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Product variants

Product variants are versions of one product, such as sizes or colours, that a Merchant Center feed lists as separate items sharing one item group ID.

How it works

A T-shirt model in three sizes and two colours is six variants. In the feed each one is a separate item with its own item ID, price and link. All six share one item_group_id, which Google describes as a shared identifier for all variants of the same product. The size attribute holds one value only, so each size goes in as its own item, not as a list.

Each item’s link should open the page with that variant selected. When all variants sit on one page, Google’s guide to variant structured data gives each its own address, such as ?size=small&color=green. The product group then names what varies: size, colour, age, gender, material or pattern.

Since May 2026 the Merchant API also accepts item_group_title, a common title for the group, and variant_option, the properties that set the variants apart. Setup is covered in product variants in Merchant Center.

Google Ads reports Shopping and Performance Max results by item ID. Its product dimensions have no item group, so a model’s result is the sum of its variants’ rows.

Example

Example store, not client data.

The tableware shop sells a mug in four colours: four items under one item_group_id. In a month each colour gets 10 clicks, and the mug gets 3 orders: 2 for blue, 1 for white, none for green or yellow. A report by item shows two of the four items with no orders. As a model, the mug made 3 orders from 40 clicks.

Not to be confused with

  • Product bundle — several products sold together at one price. Variants are bought one at a time.
  • Assortment depth — how many options a category offers. Variants raise it only when depth is counted by item, not by model.

Right and wrong readings

  • Wrong: “Green and yellow have no sales, so they only spend.” Right: judge the model first. The mug made 3 orders from 40 clicks, 10 per colour.
  • Wrong: “The feed has 3,000 items, so we sell 3,000 products.” Right: count item group IDs as well, because the mug alone is four items.

Sources