Google product feed image requirements: A quick guide for retailers and advertisers

If you’re selling or advertising on Google Shopping, you rely heavily on images to catch your customer’s attention. That’s why it’s so important to understand Google product feed image requirements.

The way you set up your product images on Google Shopping has a huge impact on your shoppers’ experience. Get it right and you attract relevant click-through, boost conversion and grow your business. Get it wrong and you risk losing product visibility and wasting ad budget.

So, what are the current Google Shopping image requirements? How can you ensure your images are set up for maximum performance? And which common mistakes do you want to avoid when using product images on Google? This quick guide answers all these questions and more.

Key Takeaways

• Learn the Google product feed image requirements: What are they? Why do they matter?
• Discover proven best practices to ensure your products perform better on Google Shopping.
• Find out how to avoid common mistakes that negatively impact product visibility and performance on Google.

What are the Google product feed image requirements?

Images are a fundamental component of successful product feed management. Google offers detailed guidance on how to handle images in your product feed. Add images to your feed using these two attributes:

• [image_link]: This attribute is for the main product image, which appears first in your product listing and in search results. Input the image URL as the value for this attribute.
• [additional__image__link]: Use this attribute for each additional image you want to add.

When using these attributes, strict limitations apply. Let’s look at all the criteria for Google Shopping product images:

Google Shopping image requirements: Quick Overview

URL type:	Use an http or https URL. Make sure your URL only contains ASCII characters and that it is RFC 3986 compliant.
URL length:	Max. 2,000 characters
File formats:	JPEG (.jpg/.jpeg), WebP (.webp), PNG (.png), GIF (.gif), BMP (.bmp), and TIFF (.tif/.tiff)
Number of images:	Include 1 image under the [image_link] attribute and up to 10 images using [additional_image_link]
Image sizes:	- Non-apparel images: min. 100 x 100 pixels - Apparel images: min. 250 x 250 pixels - Max. image size: 64 megapixels or 16 MB

Why are the Google Shopping image requirements so important?

Since your shoppers cannot touch or inspect an item before ordering it, the images in your Google Shopping ads and product listings are extremely important. In fact, a study by Etsy found that 90% of shoppers say image quality has a major influence on their purchase decision-making – more than any other factor, including price, shipping costs and reviews.

In short, high-quality, attractive images in your Google Shopping feed help instill confidence, attract more clicks and lead to better sales and happier shoppers.

5 best practices to optimize your Google Shopping product images

How can you make your product images stand out from the crown on Google? Here are five best practices that help your images attract more attention – along with some common mistakes you will want to avoid.

1. Give an accurate view of your products

• Make sure the full product is completely visible in the main product image.
• Use additional images to show close-ups (for example, of specific product features).
• If the product comes in packaging, always include images of all sides of the package.
• If you’re using the bundle attribute [is_bundle], make sure the main image shows all products included in the bundle.
• Avoid images that are unrealistic or misleading.

2. Use high-quality photos

• Whenever possible, use professionally made photos.
• Grainy or pixelated photos perform badly and reflect poorly on your products.
• Aim for a photo resolution of at least 1500 x 1500 (much higher than the minimum requirements).
• Use the [lifestyle_image_link] attribute to provide even more context and showcase your product with a bit more flair than in standard product photos.

3. Create a consistent look

• For your main product image, use photos that just show the product on a clean background.
• Use the same background and image style for all your products.
• Avoid using photos with borders.
• Avoid photos that show only an icon or logo instead of a picture of the actual product (exception: when selling software products)
• Avoid promotional text like “Special price” or any CTAs, as these quickly go out of date, which means the text will be inaccurate at some point.

4. Use automation tools

• Managing a vast library of images is difficult and time-consuming. Use automated tools that can help you automatically create dynamic product ads that always display the optimal image.
• Google ads automation tools can also ensure your photos are correctly formatted to meet all Google Shopping image requirements.

5. Remember technical SEO

• Make sure URLs are accurate, functional and hosted on a reliable server or content delivery network, so they load as fast as possible.
• Avoid changing image URLs, as it may cause your product listing to go into review, or could simply lead to your ad temporarily appearing without an image while Google crawls to find the new URL.

Wrapping up

Keeping up with Google product feed image requirements is essential if you want to stay competitive in the visual-driven world of eCommerce. Are your product images meeting Google’s standards for speed, clarity and quality?

Channable makes it easy to stay ahead. From smarter product feed management to seamless dynamic ad creatives optimization, our multichannel eCommerce platform helps you automate the hard parts and focus on results. Want to make your product images do more for your business? Contact us today to get started.

FAQs

What happens if I use low-quality product images in my Google Shopping feed?

Your products may get fewer clicks or be disapproved altogether, hurting visibility and sales.

Can I include promotional text or logos on Google Shopping images?

No, Google generally discourages adding overlays like CTAs, prices or logos on product images.

How often should I update image links in my product feed?

Only when necessary. Changing image URLs too often can trigger re-review delays or temporarily remove your images.