additional_image_link: Definition

Use the additional_image_link attribute to provide more images for your product beyond the main image you provide in the image_link attribute. Additional images for your product can appear to potential customers and are commonly used to show a product from different angles or with product staging elements.

When to use

Optional for each product

Format

Follow these formatting guidelines to make sure we understand the data you're submitting. 

Type	URL (including http or https), ASCII characters only, and RFC 3986 compliant
Limits	0–2,000 characters
Supported file formats	GIF (.gif), JPEG (.jpg/.jpeg), PNG (.png), BMP (.bmp), and TIFF (.tif/.tiff) The file extensions for these images should correspond to their format.
Repeated field (What's this?)	Include up to 10 additional images

File format	Example value
Text feeds	To submit 1 image, submit the (encoded) URL: https://www.example.com/image2.jpg To submit more than 1 image (up to 10), separate each URL with a comma ( , ): https://www.example.com/image2.jpg,https://www.example.com/image3.jpg Make sure to encode any commas (as %2C) within the URL, but don’t encode the comma that you use to separate each image URL: https://www.example.com/image2%2C3.jpg,https://www.example.com/image2%2C4.jpg
XML feeds	<g:additional_image_link>https://www.example.com/image2.jpg </g:additional_image_link> <g:additional_image_link>https://www.example.com/image3.jpg </g:additional_image_link>

To format your data for Content API, see the Content API for Shopping.

Guidelines

Follow these guidelines to make sure you submit high-quality data for your products.

Minimum requirements

These are the requirements you'll need to meet to show your product. If you don't follow these requirements, we'll disapprove your product and let you know in the Diagnostics page in your Merchant Center account.

• Meet the requirements for the image_link attribute with a few exceptions. The additional image can:
  • Include product staging or show the product in use.
  • Highlight parts of the product without showing the entire product.
  • Show parts of a bundle instead of showing all products in the bundle. When you submit a custom bundle of products, use the is_bundle attribute.
  • Display the entire multipack. When you submit a custom multipack of products, use the multipack attribute.

Best practices

These best practices can help you go beyond the basic requirements to optimize your product data for performance.

• Follow the best practices for the image_link attribute.
  For example, do not submit:
  • Brand-only or logo images
  • Blurry or misshapen images
  • Images with a watermark, or text not relevant to the image such as trademark or store info
• Submit images that meet the size requirements. If you include images that are under the minimum size requirements (explained in image_link), your product won’t be disapproved, but your images won’t be shown.
• Use additional images to show the product from different angles or the product being used. For example, if the main image shows product packaging, including images of the box contents in the additional images can help users better understand what they are buying.

Examples

Product with one additional image

Product	Couch
image_link	https://example.com/image1.jpg (only the couch on a white background)
additional_image_link	https://example.com/image2.jpg (the couch with two pillows and a living room setting)

Product with three additional images

Product	Ring
image_link	https://example.com/ring1.jpg (only the ring on a white background)
additional_image_link	https://example.com/ring2.jpg (only the ring on a white background from a different angle)
additional_image_link	https://example.com/ring3.jpg (the ring on a model wearing a matching outfit)
additional_image_link	https://example.com/ring4.jpg (the ring inside its gift box packaging)

Product	Pie pan
image_link	https://example.com/image1.jpg (only the pie pan on a white background)
additional_image_link	https://example.com/image2.jpg (the end product - a slice of pie on a plate)
additional_image_link	https://example.com/image3.jpg (the baker holding the finished pie in the pan)
additional_image_link	https://example.com/image4.jpg (the pie pan in close up showing the finished pie)

Bundle

Product	Camera body with a bag and lens
is_bundle	yes
image_link	https://example.com/camerabundle1.jpg (all products in the bundle on a white background)
additional_image_link	https://example.com/camerabundle2.jpg (only the camera body on a white background)

Multipack

Product	Bar Soap 3-pack
multipack	3
image_link	https://example.com/soap1.jpg (only one bar of soap on a white background)
additional_image_link	https://example.com/soap2.jpg (three bars of soap on a white background)