How To Fix GMC Invalid Images Warning

What Are Invalid Image Warnings?

Your product image isn’t just a visual; it’s the make-or-break of Google Shopping.

If your image is invalid, your product won’t show. No image = no ad = no sale.

That’s why when Google flags your SKU with an “Invalid Image” warning, visibility drops and conversions stall. The good news: once you know what’s causing the issue, it’s quick to fix.

Why Google Flags Invalid Images

Google triggers this warning when submitted images don’t meet its technical or quality requirements. Since visuals are critical for Shopping performance, Google won’t display a product without a valid image.

Common Reasons for Invalid Images

These are the most frequent reasons we see flagged in Merchant Center:

• Broken or inaccessible image URLs – 404 errors or dead links.

• White backgrounds or blank placeholders – treated as missing images.

• No image loading at all – automatic SKU disapproval.

• Unsupported formats – anything outside Google’s accepted list.

Pro tip: Some image disapprovals aren’t about the file itself, but crawlability. If Googlebot can’t fetch the image, you’ll see an error even if the file is valid.

Google’s Accepted Image Formats

Make sure your product images use one of these formats:

• JPEG (.jpg, .jpeg)

• WebP (.webp)

• PNG (.png)

• GIF (.gif)

• BMP (.bmp)

• TIFF (.tif, .tiff)

Submitting unsupported file types will trigger automatic disapprovals.

How to Fix Invalid Image Disapprovals

Follow these steps to get your products live again:

1. Check the image URL
   Open the link in a browser to confirm it loads correctly.
   Update the feed if you see a 404 error or broken image.

2. Ensure the image matches the product
   Avoid generic, placeholder, or incorrect visuals.
   The image must clearly represent the product being sold.

3. Use a supported format
   Convert files to JPEG or PNG if they’re in unsupported formats.

4. Stabilise image hosting
   Ensure image URLs don’t change frequently due to CDNs or dynamic systems.
   Create stable paths to avoid recurring disapprovals.

5. Avoid placeholders or “No Image Available” graphics
   Google rejects listings without real product imagery.

Speed Up Google’s Re-Crawling Process

Once you’ve corrected an image, Google may take up to 48 hours to re-approve.

To accelerate this, add a simple query string to the image URL (e.g. ?updated=1). This signals Google to fetch the updated file immediately.

Pro Tip: When uploading new images with a different URL, no query string is needed. Google re-crawls automatically.

Keeping Your Shopping Ads Live

Invalid images are one of the most common reasons products get pulled from Shopping, but also one of the easiest to prevent. With clean, stable, and compliant imagery, your products stay visible and conversions keep flowing.

Check Google’s full guidance to make sure your listings meet every spec.

How FeedSpark Can Help

Through our fully managed service, we proactively monitor feeds, websites, and structured data to identify issues early and keep Shopping campaigns running without interruption. We:

• Detect image errors fast through real-time Merchant Center monitoring

• Flag root causes and provide clear fixes

• Advise on best practices for image hosting and quality

• Help accelerate re-approvals with proven feed update techniques

Need help staying compliant and keeping your listings live? Let’s talk.

We’ll help you take control of your Merchant Center performance before errors impact your bottom line.