Category Mapping

Overview

Category mapping connects your WooCommerce categories to the standardized Google Product Category (GPC) taxonomy. This helps shopping platforms correctly classify your products, improving ad targeting and search relevance.

Why Map Categories?

Platform Requirements

• Google Shopping requires or strongly recommends category data
• Facebook uses categories for ad targeting
• Proper categories improve product visibility

Better Performance

Products with accurate categories:

• Appear in more relevant searches
• Get matched to appropriate audiences
• Have higher click-through rates
• Cost less per click

The Google Product Taxonomy

Google maintains a taxonomy of 5,500+ product categories organized hierarchically:

Apparel & Accessories
├── Clothing
│   ├── Dresses
│   ├── Pants
│   └── Shirts & Tops
├── Shoes
│   ├── Athletic Shoes
│   └── Boots
└── Jewelry
    ├── Necklaces
    └── Rings

The plugin includes the full, up-to-date taxonomy.

Setting Up Mappings

Accessing Category Mapping

Go to WooCommerce → Category Mapping in your WordPress admin.

You’ll see all your WooCommerce categories listed in a table.

Mapping a Category

For each WooCommerce category:

1. Find the category in the list
2. Type in the text field to search Google categories
3. Enter the full category path (e.g., “Apparel & Accessories > Shoes > Athletic Shoes”)
4. Mappings save automatically as you type

Hierarchical Mapping

Parent mappings apply to child categories:

• Map “Clothing” to a general apparel category
• Child categories without their own mapping inherit from the parent
• Add specific mappings to children to override

Example:

• “Apparel” → Apparel & Accessories > Clothing
• “T-Shirts” → Apparel & Accessories > Clothing > Shirts & Tops (more specific)

Finding the Right Category

Search Tips

Use specific keywords when searching:

• Product type (“running shoes”)
• Material (“cotton dress”)
• Intended use (“gaming laptop”)

Category Specificity

Be as specific as possible:

Good: Apparel & Accessories > Shoes > Athletic Shoes > Running Shoes

Less Specific: Apparel & Accessories > Shoes

More specific categories improve targeting.

When Categories Don’t Match

If your products don’t fit standard categories:

1. Find the closest reasonable match
2. Use the most specific applicable category
3. Consider reorganizing WooCommerce categories if needed

How Mappings Apply

Feed Generation

When generating feeds:

1. Plugin checks product’s WooCommerce category
2. Looks up the mapped Google category
3. Includes it in the feed

Multiple Categories

If a product is in multiple WooCommerce categories:

• The first mapped category found is used
• Parent categories are checked if no direct mapping exists

Unmapped Categories

Products in unmapped categories:

• Use parent category mapping if available
• Or have no category in the feed
• Platforms may auto-categorize (less accurately)

Category Requirements by Platform

Platform	Category Field	Required?
Google Shopping	google_product_category	Strongly recommended
Facebook	google_product_category	Recommended
Pinterest	google_product_category	Recommended
Bing	product_category	Optional
TikTok	google_product_category	Recommended

Best Practices

Map All Categories

Ensure every category with products has a mapping. Categories without mappings will either inherit from parents or have no category data in feeds.

Use Specific Categories

• Avoid top-level general categories
• Drill down to the most specific match
• More specific = better ad targeting

Review Periodically

• Google updates their taxonomy occasionally
• New product categories may need mappings
• Check feeds for category warnings

Troubleshooting

Products Missing Categories

Check:

• Product has a WooCommerce category assigned
• That category (or a parent) is mapped
• Feed was regenerated after adding mappings

Wrong Category Showing

Verify:

• Correct mapping for the product’s category
• Check if a parent category mapping is being inherited
• Regenerate feed after making changes