Short answer. Merchant Center reports “Invalid image [image_link]” when it followed the URL and did not get a usable image: the URL returned an error, the file was not a supported format, or the host refused Google’s request. Open the exact URL from the feed in a private browser window; if it fails there, fix the URL or the image host, then re-fetch the feed.
| Shown in Merchant Center as | Invalid image [image_link] |
|---|---|
| Attribute | image_link |
| Effect | Product disapproved |
| Where to find it | Products → Needs attention, then filter by this issue |
| Free check | Reported by the free feed check |
What Merchant Center means by “Invalid image [image_link]”
The image_link is present, but when Google followed it, what came back was not a usable image: an HTTP error, an HTML page, a file in a format Google does not decode, or nothing within the time limit. The Content API lists the issue as image_link_broken with the title “Invalid image [image link]” in its product issues reference. The image_link specification sets the rules the fetch has to satisfy: a URL that starts with http or https, that Google can crawl, in one of six formats, under 16 MB and 64 megapixels.
The product is disapproved until a fetch succeeds. Because the failure happens on Google’s side of the network, the same URL can work in your browser and fail for Google, which is why this issue is often disbelieved before it is fixed.
Why it happens
- The image was deleted or renamed and the feed still carries the old URL (a 404).
- Hotlink protection or a referrer check on the image host or CDN. Your browser sends a referrer from your own site; Google’s fetcher does not, and gets a 403 or a placeholder.
- An http:// URL on a store that moved to https. The redirect sometimes lands on a page rather than the file, or the http host no longer answers.
- Unsupported format. SVG, AVIF and HEIC are served happily and rejected by Google; only JPEG, WebP, PNG, GIF, BMP and TIFF are decoded.
- Bot protection or a firewall that challenges unknown user agents with a JavaScript page. Google gets the challenge page, not the image.
- Timeouts. A slow origin or a very large file that does not finish in time.
How to fix it
In Shopify
Shopify-hosted images on cdn.shopify.com rarely fail; the failures come from images hosted elsewhere and pasted into descriptions or metafields. Make sure the feed uses the product’s Shopify media, and if a third-party feed app rewrites image URLs through its own proxy, test one of those URLs in a private window with no cookies.
In WooCommerce
Most cases are security plugins and CDN rules. In your firewall or CDN, allow Googlebot and Google’s image fetcher to reach /wp-content/uploads/ without a challenge, and turn off hotlink protection for that path or add Google to its allowlist. If the site moved to https, run a search-and-replace on the uploads URLs so the database, and therefore the feed, carries the current scheme.
In a CSV or XML feed
Take the exact URL from the feed for one affected product and open it in a private browser window. If it fails there, the URL is wrong; correct it. If it works there, the host is treating Google differently: check the server log for Google’s requests and their status codes, and fix the rule that returns the error. Then re-fetch the feed so Google tries again.
How long until Merchant Center clears it
Google retries the image after the next feed fetch, and a successful fetch re-approves the product within 24–72 hours. Fixing the host without re-fetching the feed also works, on Google’s own retry schedule, but the feed fetch is the lever you control.
What FeedRobin does about it
The free check reads the URL, not the pixels, and catches the version of this problem that is visible in text: image links on http://, which we list and offer to rewrite to https:// with the before-and-after shown. It also downloads a sample of images to measure them, so an image that cannot be fetched at all shows up in that sample as unreadable. A connected Shopify or WooCommerce store sends us the platform’s own image URLs, which are the ones least likely to fail.
Questions merchants ask
The image opens fine in my browser. Why is it invalid for Google?
Your browser sends cookies and a referrer from your own site; Google’s fetcher sends neither. Hotlink protection, CDN rules that require a referrer, and firewalls that block unknown user agents all pass your test and fail Google’s.
Which image formats does Google accept?
JPEG, WebP, PNG, GIF, BMP and TIFF, with no file over 16 MB and no image over 64 megapixels. An SVG, an AVIF or an HEIC file is fetched successfully and still reported as invalid.
Does http:// instead of https:// cause this?
Google accepts both in the URL, but an http URL on a store that has moved to https often redirects to a page or fails outright. Fix the export so it writes the current https address.
Sources
- Image link [image_link] — Google Merchant Center Help
- Product issues (Content API for Shopping): the issue codes and the titles Merchant Center shows — Google Merchant Center Help