How to fix dead or private social links for Merchant Center
Every social icon on your store should open a public profile under your business name; fix or remove any link that goes dead, private or to the wrong account. A dead icon is the easiest flaw on the site to spot. Here is what to do with each kind of broken link, one at a time.
You run this check yourself
Our scanner can’t see inside your Google accounts, so this one’s on you. Work through the checklist below without running a scan.
Why this matters
Google's fix page for a store that is not fully functional, one of the pages behind a Website needs improvement notice, puts it in one line: “Check that your social media pages are linked correctly on your website.” The same page asks for links that are working and “shouldn’t lead to 404 errors, or redirect back to the home page instead of the intended destination.” Its contact-information fix page counts a “social media business profile” among the ways a customer can reach you, and “Building trust with your customers” asks you to link your profiles so customers can follow you. Put together, a social icon is a contact route and a vouching link at once. Broken, it is a dead end in exactly the spot a cautious shopper goes to check whether you are real.
Not every broken link is broken the same way, and the fix depends on which kind you have. A deleted or unpublished page needs the icon gone. A private account needs making public or unlinking. A link to somebody else's account, an old brand or a theme placeholder needs the right address, or no icon at all. The steps below take each in turn. Product Experts on Google's Merchant Center Community treat these links as part of your contact block; their plain-language guide says to “Include links (contact page and footer) to your business's social media profiles like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.” Links, that is, which open something.
This guide is about the links on your store. What the profiles themselves should say is in what your social profiles should say, accounts you have stopped running are in old social accounts, and the overview of what Google asks is in social media links and Merchant Center.
The free scan does not flag social profile links, dead or missing, so every one is yours to open and judge by eye: a page that no longer exists, a private profile, a login wall or the wrong account. The identity and contact checks are all listed on the misrepresentation checker.
Typical evidence
Your social links are a health check, not decoration
Check every footer link as a shopper would. A live public account can support the picture you present; a dead link is simply a bad route for a customer.
The public signals this check looks for:
The Facebook icon opens “This content isn't available right now” because the page was dele…
The Facebook icon opens “This content isn't available right now” because the page was deleted or unpublished.
The Instagram link opens a private account…
The Instagram link opens a private account: a shopper sees a name and a padlock, and nothing else.
An icon points to “#”, to the network's home page or to the theme developer's own profile
An icon points to “#”, to the network's home page or to the theme developer's own profile.
The link opens a personal account, an account under a previous brand name, or a different …
The link opens a personal account, an account under a previous brand name, or a different business with a similar name.
The link lands on a login screen, so a signed-out shopper never reaches the profile
The link lands on a login screen, so a signed-out shopper never reaches the profile.
The header, footer and contact page link to different accounts on the same network
The header, footer and contact page link to different accounts on the same network.
What it looks like once it is right
The footer and contact page link the same two profiles, both public, both under the store's name, each with a link back to the site. The TikTok icon is gone until the account exists.
Common mistakes
Common mistake
Self-check steps
A dead link is worse than none
A footer link should work for the shopper who clicks it. A 404 or a private personal account is a poor contact route, whatever a platform later decides.
Questions merchants ask
Should I remove social media icons that link to dead or inactive accounts?
Yes, unless you are about to bring the account back. Google's fully functional fix page asks you to check your social media pages are linked correctly and says links shouldn't lead to 404 errors. An icon that opens nothing, or a private profile, is a dead end; no icon is better than that.
Is a private Instagram account a problem if it is linked from my store?
A private profile tells a shopper nothing about your business, so as a link from your store it does no work at all. If it is the business account, make it public; if it is a personal account, remove the link. Google's contact-information fix page counts a social media business profile as a contact route, and a private one can't do that job.
Does Merchant Center require social media links?
No Google page this guide draws on makes them mandatory. “Building trust with your customers” recommends linking the profiles you have, and Google's onboarding checklist asks for active, professional profiles that let people contact you. Link the ones you run, and make sure they open. More in social media links and Merchant Center.
Remediation
Risk signal
Similar cases
Sources
Community guidance
Written by Product Experts, the users Google recognises for their answers on its Merchant Center Community forum. Often stricter than Google’s help pages, and not Google policy.
Last reviewed 29 Sep 2026.
That is one issue. The library documents 134.
The free scan lists what it finds on your store. The paid report adds the affected pages, captured evidence and step-by-step fixes. Start free, with no account needed.