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critical Reason Code 33 - URL not formatted correctly

Product URL Formatted Incorrectly

What this means

The link or display URL submitted with your product offer is malformed. Microsoft cannot parse it as a valid destination, so the offer is rejected before review can finish.

Why this happens

Missing protocol (http/https), spaces or unencoded characters in URL parameters, double slashes, malformed UTM parameters, IDN domains not punycoded, or non-routable localhost/staging URLs. Common when feeds are exported with relative paths or templating placeholders that didn't render.

How to fix it

  1. Validate every link and image_link starts with https://
  2. URL-encode special characters (spaces, ampersands, quotes)
  3. Remove curly-brace placeholders left from templates
  4. Run feed through a URL validator before upload

Common pitfalls