Merchant Center feeds that populate image_link or additional_image_link with a main or additional image smaller than 500 x 500 pixels.
Product feed · image_link · additional_image_link
Google Merchant Center requires images of at least 500 x 500 pixels
Mandatory threshold on 31 January 2027Deadline : 31 January 2027Documentation as at : 1 September 2026
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01 · Mechanism
What actually changes
Google requires images of at least 500 x 500 pixels for image_link and additional_image_link from 31 January 2027. The associated warnings began on 14 April 2026, which makes it possible to identify the items to correct before the threshold takes effect.
The documentation recommends images of 1500 x 1500 pixels or more to cover delivery formats as fully as possible, but that figure remains a recommendation. The mandatory threshold announced is 500 x 500 pixels.
Accepted formats include JPEG, WebP, PNG, GIF, BMP and TIFF. The extension has to match the actual format, and the URL has to be reachable, use http or https, comply with RFC 3986 and stay within the documented length limit.
02 · Impact
What it changes in the mix
The check covers both the main and the additional images in the catalogue. An audit limited to image_link would therefore leave part of the feed outside the correction plan.
The second source confirms a two-stage timetable: warnings since 14 April 2026, then enforcement on 31 January 2027. It documents neither a guaranteed commercial outcome nor a general exemption for non-compliant images.
03 · Scope
Who has to reconfigure
The mandatory threshold is not 1500 x 1500 pixels: that dimension remains Google’s recommendation for covering delivery formats as fully as possible.
04 · Settings
What do I reconfigure?
- 01
Measure every image in the feed
Export image_link and additional_image_link, record the width and height of each file, then isolate the items with at least one image below 500 x 500 pixels.
- By when
- Before 31 January 2027
- Where
- Product feed · image_link and additional_image_link
- 02
Reconcile the Merchant Center warnings
Match the warnings that have appeared since 14 April 2026 to the products and attributes concerned, so as to prioritise the corrections that are actually observed.
- By when
- Right away
- Where
- Merchant Center · image warnings
- 03
Rework the non-compliant source visuals
Produce files of at least 500 x 500 pixels from the originals, aiming for 1500 x 1500 pixels or more where the source allows, without artificially upscaling a low-resolution image.
- By when
- Before 31 January 2027
- Where
- Source image library
- 04
Check format, extension and URL
Check the accepted format, the match between file and extension, HTTP or HTTPS reachability, RFC 3986 compliance and the length of every declared URL.
- By when
- Before resubmission
- Where
- Feed image files and URLs
- 05
Resubmit, then re-check the catalogue
After updating the feed, check the status of the corrected products in Merchant Center and schedule a further check before 31 January 2027 to cover the items added in the meantime.
- By when
- After each feed update
- Where
- Merchant Center · product diagnostics
05 · Correction
What is going around and what is accurate
Google will require images of 1500 x 1500 pixels from 31 January 2027.
The mandatory threshold announced is 500 x 500 pixels for main and additional images. Google recommends 1500 x 1500 pixels or more without making it the mandatory minimum.
06 · Evidence
Primary sources
07 · Revisions
Public history
A second official Google source added, confirming the warnings since 14 April 2026, enforcement on 31 January 2027 and the coverage of both main and additional images.