation.
Before You Start: Download the Google Taxonomy List
The category association tree is only available after you download the official Google taxonomy file. Without it, the association panels do not appear.
- Go to Modules > Module Manager > Facebook & Instagram Product Catalogue Feed Pro > Configure.
- Click the Google Product Categories List tab.
- Click the Download Google Product Categories button.
The module fetches the taxonomy file from Google's servers in the language that matches your store's default language. If a localised version is not available, it falls back to English (en-US). The file is saved to the module's downloads/ folder. The panel shows the file date once it has been downloaded successfully.
If the Google Product Category Association tab does not appear, the taxonomy file is missing. Return to the Google Product Categories List tab and download it again.
Configuration: Print Mode
Before assigning categories, choose how the Google category value appears in the feed XML.
Go to the Product Options tab and find the Google Category option section.
| Field | Values | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Print ID or categories | Category full name / ID | Category full name | Controls whether the google_product_category field in the feed contains the human-readable path (e.g. Apparel & Accessories > Clothing > Tops & Tees) or just the numeric taxonomy ID (e.g. 212). Both are accepted by Facebook; numeric IDs are shorter and unambiguous. |
Assigning a Google Category to Your Store Categories
- Go to Modules > Module Manager > Facebook & Instagram Product Catalogue Feed Pro > Configure.
- Click the Google Product Category Association tab.
You see a collapsible category tree that mirrors your store's category structure. Next to each category name there is a text field where you type the Google taxonomy category you want to assign.
Autocomplete Search
When you click on a category's text field and start typing, a dropdown appears with matching Google taxonomy entries. The search works on both the category name and the numeric ID. Selecting an entry from the dropdown fills in the value in the correct format (ID - Full Category Name).
You can also type directly — if you type a number, the module extracts the numeric ID. If you type a category path, the module looks for an exact match in the taxonomy list.
Massive Category Association
At the bottom of the panel there is a Massive category association section. Use this when you want to assign the same Google category to several shop categories at once:
- Tick the checkboxes next to every shop category you want to update.
- Type (or autocomplete) the target Google category in the Massive category association text field.
- Click Save.
All ticked categories receive the chosen Google taxonomy ID. Any categories you did not tick keep their existing assignment.
Individual per-category assignments submitted in the same save action take precedence over the massive update for that specific category. You can mix both methods in a single save.
Assigning Age Group per Category
- Go to the Product Special Fields tab.
- Click the Age Group sub-tab.
The tree shows the same category structure. Next to each category there is a dropdown.
| Option | Meaning |
|---|---|
| All Ages | No specific age restriction |
| Adult | 18 or 21 and older (default) |
| Teen | 12–18 years |
| Kids | 5–11 years |
| Toddler | 1–4 years |
| Infant | 2 months – 1 year |
| Newborn | 0–2 months |
Select the appropriate value for each category and click Save. The default for any category that has not been explicitly set is Adult.
Assigning Gender per Category
- Go to the Product Special Fields tab.
- Click the Gender sub-tab.
| Option | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Unisex | No gender targeting (default) |
| Female | Products intended for women or girls |
| Male | Products intended for men or boys |
Select the appropriate value for each category and click Save. The default for any category that has not been explicitly set is Unisex.
Propagation Rules
Assignments are stored per category, not per product. When the feed is generated, each product inherits the Google taxonomy, age group, and gender values from the category it belongs to.
There is no automatic top-down inheritance in the UI — assigning a Google taxonomy to a parent category does not automatically fill in the same value for its children. Each category must be set individually, or you can use the Massive category association tool to apply one value to a selection of categories at once.
Tip: For stores with deep category hierarchies, expand the parent category in the tree, tick all its subcategories using the checkboxes, and use Massive association to assign the taxonomy in one step. The same approach works for the Age Group and Gender trees.
When a product belongs to multiple categories, the module uses the default category set on the product in PrestaShop to determine which Google taxonomy, age group, and gender values to apply.
Multi-Shop Behaviour
The Google taxonomy mapping (Google Product Category Association) is managed globally and applies across shops. The age group and gender assignments are per-shop: you must select a specific shop context in the Back Office top bar before editing them. If multi-shop is active and you are in the "All Shops" or a group context, the age group and gender trees display an informational message instead of the category selectors.
