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Product identifier

A product identifier is a code that pins down exactly which product a listing is, such as a GTIN, or a brand and MPN together.

Also known as
  • Unique product identifier
  • UPI

Product data engineer

What it means

Product identifier is the umbrella term for the codes that say which product a listing is. Google calls them unique product identifiers and names three common ones: GTINs, MPNs and brand names.1 eBay UK’s list is EANs, ISBNs and MPNs, codes that “work like barcodes”.2

They are useful because the manufacturer assigns them. In Google’s words, “if you sell the same product as another retailer, the UPIs will be identical”.1 That is how a channel recognises your kettle as one it already knows.

Not every product has them. Google’s examples of products that may have no GTIN include shop-brand products, custom-made goods and vintage pieces. For those it asks for brand and MPN instead.1

Think of it like this

Product identifiers work like the details on a passport. A name alone could belong to thousands of people, but the name with a passport number belongs to one.

For example

A fridge freezer row carrying the GTIN 5012345678900, the brand Brackmore and the MPN NX-4821-W can be matched to the manufacturer’s page with confidence. The same row with only “60cm fridge freezer” can be matched by name alone, which is a lead, not an answer.

Why it matters

Identifiers are how channels tell your product from every other. Google says products submitted without any “are difficult to classify”,3 and that products with incorrect ones “may be disapproved”. So a blank beats a guess.1

Not to be confused with

A product identifier is different from the ID your store or feed gives a product. Google’s id attribute and your SKU are your own labels, while identifiers such as the GTIN come from the manufacturer.4

Sources

  1. Google Merchant Center Help. About unique product identifiers.
  2. eBay UK Seller Centre. Product identifiers.
  3. Google Merchant Center Help. GTIN [gtin].
  4. Google Merchant Center Help. ID [id].

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