Short answer. Commerce Manager shows “URL incorrectly formatted” when a product’s link does not begin with http:// or https://, and “Broken links” when the link does not lead to a working page for that exact product. Fix the link so it opens the product’s own page on your website; for Shops the link must also be on your business’s domain, not a Meta page or another business’s site.
| Shown in Commerce Manager as | URL incorrectly formatted |
|---|---|
| Attribute | link |
| Effect | Product disapproved |
| Where to find it | Catalog → Products → a product’s Status and issues; feed-level errors under Catalog → Data sources → Download issue report |
| Free check | Reported by the free feed check |
What Commerce Manager means by “URL incorrectly formatted”
Meta’s data feed troubleshooting page requires a link for each product to the page where people can learn more or buy it, beginning with http:// or https://, tested in a browser. The products-not-showing page adds what “Broken links” covers: the link must be valid, must lead to the specific product page rather than the home page, and, for Shops, must be hosted on your business’s own domain, not a Meta page or another business’s domain. The product data specification repeats the domain rule for selling with Shops.
Why it happens
- Relative or scheme-less URLs from an export that stored paths.
- Links to the home page or a category instead of the product.
- Marketplace or social links (Etsy, Amazon, a Facebook Page) in a Shops catalogue.
- Deleted products whose URLs now 404.
How to fix it
In Shopify
Shopify’s channel writes absolute product URLs on your primary domain. A feed app must be set to the online store URL; if your Shops domain differs from the store’s primary domain, align them.
In WooCommerce
Our free plugin writes each variation’s permalink, absolute, on your site’s domain, and drops products that are no longer published. Confirm Settings → General → Site Address is your real domain with https://.
In a CSV or XML feed
Every link must start with https://, open the product’s own page with a 200, and for Shops sit on your domain. Remove rows for products that no longer exist rather than leaving dead links.
How long until Commerce Manager clears it
On the next upload with working links; Meta re-checks the pages as part of processing.
What FeedRobin does about it
The free feed check requires a link to score a row, reports links on http:// with the https rewrite, and opens a sample of product pages, so unreachable pages show up in that sample. For connected stores the links are regenerated from the platform on every sync.
Questions merchants ask
Can I link to my Facebook Page or a marketplace listing?
Not for Shops. Meta’s page says links cannot lead to a Meta domain such as a business Facebook Page, or to a domain owned by another business; they must be on your own website domain.
Can the link go to my home page or a category?
No. Meta wants the specific product page where people can buy that exact item, and gives the home page as the example of what not to do.
Do links to variants need the variant selected?
It is the safest reading of “that exact item”: a link that opens the product with the right colour or size selected. Most platforms support a variant query parameter for this.
Sources
- Troubleshoot data feed errors in your catalog — Meta Business Help Centre
- Troubleshoot products not appearing in your ads or shop on Facebook and Instagram — Meta Business Help Centre
- Product data specifications for catalogs in Commerce Manager — Meta Business Help Centre