Low image quality no longer pulls Merchant Center products from ads and free listings
Google has changed the wording of its Merchant Center help page on the low image quality issue. Products whose images are blurry, pixelated or low resolution now stay eligible for ads and free listings. Separately, Google will start enforcing a 500 x 500 pixel minimum for every product image on January 31, 2027.
A one-line note changed the meaning of the warning
On October 12, 2026, Search Engine Roundtable reported that Google had edited the help document behind the Low image quality [image_link] issue in Merchant Center. The page describes the problem as product images with quality defects, for example blur, pixelation or insufficient resolution. Right below that sits the new note. In Google's words: "Note: Your product will continue to show in ads and free listings." A flagged product is no longer held back while the merchant fixes the picture.
The edit was first noticed by Hana Kobzova of PPC News Feed. Search Engine Roundtable quotes her: "Previously, low image quality could prevent products from displaying in ads and free listings." According to the same report, the earlier version of the page warned that such a product could be held back from ads and free listings until its image got better. PPC Land adds that Google made no announcement about the revision and that the help page carries neither a date nor a change log.
The 500 x 500 pixel timeline has not moved
The quality warning got softer, but the size reminder at the top of the same page is still there. Google has announced that every product image must be at least 500 x 500 pixels, and enforcement starts on January 31, 2027. Since July 2026, the page says, merchants have been seeing warnings on images that clear the old minimum yet fall short of 500 x 500. Search Engine Roundtable also points out that Google recently updated the minimum product image size to 500x500 pixels. So there are two separate tracks: the quality flag no longer stops delivery, while the size requirement keeps its date. PPC Land spells out the difference: a large but visibly blurred image now keeps its product live, while a sharp photo that is smaller than 500 x 500 pixels risks being disapproved after the enforcement date.
The fix itself is unchanged. In Merchant Center, merchants open Products and then the Needs attention tab to edit affected items one by one. With a large catalog, they can download the affected products as a CSV file, correct the images and upload the updated data again. A product that has been fixed drops off the Needs attention list, and the help page warns that this can take some time to show up.
The block is gone, the performance signal is not
In practice the note turns the low image quality flag from a delivery block into a performance warning. On the same page Google ties strong image quality closely to engagement and clicks, and says better images may lift results. Search Engine Roundtable likewise notes that products with weak images can keep showing while still earning poor click-through rates. As PPC Land notes, Google gives no figure for how much better images improve performance, so a product staying live does not mean its image is doing its job.
Some questions remain open. PPC Land says Google has not explained why it revised the page, how blurriness is measured, or how the flag feeds into ad rank or free listing selection. The page also does not say on which day it was edited; the change became news on October 12, 2026. The safe reading for a store owner: the risk of losing products over the quality flag has dropped, but the size requirement on January 31, 2027 runs on its own clock, and the catalog needs a review before then.
The sources say nothing about Türkiye, so this section is commentary
None of the three sources mentions Türkiye. They give no date specific to merchants in Türkiye, no figure for Merchant Center accounts there and no local difference in how the rule applies. The help page is written as a general Merchant Center document. This section is therefore not drawn from the sources; it is UNALSOFT commentary.
Our reading: for Turkish e-commerce businesses feeding products into Google Shopping ads and free listings, the note is short-term relief, but the real work is the 500 x 500 pixel requirement. Catalogs built on small supplier images that leave the warnings shown since July 2026 untouched may face January 31, 2027 on a tight schedule. The unknowns are clear too: how many products in accounts in Türkiye carry this flag, what it does to click-through rates there, and whether Google will publish a separate notice for Türkiye are not covered by the sources. We looked at an earlier Merchant Center change in our August 12 piece on reporting.
The UNALSOFT view
We read this as a question of priorities, not as permission to relax. The quality flag no longer takes products offline, yet Google still links image quality to clicks on the same page, and the size requirement arrives on January 31, 2027. The practical response is simple: work through the catalog via the Needs attention list, find images below 500 x 500, and make image production part of how new products are added rather than a one-off cleanup. That is why, on the e-commerce panel side, we treat image size and quality checks at product entry as a separate step. With no data on Türkiye in the sources, this piece does not suggest any local outcome.
Are your product images ready for January 31, 2027?
A short call is enough to go through the image warnings and size issues in your catalog together.