ID [id]

An illustration demonstrating how the unique IDs for 3 different colors of teddy bears would show in product data.

Use the ID [id] attribute to uniquely identify each product. It won’t be shown to users, but you can use it to look up your product in your account. We recommend that you use your product SKU or GTIN [gtin] for this value.

When to use

Required for all products.

Format

Follow these formatting guidelines to make sure Google understands the data you're submitting.

For details on when and how to submit values in English, learn more about submitting your product data.

Type	Unicode characters (Recommended: ASCII only): alphanumeric, underscores, and dashes
Limits	Up to 50 characters
Repeated field	No

File format	Example value
Text feeds	`tddy123uk`
XML feeds	`<g:id>tddy123uk</g:id>`

Guidelines

Follow these guidelines to make sure you submit high-quality data for your products.

Minimum requirements

These are the requirements you'll need to meet to show your product on Google. If you don't follow these requirements, we'll disapprove your product and let you know in the Diagnostics page of your Manufacturer Center account.

Use a unique ID for each different product. The ID allows you and Google to distinguish each product.
Use a stable ID for each product. Once you've assigned an ID to a product, don't change it. The ID you choose, in combination with target country and language, identifies the product, helps us to retrieve any product-specific information, and is used to track the product's history. If you change the ID, you'll overwrite your product and its history.
Don’t rely on casing to make IDs unique. For example, we interpret the ID "abc123" and "ABC123" as the same product.
Don’t reuse or recycle the same ID for different products. For example:
- Don’t reuse an ID for different products.
- Don’t reuse an ID for products with variants. Each variant is a unique product and needs a unique ID.
- Don’t recycle an ID for new products. Even if you’re not distributing a product anymore or the product has been discontinued, don't use that product's ID for any other product.
Avoid white space. Consecutive white spaces and white spaces before and after the ID will be automatically removed.
Don't submit invalid unicode characters. These characters are generally added during your file's encoding process. To avoid them, use UTF-8 encoding. To help prevent encoding issues, submit files in a compressed format. Examples of invalid unicode characters include:
- Control characters (for example, U+200D)
- Function characters
- Private area characters
- Surrogate pairs
- Unassigned code points

Best practices

These best practices can help you go beyond the basic requirements to optimize your product data for performance.

Use SKUs or GTINs where possible. Since SKUs and GTINs are unique, they can also help prevent you from accidentally reusing IDs.

Examples

Product without variants

Product data for a product with no variants
Attribute	Value
ID `[id]`	01ABC

Product with variants

Include a unique ID for each variant of the product. For example, if you have a parent SKU for a set of 4 variants of the same product, submit the parent SKU in the item group ID [item_group_id] attribute and a unique ID based on the parent SKU for the ID [id]attribute.

Product data for a red product
Attribute	Value
Color `[color]`	Red
Item group ID `[item_group_id]`	12345
ID `[id]`	12345-R

Product data for a green product
Attribute	Value
Color `[color]`	Green
Item group ID `[item_group_id]`	12345
ID `[id]`	12345-G

Product data for a yellow product
Attribute	Value
Color `[color]`	Yellow
Item group ID `[item_group_id]`	12345
ID `[id]`	12345-Y

Product data for a blue product
Attribute	Value
Color `[color]`	Blue
Item group ID `[item_group_id]`	12345
ID `[id]`	12345-B

Same product submitted to multiple countries

Product data for submission to the US
Attribute	Value
Target country	United States
ID `[id]`	01ABC

Product data for submission to Canada
Attribute	Value
Target country	Canada
ID `[id]`	01ABC