SPEC · LAST REVIEWED 2026-09-29

Google Merchant Center Product Image Requirements 2026

Complete reference for Google Merchant Center product image rules in 2026: what changed on April 14 and June 30, 2026, and the 500×500 minimum Google enforces from January 31, 2027.

Key dates

  • Since April 14, 2026: New attributes are live: handling_cutoff_time, minimum_order_value, video_link, plus the loyalty sub-attributes loyalty_program_label and loyalty_tier_label. They are optional; Merchant Center reports technical validation errors on them. Images under 500×500 px get warnings.
  • Since June 30, 2026: Videos submitted via video_link are eligible to serve, and Google runs quality and policy validation on them.
  • From January 31, 2027: Minimum image size of 500×500 pixels enforced. Until then the minimum is 100×100 (non-apparel) and 250×250 (apparel). From this date, products under 500×500 fail validation.

Image specs at a glance

Minimum size
500×500 px (enforced Jan 31, 2027)
Recommended size
1500×1500 px or larger
Max file size
16 MB · 64 megapixels
Formats
JPEG · WebP · PNG · GIF (non-animated) · BMP · TIFF
Aspect ratio
1:1 (square) preferred for Shopping ads

Required fields

  • idrequiredSKU-12345

    Unique stable identifier per product. Don't reuse, don't change.

  • titlerequiredNike Air Max 90, White/Red, Size 42

    Product name. ≤150 chars, descriptive. (Or use structured_title for AI-readable structured data.)

  • descriptionrequired

    Full product description. Up to 5,000 chars. (Or use structured_description.)

  • linkrequired

    Product page URL. Must return 200 when GMC fetches.

  • image_linkrequired

    Primary product image URL. 500×500 px min from Jan 2027.

  • availabilityrequired

    in_stock, out_of_stock, preorder, or backorder. Vehicle ads also accept build_to_order.

  • pricerequired299.00 CZK

    Number + ISO 4217 currency code.

  • conditionoptional

    Required only for used or refurbished. Values: new, refurbished, used.

  • brandoptional

    Required for new branded products except movies, books, and musical recordings.

  • gtinoptional

    GTIN/UPC/EAN/JAN. Required when manufacturer-assigned GTIN exists for the product.

  • mpnoptional

    Manufacturer Part Number. Required only when product has no manufacturer GTIN.

  • identifier_existsoptional

    Set to false when no GTIN or MPN exists. Violations now warning-only (since late 2023), not disapproval.

  • availability_dateoptional

    Required when availability = preorder or backorder.

  • google_product_categoryoptional

    Optional, Google auto-classifies if omitted. Manually setting helps Performance Max optimisation.

  • lifestyle_image_linkoptional

    Up to 10 lifestyle/contextual images. Same image rules apply, including IPTC metadata for AI images.

Image rules

  • White or transparent background
    Solid white preferred. Avoid transparent for light-coloured items per Google guidance. Product fills 75–90% of the frame.
  • No promotional overlay (canonical diagnostic)
    No "SALE", "20% OFF", "FREE SHIPPING", price stickers, urgency banners, or any promotional text/graphics. Hard reject under the "Promotional overlay on image" diagnostic.
  • No generic image (canonical diagnostic)
    Logos as the product image, "image coming soon" placeholders, single-colour squares, stock photos that don't match the product, rejected under the "Generic image" diagnostic.
  • No watermarks or borders
    No frame, no diagonal watermarks, no logos as decoration. Logos for the actual brand on the product are OK.
  • AI-generated images REQUIRE IPTC metadata
    Mandatory since February 2024. Set IPTC DigitalSourceType to TrainedAlgorithmicMedia, CompositeSynthetic, or AlgorithmicMedia. Applies to image_link, additional_image_link, and lifestyle_image_link.

Common pitfalls

  • Setting image_link to a watermarked CDN URL even though the original asset has no watermark, Google fetches the watermarked version.
  • Submitting product photos that include floor reflections or studio props that read as "decoration" to Google's automated review.
  • Sending Google the brand-frame images designed for Meta: Meta accepts them, Google rejects them. In Emberfeed, duplicate the feed for Google (the Duplicate button on the feed page) and give the copy a clean template with no text, logo or border.
  • Rendering a small photo at 1500×1500 to clear the size warning. Google says not to scale up an image or submit a thumbnail, and a render cannot add detail the photo does not have. The fix is a larger source image.
  • Relying on image_link redirects through a marketing tracker, Google fetches the redirect target, which may differ from the canonical asset.
  • Rendering AI-generated product photos through a template for Google. A render is a new image: the source photo's IPTC DigitalSourceType tag does not carry over, and Emberfeed does not write IPTC metadata. Submit those photos as the original, tagged files.

How Emberfeed handles all of this

Emberfeed checks every product in your feed against this platform’s required fields and format rules: prices, availability values, GTIN checksums, title and link lengths, image URLs. Most problems come with a fix, a field rule for the whole feed or an override for one product. It also measures your product photos, while rendering them and in the background after each refresh, and flags the ones that are too small for this platform.

Emberfeed is a hosted tool: it imports your existing product feed, renders every product image through one template and serves a new feed URL for Meta, Google, TikTok, Heureka, Zboží.cz and Glami. It costs 25 € per feed per month, and the first 3 months are free on one feed up to 1,000 products.

Validate your feed free