The Signal

Filter Low Image Quality. The Listing Can Stay Up.

Open Products, then Needs attention, and filter Issue title to Low image quality. The help page says the product keeps showing. Replace the image anyway. The page does not date the note.

PF

Pamela Flannery

Chief Marketing Officer

Filter to Low image quality before you pull the product.

The warning is still on the listing. The help page I fetched this morning says the product will continue to show in ads and free listings. The same page tells you to replace the image. Leave the listing up. Put a better file in its place.

I fetched Google's How to fix: Low image quality [image_link] page on 13 October 2026. I didn't sign in to Merchant Center. The clicks below are the ones that page names. If a label is missing in your session, that is the account in front of you.

Read the note, then the next paragraph

The page says one or more of the images associated with your product has poor image quality, such as blurriness, pixelation, or low resolution. The note under that line is short. "Your product will continue to show in ads and free listings."[1]

The paragraph after the note does not relax. High image quality correlates strongly with user engagement and clicks. To resolve the issue, improve the image. You'll provide a better experience for the people who view the product, and you may increase performance of your ads and free listings.[1]

Two jobs, one screen. The listing can stay up while you fix the file. The warning is why you fix the file.[1]

I searched the help article for "may be prevented." That sentence is not on the page I saved. I searched the article for "October." The word is not in the article. The page does not date the note.[1]

The size line is a different sentence

Above the note, the same page has an Important banner. Google recently announced new image size requirements of at least 500 x 500 pixels for all product images. Enforcement begins January 31, 2027. Starting July 2026, you'll receive warnings on images larger than the minimum requirements but smaller than 500 x 500.[1]

"Recently announced" is not a timestamp. Leave it as the page's words.[1] The page also does not name the older minimum on this screen. Don't fill that blank with a number from memory.

The image link page, fetched the same morning, words the size rule a little differently. New requirements of at least 500 x 500 pixels for all products begin January 31, 2027. That banner recommends 1500 x 1500 or above. The size table says around 1500 x 1500 when you can, and it adds two ceilings: no image larger than 64 megapixels, and no file larger than 16MB.[2]

The July 2026 warning sentence is on the low-image-quality page. I did not find it on the image link banner. Keep them apart.[1][2] Today is 13 October 2026, so July is already behind us and 31 January 2027 is still ahead. The page still words the warning as starting July 2026. I didn't open an account. If you want to know whether a small file is already flagged, open the account.[1]

A product can fail the quality warning and still be large enough. A sharp file can still sit under 500 x 500. Fix the one the filter names. If that file is also under 500 x 500, replace it with something that clears both bars.[1][2]

What the writeups date

Search Engine Roundtable stamps its story October 12, 2026, at 7:11 am. The stamp I fetched does not name a timezone.[3] Barry Schwartz writes that Google updated the help document so poor image quality will not stop those products from showing in Google Search or Google Ads. He quotes the live note. He also quotes an older line: "As a result, this product may be prevented from showing in ads and free listings until the image quality improves."[3] That older sentence is his quotation. It is not on the help page I saved. He links an archive copy from 4 September 2026. I didn't open it.[1][3]

PPC News Feed dates its writeup October 11, 2026, with no clock.[4] Its line that low image quality could previously prevent products from showing is PPC's. The help page doesn't date a before and after.[1][4] PPC also says warnings are issued as of July 2026 for images below 500 x 500.[4] The help page is tighter. Starting July 2026, warnings land on images larger than the older minimum and smaller than 500 x 500.[1] Brief that sentence. Barry writes that Hana Kobzova spotted the change. I didn't open the X thread the Roundtable page points at. Leave the thread out.[3]

Open the filter

Use the help page's clicks. I didn't click them in an account.

  • Go to Products in Merchant Center, then select the Needs attention tab.[1]
  • Use the filter icon above the table.[1]
  • Set Issue title to Low image quality [image_link].[1]

If the filter returns nothing, you don't have this warning on the products in that view. The page is the check.[1]

If the filter returns products, you have a list. The note says those products can keep showing. The fix section still says to update them with higher-quality images. The line at the top of the page says to use clear, high-resolution images to clearly showcase your product.[1]

Fix one product, then the list

The one-by-one path is short. Start with the product that shows up most, or the one whose photo you can replace today. The page doesn't rank the list for you.

