Google has made a major change to their structured data requirements for Seller Listings in addition to adding clarification on how to use structured data to show how long sales prices will last. In total, there are three new additions but the biggest change so far is the addition of a new Category area. Although not a “required” structured data item it is still recommended.
New Category Structure
In Schema.org structured data, a Type is an entity classification, to say what an object is. Structured data A property is an attribute of a Type, it can say what the type is or add other descriptive information about the Type.
Google has added a new category feature to Product structured data, allowing marketers to freely categorize products directly from tags rather than relying solely on feed attributes. It also gives marketers a way to integrate structured web page data into Google’s product taxonomy, bridging the gap between what’s tagged on the page and what’s posted through the Merchant Center feed.
Google’s new category structure welcomes you anywhere plain text or a Category Code thing.
Plain Text
The empty text acts as the existing product_type attribute in the product feed. It is a custom category label that sellers describe themselves.
Category Code
CategoryCode is a structured object that allows you to declare the Google Product Category (GPC) directly in the markup, using InCodeSet to point to Google’s taxonomy and codeValue to specify the category, either by numeric ID or in full form. The CategoryCode object corresponds directly to the merchant feed specific Google Product Category (GPC). CategoryCode allows merchants to place that GPC value directly in their structured data on the page instead of it appearing in the merchant feed.
Here is an example of structured data that shows how it works:
"category": [
{
"@type": "CategoryCode",
"inCodeSet": "
"codeValue": "2271"
},
{
"@type": "CategoryCode",
"inCodeSet": "
"codeValue": "Apparel & Accessories > Clothing > Dresses"
},
"Dresses",
"Special Occasion > Wedding & Bridal Party Dresses"
]
Google’s new guidance explains:
“Text or Category Code
Specifies product categories. This element can accept multiple values, including plain text strings and CategoryCode objects.
Custom product types: Plain Text values that represent the category of your custom product, similar to the product_type attribute in the product feed. We recommend that you keep custom product types under the 750 character limit.
Google Product Category (GPC): To specify a GPC, similar to the google_product_category attribute in a product feed, use the CategoryCode type.
Set @type to CategoryCode.
Set the InCodeSet to the Google Product Taxonomy URL (for example, “
Set the codeValue to the GPC ID (for example, “2271”) or the full category path (for example, “Clothing & Accessories > Clothing > Clothing”).
If you use the path format, use > as a separator between levels. Each segment in the path must contain at least one character. Numeric IDs are also accepted.
You can provide values for multiple categories. For example, you can enter multiple GPC codes or methods and custom product type strings.
Duration of Sale of Structured Data
Google also added a new section to the Seller Listing structured data document that allows sellers to specify how long a sale will last. Add new documentation about three properties:
- priceValidKuze
- validFrom
- it is permissible
Here are the new definitions:
“ValidKuze value.”
The day
The date and time after which the price will no longer be available, in ISO 8601 format. Your listing may not show if the priceValidUntil field shows a past date. For details and examples of markups, see the duration of the sale.
validFrom
DateTime or DateThe start date and time when the price is valid, in ISO 8601 format. For details and examples of markups, see the duration of the sale.
it is permissible
DateTime or DateExpiry date and time when the price is valid, in ISO 8601 format. For details and examples of markups, see the duration of the sale.”
Time to Sell
Finally there is a completely new section about the Duration of the Sale. The duration of the sale is just a day with three structured data structures, priceValidUntil, validFrom, and validThrough. It tells Google when the sale price starts and ends. It is designed to keep the prices accurate in the search results, so that the listing does not continue to show the deal after it expires.
The new documents explain:
“It’s time to sell
To specify the time when the sales price is valid, use the following schema.org properties in ISO 8601 format (for example, 2025-12-31T23:59:59+01:00):Start date and time: Use a valid From property.
End date and time: Use a valid propertyFor structure or a priceValidUntil property.Best practices:
Provide both a start and end date/time to specify the sales period.
Ensure that the start date/time (from a valid property) is before or equal to the last date/time (from a valid property or a priceValidUntil property).We recommend that you enter the time and time zone in ISO 8601 format for accuracy in Google systems.
Where to place properties:
In the Offer node: You can add a property validFrom once (a property valid for a property or a property for a priceValidUntil property) directly in the Program Node. These dates apply if the value property in the program field represents the current effective price.In a PriceSpecification node: If a sales price is defined within a PriceSpecification node (usually one that does not have a priceType property where the StrikethroughPrice value is), add a validFrom property and a validLocation to that PriceSpecification node. Note that the priceValidUntil property does not apply to the PriceSpecification type.”
How It Benefits Retailers
New Google Docs gives marketers the ability to display category and sales price information directly from structured data, helping Google display accurate product information in search results. New structured data features create unity between Schema.org structured data and Google Product Category (GPC) data. Category now matches product_type and google_product_category from the Merchant Center feed, and Sale Duration matches the effective_price_date, so sellers have a page-level way to display it instead of just relying on the feed.
Featured image by Shutterstock/allegro
