Rules To Help You Make The Most of Your Google Shopping Images

Navneet Singh, Founder

Ecommerce SEO

Google Shopping gives a top-notch visual experience. The imagery used in Google Shopping Ads is an important phenomenon related to eCommerce platforms.

An online retailer cannot rule out the value of high-quality visual representations in times of image search and shoppable images.

Images play an essential role in influencing the customer’s decisions to buy an item you will use in Google Shopping. Not having the best images, you may get a lower quality of your feed in your display that hinders your overall results. 

Include well-optimized images vital in satisfying your ad campaign’s performance. You will need helpful tips for your Google Shopping Product Image Optimization.

Do not hesitate to explore all the possible errors. An E-commerce SEO Agency dealing which also offers the services for Google Ads is the best choice to give you an insight into mistakes you must avoid and gets an extensive list of best practices.

Mastering Google Shopping Images

  1. Use the Right Image
  2. Use High Resolution and The Appropriate Image Size
  3. Focus on the Image Content
  4. Give your Images Some Retouch
  5. Use Additional Images
  6. Test lifestyle images vs. plain images
  7. Regularly Conduct A/B Testing

Why Google Shopping Product Images are so Important

Consider this. People tend to remember just 10% of the information about three days after hearing about a product. But, if you place a relevant image with this information, people will retain 65% of the information three days later. 

The biggest challenge of online shopping is that people can’t touch or see the actual product. So, the role of images is huge. 

Shoppers make their purchasing decisions based on images. You must outsmart your competitors and stand out.

Grab Attention with the Image

The image is the most significant part of a Google Shopping Ad. Customers base their decisions about  a product as they look at the attributes in the following order:

  • Image
  • Price
  • Title

Google Shopping customers are immediately drawn to an image, and after that, their eye line is drawn to the text.

In other words, the combination of images and text results in better campaign performance. The image is an essential component of your ad because that’s the first thing shoppers can compare with competitors.

As you select the right image, you can tell shoppers an essential aspect about your product, service, or brand. Shoppers like to see images that are easy to digest.

Google’s Shopping Requirements for Product Image

In Google Shopping, the simple method is to do what Google tells you. However, here are a few considerations to make.

Image Size Requirements

Too small and too big images lead to an error on the Google Merchant Center account. Your listing won’t go live. Pay comprehensive attention to the size requirements which Google offers, including:

Non-apparel images: At least 100 x 100 pixels

Apparel image: At least 250 x 250 pixels

No image larger than 64 megapixels.

No image file larger than 16 MB.

Formats

The only formats which are acceptable:

  • GIF (.gif) (non-animated)
  • JPEG (.jpg/.jpeg)
  • PNG (.png)
  • BMP (.bmp) 
  • TIFF (.tif/.tiff)

Requirements for the URL

It is necessary to understand that Google looks at images and links using crawlers and algorithms. It is crucial to optimize and set your URL right. The  URL requirements include:

Using the [image_link] category in your feed, the URL should link to the primary image for the product.

  • The URL needs to start with either HTTP. or HTTPS.
  • The URL must be in line with RFC 2396 or RFC 1738 – examples:
  • Space would be %20
  • A quotation mark (“) is %22
  • An octothorpe (#) is %23

Placeholder Images

They are not allowed aside from two exceptions: 

  • Show Illustrations where necessary, for example, The categories Hardware or Vehicle & Parts.
  • Single-color images are accepted for Paint in any category.

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What to Avoid with Product Images

Text on the Image 

Clear product images are important in informing online shoppers. However, you’re forbidden from using promotional text on images on ads. To add more text, Learn about the product description section.

Broken Links

Google should be able to read your link. When a link is not accessible, it won’t get shown. Refrain from adding unreadable elements or spaces in your URL to be accessible. Also, check that the URL is still valid and has not been moved or removed altogether.

Watermarks

Watermark on your images seems lucrative, but it surely will get your branding approval. Many items on Shopping ads require an image having a clearer structured product view lacking additional promotional elements.

Generic Images

Due to the “generic images” disapproval, it’s necessary to stay on guard! It occurs due to many reasons, such as not having product images. In the image_link field, using a default image like the company logo is essential.

It is now possible to automatically improve uploaded images. Ensure that they meet your requirements and enhance the user experience through automatic image enhancement. 

Google Shopping Product Image Optimization 

High-quality images are directly related to higher user engagement and clicks. As you improve the essence of your images, it offers you a top-quality user experience for anyone who views your product. This also leads to a better performance of Shopping campaigns. Here are a few tips on using the right Google Shopping product.

 1. Use the Right Image

Having the right image for every product will be highly useful. So, you need to set up parent or child attributes for the various images.

