Promotional Overlay on Image in Merchant Center: Fix It

What this issue means

Google's image rules prohibit anything added to the photo that isn't physically part of the product. According to its image link specification and the "Text on image" help page, disallowed overlays include:

• Calls to action, like "Buy now" or "Shop today"
• Prices, discounts, or shipping information
• Service or warranty claims, like "2-year warranty"
• Promotional adjectives, like "Best seller" or "Top rated"
• Condition or compatibility labels, like "New" or "Fits iPhone 16"
• Barcodes, QR codes or serial tags added to the photo
• Watermarks, copyright symbols or stamps
• Added brand, manufacturer or retailer names and logos

A logo that is printed on the product itself is fine. A logo you added in the corner of the photo is not.

The rule applies most strictly to the main image (image_link). If a promotional overlay is detected there, the product is disapproved.

Why it happens

• Theme or app badges baked into images. Some Shopify and WooCommerce apps add "Sale" or "-20%" badges by editing the image file itself rather than overlaying them with CSS.
• Supplier images with branding. Wholesale and dropship catalogs often include the distributor's watermark or logo.
• Marketing graphics used as the main image. Infographic-style images with feature callouts, often made for Amazon, set as the first product image.
• Watermarks added to protect photos. A semi-transparent store name across the image.
• Seasonal banners. "Black Friday" ribbons added to product images for a campaign and never removed.
• False positives. Text printed on the actual product (a T-shirt slogan, a book cover) can occasionally be flagged.

How to fix it

1. Identify the affected products. In Merchant Center, go to Products > Needs attention, filter by the overlay or text on image issue, and download the list.

2. Try automatic image improvements first. In Merchant Center Next, go to Products under Products & store, open the Automations tab, find image improvements, select View details, and turn it on. It's off by default. When enabled, Google tries to remove detected text, watermarks, overlays and logos, and if successful, it replaces the image and the product may be reapproved. Google notes it often can't fix complex collages, heavy text over key features, or dense watermarks, and it keeps the original if a fix would lower quality.

3. Replace the main image with a clean one. For anything automation doesn't fix:

   • Shopify (Google & YouTube app): The channel sends the featured image as image_link. Make a clean product photo the first (featured) image, and move infographic or promotional images further down the media list. If an app is burning badges into images, switch it to a CSS overlay or disable it.
   • WooCommerce: Set a clean photo as the main Product image and keep promotional graphics in the gallery. Check that your feed plugin uses the main image for image_link.
   • Feed files and supplemental sources: Point image_link to the clean image's URL. A supplemental source with id and image_link lets you send Google a clean image while keeping a branded image on your site.

4. Use a new URL. Upload the clean image as a new file rather than overwriting the old one. Google detects new URLs faster; reusing the same URL can take weeks to refresh.

5. Handle additional images. Rules on additional_image_link are similar; move or remove promotional images there too if they're flagged.

6. Request a review for false positives. If the flagged text is physically on the product, like a printed slogan, you can request a review from the product's issue details in Merchant Center. Google notes there may be a limit on review requests.

7. Move promotions to the right place. Use Merchant Center promotions or the sale_price attribute to communicate discounts. Google shows sale prices and promotion annotations in the listing itself.

How long until it's fixed

Google says changes may take 24 to 72 hours to appear on the Needs attention page, but image re-crawling often takes longer. A new image URL is typically processed within about three days and can take up to 30 days. Automatic improvements work in the background; check the Needs attention tab for the "Automatic improvement: image quality" entry to see which images were replaced.

How to prevent it

• Keep a "clean image first" rule: the first product image is always a plain photo of the product.
• Show sale badges using theme overlays, not edited image files.
• Request unwatermarked images from suppliers, or reshoot.
• Remove seasonal banners from product images after every campaign.
• Keep automatic image improvements turned on as a safety net.

If overlays are widespread in your catalog or your supplier images are all branded, Mercantads can set up a clean image pipeline for Google without changing your storefront. See our Merchant Center service, or check images with our product image checker.