Your main product image is often the first thing shoppers see on Google. Images that don’t clearly show the product — or that add promotional text, watermarks or placeholders — can be disapproved and make your store look less trustworthy.
What a good main image looks like
- Shows the actual product you sell, accurately, in its variant (colour, size).
- Clear and high-resolution enough to see the product.
- A plain or simple background works best for the main image.
- No added text, borders, logos or watermarks on top of the product photo.
Common problems
- Placeholder images (“image coming soon”, theme demo photos).
- Promotional overlays like “SALE -50%”, “Free shipping” or prices written on the image.
- Watermarks or your logo across the product.
- Supplier images showing another brand’s logo or a different product.
- Broken image links in your feed (the URL returns an error).
How to fix
- Replace placeholder and supplier images with real photos of what you ship.
- Remove overlays and watermarks from the main image (you can keep lifestyle images as additional images).
- Check that every
image_linkin your feed opens the image directly. - Re-submit the feed and wait for the products to be re-reviewed.
Let a scan spot them
A MerchantLion Deep diagnosis looks at screenshots of your pages and flags placeholder images, watermarks and overlays as suggestions to verify, and checks image URLs from your feed.
Frequently asked questions
Can I add my logo to product photos?
Not on the main image. Use your logo on your website instead; keep the product photo clean.
Official sources
- Product data specification - Google Merchant Center Help
- Editorial & professional requirements - Shopping policies
MerchantLion is independent and not affiliated with Google. Google’s documentation is the authoritative source; policies change, so check it before making decisions.
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