Some best practices.

Show your customers the right color, size, and other specifications in the image. 

It is worthwhile to show customers the wrong color, size, etc. Different product variations should have their proper pattern, size, and color annotated within your data feed, and the same goes for images.

The images you choose must answer the shoppers’ questions about the product’s looks and feelings.

 2. Use An Image With High Resolution and Appropriate Size

A poor-quality image product is not good in any way, and it repels the shoppers from buying your product.

Do not go for Google’s minimum size setting at 100×100 pixels or get 250×250 for clothing & apparel. Instead, choose larger and high-quality images for more excellent performance. 

CPC Strategy recommends using images that are 800×800 pixels or more significant. Such images are highly visually appealing and show how a product performs better than smaller images. 

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Hiring a professional product photographer will surely help you get perfect pictures, especially if your presentation skills are not good.

3. Focus on the Image Content

Make a complete effort to represent any item you may be selling accurately. Although it seems obvious, ensure that backgrounds and props do not cover or hide the item. Your product must stand out.

You must do the photography of the product must be done against a white background. Thus, the main product should not get lost in the shuffle. 

If you know about a product nicely, remember that it should occur only when the potential customer sees it for the first time. If the shopper does not get a good feel for the actual product, he will move to the following listing. 

Google recommends that your product shouldn’t take up between 75%  and 90% of the full image.

4. Retouching the Images

Professional Retouching of images you’ve taken yourself will create better results. Retouching makes a white background and gives a clearer image.

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5. Use Additional Images

Image carousels or adding ten additional images to your listing is helpful, and you can use the additional_image_link attribute. Additional images display your product from various angles, including using them. Various product staging elements help to do this.

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Multiple images give shoppers an idea of what they are buying and how they can use it.

6. Test Lifestyle Images vs. Plain Images

You do not want your campaign to be uninspiring and bland. Save your ad spend and check if this includes dynamic lifestyle images which suit your product and service better.

We did a social experiment to analyze how people react to images through exciting results. Participants will go for shopping ads having a lifestyle and explicit images of a clothing item. In a random group of people tested, nearly 82% of people answered that they would like to click on a shopping ad first, having an image of someone wearing a product rather than just the product.

To understand the kind of product images or lifestyle images that are most suitable. Also, find out which one is the best for your brand.

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7. Regularly Conduct A/B Testing

A/B testing is one of the best ways to understand the best product images. Your feed will give you the correct data for the same. You can uncover the highly vital ad components with A/B tests. Also, check for image variations, analyze the results, and apply adjustments to improve ad performance. It is necessary to put the guesswork to one side and discover what makes the customers respond. 

Fixing Errors When Google Disapproves your Feed

There are times when retailers set up feeds, but Google disapproves the same. Has this ever happened to you? So, the first thing to do in such a situation is to fix the issue right away.

First, you need to look for

  • Reason of Disapproval

Typically, Google specifies the reason for disapproval. As you spot the same, you have to understand how to sort out the issue.

  • Fix Errors with Best Practices Tips

Checking the reasons for disapproval gives you best practices to apply the tips and tricks for optimizing Google Shopping Product images.

Understand that fixing the issues in the right time frame is important. Otherwise, you will see a backlash from the search engine, which will disapprove other listings of yours lacking in one way or another.

  • Use Google’s Automatic Image Improvement Feature.

As you enable this feature, Google will automatically fix images below par.  The image gets replaced with a successful improvement, and it may then be approved.

  • Reupload Feed

As you fix the errors, re-upload your feed. Such reapproval will take about 12 hours because Google will fix all problems.

  • Request Manual Review if Needed

If the feed does not have any error, you can go for a manual review, taking nearly seven days. As the items in the feed get reviewed and approved, they start displaying within 24 hours.

Retailers may encounter preemptive item disapproval. Google can run a manual product review if they find things that do not meet the requirements (like watermarks). You get emails asking to highlight where the issues need to be fixed in such a case. For example, they will highlight products having a problem.

Conclusion

Wherever you find it possible to improve efficiency and lower waste of time, you should do it. Taking care of Google’s guidelines helps you make the most of the first impression on the viewers. Applying the various Google Shopping image optimization tips is vital for your ongoing feed management strategy. Moreover, the images you choose for the listings play a considerable role in keeping the shoppers engaged. Do not miss any effort that helps you avoid any significant and even minor image errors. It is appropriate to choose a top-notch E-commerce Marketing Company which can give you great outcomes to enhance your sales and revenues. Learn more about how you can make the most out of your Google Ads campaign by reaching out to experts at Visibility Gurus.