The numeric Google taxonomy ID stored in the database is the same for all shops; only age group and gender can differ per shop.
Usage Examples
Example: Apparel store with children's and adult lines
You sell clothing for adults and children under different categories. Set the parent Clothing > Adults categories to Google taxonomy Apparel & Accessories > Clothing, age group Adult, gender Unisex (or split by Male / Female subcategories). For Clothing > Kids, set age group to Kids and gender to Unisex. Facebook uses these values to exclude children's products from adult-only ad placements and vice versa.
Example: Electronics store with no age/gender relevance
Map your top-level category Electronics to Google taxonomy Electronics and leave age group as Adult and gender as Unisex. Only the taxonomy mapping matters here; age group and gender have no meaningful effect for electronics but must be present in the feed — the defaults are fine.
Example: Reassigning a large category tree
You restructured your catalogue and all subcategories under Home & Garden now need the Google category Home & Garden > Lawn & Garden. Expand Home & Garden in the tree, tick all subcategories, type the Google category into the massive association field, and save. All selected subcategories are updated in a single operation.
Important Notes
- The taxonomy file is fetched once and stored locally. Google occasionally updates its taxonomy. If you notice mismatches or missing categories, return to the Google Product Categories List tab and re-download.
- Google taxonomy IDs are integers. The module accepts input in the format
ID - Full Name(from autocomplete) or as a plain integer. Entering only the name without an ID may cause the value to be rejected on save. - Age group and gender values are written as-is to the feed. They do not affect which products are included or excluded — that is controlled separately in the Included / Excluded Categories section.
- Reassigning or clearing a category's Google taxonomy does not affect existing feed files until you regenerate the feed.
- If you delete a category in PrestaShop, its mapping row in the database is not automatically removed. This has no practical effect because the category no longer appears in the tree and the module joins on active categories only.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| Google Product Category Association tab not visible | The taxonomy file has not been downloaded yet. Go to Google Product Categories List and click Download Google Product Categories. |
| Autocomplete shows no suggestions | The taxonomy file may be empty or corrupted. Re-download it from the Google Product Categories List tab. |
| Age Group / Gender dropdowns not visible | You may be in an "All Shops" context. Select a specific shop from the Back Office top bar and reload the configuration page. |
| Changes to Google category not reflected in the feed | The feed must be regenerated after saving mappings. Go to Manual Feed Generation and trigger a new generation. |
| Taxonomy value appears as a number in the feed instead of text | Check Print ID or categories in the Product Options tab — if it is set to ID, the numeric value is intentional. Switch to Category full name if you need the text form. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to assign a Google category to every product?
No, but Facebook strongly recommends it for better ad targeting and catalogue quality scores. Products without a Google category are still exported; they simply lack the google_product_category field.
What happens if I assign a Google category to a parent category but leave children blank?
Each category is saved independently. Children inherit nothing from their parent — you must assign them separately or use the Massive association tool to fill them in bulk.
My store sells products with no relevant age group or gender. Do I still need to set these?
The default values (Adult and Unisex) are applied automatically to any category you have not explicitly configured. For most product types, leaving these defaults is perfectly fine — they satisfy Facebook's feed requirements without targeting a specific audience.
Can I use different Google categories for the same product in different languages?
No. Google taxonomy IDs are numeric and language-independent. The same ID is used across all feeds regardless of language. The display name in the feed (full name vs. ID) is controlled by the Print ID or categories setting and comes from the downloaded taxonomy file for your store's default language.
How do I know if my Google category assignments are correct?
After saving, regenerate your feed and open it in a browser. Each product entry should contain a <g:google_product_category> element with the value you assigned to its default category. You can also check the Facebook Commerce Manager diagnostics once the feed is imported.
The taxonomy file downloaded in English but my store is in Spanish. Is that a problem?
No. The module tries to download the localised file first. If Google does not provide one for your language, it falls back to English automatically. Facebook accepts taxonomy IDs or English-language category paths in all feeds regardless of the store language.