Use the variant option [variant_option] attribute in combination with the item group title [item_group_title] and item group ID [item_group_id] attributes to specify all variant-identifying properties of this product when it's available in different variants. For example a t-shirt with different sizes and colors, or a laptop with different memory sizes, display sizes, processors, and graphics options.
On this page
When to use
Optional for each product. Use if your product is sold in different variants.
Many products are sold in different variations, for example t-shirts in different sizes and colors. If your product is a variant then use this attribute to specify its variant-identifying properties and values. This attribute will be used to show your product together with all its available variants to consumers in conversational AI as well as traditional Search experiences.
The variant option[variant_option] attribute can be used in all countries.
Format
Follow these formatting guidelines to make sure Google understands the data you're submitting. Learn more about how to submit attributes and attribute values.
| Type | Group attribute with 2 sub-attributes |
| Sub-attributes |
|
| Repeated field | Yes (up to 30) |
|
Schema.org property (What's this?) |
No |
| File format | Example value (a shoe with variant dimensions "shoe width" and "size") |
| Text (TSV) | Shoe width:narrow,size:8 |
| XML feeds |
|
|
API data sources |
To format your data in the Merchant API, check the Merchant API resource. |
Minimum requirements
These are the requirements you'll need to meet to provide valid variant options for your product:
- Submit both the name
[name]and value[value]sub-attributes. - Each variant with the same item group ID
[item_group_id]attribute must have the same set of name[name]sub-attributes as the other variants in the product group. The variant must be distinguished from the other variants by having a combination of value[value]sub-attributes that is unique to that variant. - Make sure that the product details displayed on your landing page match the values you provide for the variant option
[variant_option]attribute. Learn more about requirements for landing pages
Best practices
- Don’t submit a value for the variant option
[variant_option]attribute if your product isn't a variant. If your product is similar to other products, but not specifically a variant, don’t submit the variant option[variant_option]attribute. - Submit the item group title
[item_group_title]and item group ID[item_group_id]attributes together with the variant option[variant_option]attribute. - If your product varies by standard attributes color
[color], pattern [pattern], material[material], age group[age_group], gender[gender], and size[size]we recommend you also use the variant option[variant_option]attribute to identify the exact variant dimensions, as these standard attributes can also be used for non-variant products, for example a printer with color gray. - For instructions on how to best structure your website and URLs for variants, refer to the URL structure article on Search Central.
- For details on how to add Schema.org structured data for variants, refer to the product variant article on Search Central.
Examples
A laptop with 3 custom variant dimensions
In a Google Sheet, you’d submit this in one cell as follows. As long as the sub-attributes don't contain reserved characters (commas, colons, and backslashes) no escaping is necessary:
| N |
O |
P | |
| 1 | ... | variant_option | ... |
| 2 | ... | cpu:ultra,display:max,memory:128GB | ... |
| 3 | ... | ... | ... |
Alternatively, you can also create multiple separate columns, each containing a single FAQ. For example, to have one column for each value, you can submit this in 5 cells as follows:
| N | O | P | Q | R | |
| 1 | ... | variant_option | variant_option | variant_option | ... |
| 2 | ... | cpu:ultra | display:max | memory:128GB | ... |
| 3 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
In a tab-separated text file, you can submit the FAQs in one cell as follows. Tab characters are represented by the <tab> symbol. Each sub-attribute value has been quoted for consistency:
|
Header: …<tab>variant_option<tab>…
product row: …<tab>cpu:ultra,display:max,memory:128GB<tab>… |
Alternatively, you can also create multiple separate columns, each containing one FAQ. For example, to have one column for each section, you can submit this in 5 tab-separated columns as follows:
|
Header: …<tab>variant_option<tab>variant_option<tab>variant_option<tab>… Product row: …<tab>cpu:ultra<tab>display:max<tab>memory:128GB<tab>… |