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🚫 Fix Google Image URL Errors in PR Distribution

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Camilo Aponte

Camilo Aponte

Last updated on Sep 30, 2026

🔍 What Is This Error?

When you proceed after creating a press release in PR Distribution, you may see an error message that reads [URL] is too long. This error appears when an image URL in your press release is hosted on Google's servers — specifically any URL containing googleusercontent.com.

Google-hosted image URLs are blocked in PR Distribution. This is a platform-level restriction, not a browser or account issue. The error will always appear for these URLs regardless of the image size or file type.

⚠️ Why Google-Hosted URLs Are Blocked

URLs from googleusercontent.com are blocked in PR Distribution. Because PR Distribution syndicates your press release to multiple third-party publishers, all image URLs must be stable and publicly accessible. Google-hosted URLs do not meet these requirements and are blocked at the point of submission.

✅ Three Ways to Fix This

You have three options to resolve this error. Choose the one that best fits your workflow.

📤 Option 1 — Upload the Image Directly

  1. Open your press release in PR Distribution.
  2. Replace the existing Google-hosted image URL with an image uploaded from your device.
  3. Proceed to the next step to continue.

This is the recommended option. Directly uploaded images are stored on Search Atlas servers, ensuring they remain accessible to all distribution partners.

🌐 Option 2 — Use a Publicly Hosted Image URL

  1. Upload your image to a reliable public hosting service such as your own website, a CDN, WordPress Media Library, Imgur, or a similar platform.
  2. Copy the direct image URL from that service. The URL should end in a file extension such as .jpg, .png, or .webp.
  3. Open your press release in PR Distribution and replace the Google-hosted URL with the new public URL.
  4. Proceed to the next step to continue.

Make sure the URL you use is a direct link to the image file itself, not a webpage that contains the image. You can verify this by opening the URL in a browser — it should display only the image, with no surrounding page content.

💾 Option 3 — Download the Image, Then Upload It

  1. Open the Google-hosted image URL in your browser.
  2. Right-click the image and select Save image as to download it to your device.
  3. Open your press release in PR Distribution.
  4. Replace the existing Google-hosted URL with the image file you just downloaded.
  5. Proceed to the next step to continue.

This option is useful if you do not have access to the original image file and need to re-host it yourself.

If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.