All Merchant Center errors
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Promotional overlay on image

Time to clear: 1 to 2 daysPublished

The product image contains text, a logo, a watermark, or promotional elements that Google does not allow.

What this error means

Your product image includes something besides the product: overlay text like "Sale" or a delivery promise, a store logo, a watermark, or a promotional badge. Google disapproves the product until the image is clean.

Why it happens

Google requires the main product image to show the product and nothing else. Shopping results place many images side by side, and overlays turn that grid into a wall of competing banners, so the rule is enforced strictly. Anything counts as an overlay: "Sale" and "New" badges, delivery promises, discount percentages, store logos, watermarks, even a small text banner in a corner.

Most overlays enter the feed in one of two ways. Marketing teams reuse banner artwork or social media graphics as product photos, or a supplier and photo tool stamps a watermark on every image automatically. In both cases the store owner often does not realize the feed is sending decorated images, because the product page itself looks fine.

How to fix it

  1. Replace the image with a clean product photo that contains no text or badges.
  2. Remove watermarks. If the supplier image carries one, request the original or reshoot the product.
  3. Point image_link at the clean photo. Lifestyle shots and images with context belong in additional_image_link, not the main image.
  4. Resubmit and wait for re-crawl.

Merchant Center also offers automatic image improvements, which can remove simple overlays from your images for you. It works for basic cases like a small badge, but it edits your image with an algorithm and it does not fix watermarks woven into the photo. Treat it as a safety net, not the solution: a clean source image is always the better fix.

How long until it clears

Usually 1 to 2 days after the clean image is live and Google has re-crawled it.

Reference: Google's documentation

Related errors

DisapprovalImage

Image too small

The product image has too few pixels to meet Google's minimum size requirement.

DisapprovalProduct data

Editorial issue: promotional text in title

The product title contains promotional wording, excessive capitals, or symbols that Google does not allow.

Account suspensionAccount

Misrepresentation of self or business

Google suspended the whole account because it could not verify enough trust signals like return policy, contact details, and payment information.

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