Google says poor images no longer block Merchant Center products
Google has changed the wording of its Merchant Center help document on low image quality, and products with blurry or pixelated images will now keep showing in ads and free listings, according to a report from Search Engine Roundtable on 12 October.
The change matters for any Australian retailer running Google Shopping campaigns. Until now, a poor image was a reason Google could keep a product out of ads and free listings. That hard gate appears to be gone.
What the help text said before, and what it says now
Search Engine Roundtable's Barry Schwartz quoted both versions. The older text warned that a product with low image quality "may be prevented from showing in ads and free listings until the image quality improves".
The updated note still flags the problem, listing blurriness, pixelation and low resolution as examples, but now adds: "Your product will continue to show in ads and free listings."
The edit was spotted by Hana Kobzova of PPC News Feed.
The wording quoted here is as reported by Search Engine Roundtable; the report includes no comment from Google beyond the help page edit itself.
Images still decide whether anyone clicks
Being eligible to show is only the first step. Schwartz noted that listings with weak images can run, but their click-through rates might be poor.
Google has also announced that product images must be at least 500 by 500 pixels from 31 January 2027, and Merchant Center is already warning on smaller images. An image can clear the quality note and still fall short of the size rule.
Three things worth doing this week:
- Open Merchant Center diagnostics and check whether products previously held back for image quality are now live and competing on a weak image.
- Find every product image under 500 by 500 pixels and replace it before enforcement starts on 31 January 2027.
- Prioritise new photography for the products that carry most of the ad spend, since those are the listings where a sharper image pays back fastest.
If Shopping performance has moved in recent days, a batch of products rejoining the auction is one explanation to rule out before changing bids.
