Short answer. Merchant Center shows “Generic image” (the help page calls it “Image too generic”) when the main image does not show the product: a placeholder, your logo, a “no image available” graphic, a colour swatch. Upload a photo of the actual product; there is no attribute or setting that clears this.
| Shown in Merchant Center as | Generic image |
|---|---|
| Attribute | image_link |
| Effect | Product disapproved |
| Where to find it | Products → Needs attention, then filter by this issue |
| Free check | Not something a feed file shows; see below for what the check can tell you instead |
What Merchant Center means by “Generic image”
The image at your image_link does not show the product. Google’s help page for the issue gives the examples: a logo, or a graphic that says “No image available”. Placeholder images that a platform inserts when a product has no photo, colour swatches standing in for a garment, and category images reused across every product in a range all fall under it. The rule from the image_link specification is that the main image must clearly show the principal product being advertised.
It is a disapproval. Merchant Center shows it as “Generic image” in the issue list and titles the help page “Image too generic”; both refer to the same check.
Why it happens
- Platform placeholders. The product has no photo, the storefront shows a placeholder, and the export copies the placeholder URL into the feed as if it were a product image.
- Logo as image. Services, gift cards, digital goods and made-to-order items often use the shop logo because there is nothing to photograph.
- “Coming soon” graphics on pre-order products.
- One image for a whole range. A category shot of ten products used as the image of each of them.
How to fix it
In Shopify
Products without a real photo should not be in the feed until they have one. If the products are in the Google & YouTube channel, set them to “not available” for the channel, or exclude them in your feed app’s filter. For products that have a photo but the placeholder is what the feed sends, check that the variant, not just the product, has media assigned.
In WooCommerce
WooCommerce shows a placeholder on the storefront for products without a product image, but the product has no image in the database. Feed plugins that write the placeholder’s URL are inventing data; the honest value is an empty image_link, which Merchant Center reports as a missing value instead and is easier to filter on. Our connector leaves the field empty in that case. Then add a photo and the product joins the feed on its own.
In a CSV or XML feed
Filter Needs attention to this issue and download the list. For each id, either point image_link at a real photograph of that product or remove the row until you have one. Do not swap the placeholder for a different placeholder; the detection is on content, not on the URL.
How long until Merchant Center clears it
The new image is fetched after the next feed refresh and the product is re-evaluated within 24–72 hours. Removing the row from the feed clears the issue on the next fetch as well, because the product is no longer submitted.
What FeedRobin does about it
A feed file cannot tell us whether the image shows the product, so the free check does not report generic images and does not pretend to. It reports the two facts that sit next to this issue and are visible in the file: products with no image at all, and images that cannot be fetched or are under size. For connected stores we never substitute a placeholder for a missing photo; a product without an image is listed on your dashboard as exactly that, so the count of products waiting for a photo is always in front of you.
Questions merchants ask
My platform inserts a placeholder when a product has no photo. Is that the cause?
Almost always. Shopify and WooCommerce themes show a placeholder on the storefront, and some feed exports copy that placeholder URL into image_link. A photo-less product should have an empty image_link, which is a different error but an honest one.
Are there products where a generic image is allowed?
Google’s page says generic images are not allowed unless the product falls into certain categories, without listing them. Software, services and some digital goods are the usual examples. If your product is physical, assume the rule applies.
Is a colour swatch a generic image for a paint or fabric product?
Google’s rule is that the image must show the principal product. A swatch that is the product (a paint chip, a fabric sample) is generally accepted; a plain colour square standing in for a garment is not.
Sources
- How to fix: Image too generic — Google Merchant Center Help
- Image link [image_link] — Google Merchant Center Help
- Fixing Merchant Center disapprovals for product data quality violations — Google Merchant Center Help