  • Click the title of the product you want to fix, then click Edit product.[1]
  • Update this product with higher-quality images.[1]
  • Select Save.[1]

If the filter is long, download the list and work the file.

  • Stay on Products, then Needs attention, with the same Issue title filter.[1]
  • Select the download icon. The page says that downloads a .csv of all affected products, for all issues or for this particular issue.[1]
  • Cross-reference that list with your uploaded product data. Make sure each affected product has images that meet the requirements.[1]
  • Reupload the corrected product data using your chosen upload method.[1]

"Your chosen upload method" is the page's phrase. It doesn't name a primary feed, a supplemental feed, or a Content API call on this screen. Use the method that already writes image_link for that account.[1]

What to put in the file

The low-image-quality page points at the image link guidelines for those requirements. I fetched that page the same morning.[1][2]

image_link is the primary image. Supported formats on that page are JPEG, WebP, PNG, GIF, BMP, and TIFF. The file extension should match the format. A .jpg name on a PNG file can come back as an unsupported image type. The URL has to be http or https, ASCII, RFC 3986, and between 1 and 2,000 characters. Encode an ampersand as %26 and a comma as %2C.[2]

The crawler has to reach the file. robots.txt has to allow Googlebot and Googlebot-image. The page's example is User-agent: Googlebot then Allow: /, and the same pair for Googlebot-image. A change there can take 24 to 48 hours. If you reupload and Google still has the old image, check that file before you blame the save.[2]

Size is the other half of the replacement. At least 500 x 500. Around 1500 x 1500 or above when you can. Not over 64 megapixels. Not over 16MB.[2]

A sharper crop of a bad file is still a bad file if it carries a promotional overlay. The image link page treats that as a different failure. An image that doesn't meet the requirements in that section won't appear on Google surfaces, and you'll see a notification in Diagnostics. The section includes calls to action, prices, promotional adjectives, watermarks, logos added in post-production, placeholders, and borders.[2] PPC News Feed says promotional overlays remain a disapproval factor.[4]

That is not the low-image-quality note. A product can keep showing with a blurry photo and still get pulled for a price stamped on the image. Brief them as two rules.[1][2][4]

If the replacement was made with a generative tool, keep the IPTC DigitalSourceType metadata. The image link page names TrainedAlgorithmicMedia, CompositeSynthetic, and AlgorithmicMedia. Don't strip the tag on export.[2] The low-image-quality page also points at the AI content label setting. I didn't open that article, so I'm not walking those clicks. Open it before you call a generated photo finished.[1][2]

Check Needs attention again

After the save or the reupload, go back to Needs attention. Confirm the issue is no longer listed for that product.[1]

The page says it may take some time for the change to show there. A product that is still listed an hour later is not proof the save failed. Check again later. If it is still there after the page has had time, reopen the product and confirm the new image URL is the one you meant to save.[1]

Hand the person who runs the catalog three things. The filter reading. The note that the product continues to show. The file you are putting in its place: at least 500 x 500, around 1500 x 1500 if you have it, and no promotional text on the photo.[1][2]

If someone still wants a date, the stamps are on the writeups, not on the help page.[1][3][4]

The warning stays until the image gets better. The listing does not have to come down while you do that work.

Sources

[1] https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/15068449 — How to fix: Low image quality [image_link], Google Merchant Center Help. Fetched 13 October 2026.

[2] https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324350 — Image link [image_link], Google Merchant Center Help. Fetched 13 October 2026.

[3] https://www.seroundtable.com/google-merchant-center-poor-image-inclusion-42273.html — Barry Schwartz, "Google: Poor Image Quality Won't Stop Products From Showing In Search Or Ads," stamped October 12, 2026, 7:11 am. Fetched 13 October 2026.

[4] https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-10/merchant-center-low-image-quality — "Merchant Center: Low Image Quality No Longer Stops Products From Showing," dated October 11, 2026. Fetched 13 October 2026.