Use the additional_image_link [additional_image_link] attribute to provide more images for your product beyond the main image that you provide in the image_link [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 that we understand the data that 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 is this?) | Include up to 10 additional images |
| File format | Example value |
|---|---|
| Text feeds |
To submit 1 image, submit the (encoded) URL:
To submit more than 1 image (up to 10), separate each URL with a comma (
Make sure that you encode any commas (as %2C) within the URL, but don't encode the comma that you use to separate each image URL:
|
| XML feeds |
|
To format your data for Content API, have a look at the Content API for Shopping.
Guidelines
Follow these guidelines to make sure that you submit high-quality data for your products.
Minimum requirements
These are the requirements that 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 on the Diagnostics page of your Merchant Center account.
- Meet the requirements for the
image_link [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 [is_bundle]attribute. - Display the entire multipack. When you submit a custom multipack of products, use the
multipack [multipack]attribute.
Best practices
These best practices can help you go beyond the basic requirements to optimise your product data for performance.
- Follow the best practices for the
image_link [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 [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 | Sofa |
image_link [image_link] |
https://example.com/image1.jpg (only the sofa on a white background) |
additional_image_link [additional_image_link] |
https://example.com/image2.jpg (the sofa with two pillows and a living room setting) |
| Product | Ring |
image_link [image_link] |
https://example.com/ring1.jpg (only the ring on a white background) |
additional_image_link [additional_image_link] |
https://example.com/ring2.jpg (only the ring on a white background from a different angle) |
additional_image_link [additional_image_link] |
https://example.com/ring3.jpg (the ring on a model wearing a matching outfit) |
additional_image_link [additional_image_link] |
https://example.com/ring4.jpg (the ring inside its gift box packaging) |
| Product | Pie tin |
image_link [image_link] |
https://example.com/image1.jpg (only the pie tin on a white background) |
additional_image_link [additional_image_link] |
https://example.com/image2.jpg (the end product – a slice of pie on a plate) |
additional_image_link [additional_image_link] |
https://example.com/image3.jpg (the baker holding the finished pie in the tin) |
additional_image_link [additional_image_link] |
https://example.com/image4.jpg (the pie tin in close up showing the finished pie) |
| Product | Camera body with a bag and lens |
is_bundle [is_bundle] |
yes |
image_link [image_link] |
https://example.com/camerabundle1.jpg (all products in the bundle on a white background) |
additional_image_link [additional_image_link] |
https://example.com/camerabundle2.jpg (only the camera body on a white background) |
| Product | Bar Soap 3-pack |
| multipack [multipack] | 3 |
| image_link [image_link] | https://example.com/soap1.jpg (only one bar of soap on a white background) |
| additional_image_link [additional_image_link] | https://example.com/soap2.jpg (three bars of soap on a white background) |