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 can appear to potential customers in ads for your product and are commonly used to show a product from different angles or with product staging elements.

Example ad that shows where additional images can appear with your product

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:

http://www.example.com/image2.jpg

To submit more than 1 image (up to 10), separate each URL with a comma ( , ):

http://www.example.com/image2.jpg,http://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:

http://www.example.com/image2%2C3.jpg,http://www.example.com/image2%2C4.jpg
XML feeds <g:additional_image_link>http://www.example.com/image2.jpg</g:additional_image_link>
<g:additional_image_link>http://www.example.com/image3.jpg</g:additional_image_link>
Content API v2 (JSON) "additionalImageLinks": ["http://www.example.com/image2.jpg","http://www.example.com/image3.jpg"]
Content API v2 (XML) <additional_image_link>http://www.example.com/image2.jpg</additional_image_link>
<additional_image_link>http://www.example.com/image3.jpg</additional_image_link>

Guidelines

Follow these guidelines to make sure you submit high-quality data for your products and get the best performance from your ads.

Minimum requirements

These are the requirements you'll need to meet to show ads for your product. If you don't follow these requirements, we'll disapprove your product and let you know in the Diagnostics page of 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.
    • Include graphics or illustrations.
    • 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 are best practices that can help you go beyond the basic requirements to optimize your product data for performance. 

  • Follow the best practices for the image_link attribute.  
  • 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 http://example.com/image1.jpg (only the couch on a white background)
additional_image_link http://example.com/image2.jpg (the couch with two pillows and a living room setting)
Product with three additional images
Product Ring
image_link http://example.com/ring1.jpg (only the ring on a white background)
additional_image_link http://example.com/ring2.jpg (only the ring on a white background from a different angle)
additional_image_link http://example.com/ring3.jpg (the ring on a model wearing a matching outfit)
additional_image_link http://example.com/ring4.jpg (the ring inside its gift box packaging)

An example showing how additional images can appear alongside the main image

Product Pie pan
image_link http://example.com/image1.jpg (only the pie pan on a white background)
additional_image_link http://example.com/image2.jpg (the end product - a slice of pie on a plate)
additional_image_link http://example.com/image3.jpg (the baker holding the finished pie in the pan)
additional_image_link http://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 http://example.com/camerabundle1.jpg (all products in the bundle on a white background)
additional_image_link http://example.com/camerabundle2.jpg (only the camera body on a white background)
Multipack
Product Bar Soap 3-pack
multipack 3
image_link http://example.com/soap1.jpg (only one bar of soap on a white background)
additional_image_link http://example.com/soap2.jpg (three bars of soap on a white background)
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