diff --git a/next.config.mjs b/next.config.mjs
index 391174225..a31804d1c 100644
--- a/next.config.mjs
+++ b/next.config.mjs
@@ -8,6 +8,29 @@ const nextConfig = {
   // valid pages, so this flag lets 410 pages pass through unchanged.
   output: 'standalone',
   distDir: '.next-deploy',
+  // BUY-59983: /_next/image was returning HTTP 400 for every product image
+  // because no remotePatterns were configured, so Next.js rejected every
+  // upstream host the catalog uses.  The list below is the union of hosts
+  // observed in /api/products/search results plus the QA-fixture domains
+  // (picsum.photos, images.unsplash.com).  Add new merchants here when they
+  // first appear in the catalog rather than disabling optimization globally.
+  images: {
+    remotePatterns: [
+      { protocol: 'https', hostname: 'picsum.photos' },
+      { protocol: 'https', hostname: 'images.unsplash.com' },
+      { protocol: 'https', hostname: 'source.unsplash.com' },
+      { protocol: 'https', hostname: 'cdn.shopify.com' },
+      { protocol: 'https', hostname: 'm.media-amazon.com' },
+      { protocol: 'https', hostname: 'hnsgsfp.imgix.net' },
+      { protocol: 'https', hostname: 'media.nedigital.sg' },
+      { protocol: 'https', hostname: 'sg-live.slatic.net' },
+      { protocol: 'https', hostname: 'static1.fortytwo.sg' },
+      { protocol: 'https', hostname: 'giant.sg' },
+      { protocol: 'https', hostname: 'down-sg.img.susercontent.com' },
+      { protocol: 'https', hostname: 'www.courts.com.sg' },
+      { protocol: 'https', hostname: 'www.gaincity.com' },
+    ],
+  },
   async redirects() {
     return [
       {
diff --git a/src/components/seo/SeoLandingPage.tsx b/src/components/seo/SeoLandingPage.tsx
index d01b4a42c..62c24587e 100644
--- a/src/components/seo/SeoLandingPage.tsx
+++ b/src/components/seo/SeoLandingPage.tsx
@@ -152,11 +152,19 @@ export async function SeoLandingPage({ config }: { config: SeoLandingPageConfig
               </Link>
             </div>
 
-            <div className="grid gap-4 sm:grid-cols-2 xl:grid-cols-4">
-              {products.map((product) => (
-                <ProductGridCard key={product.id} product={product} />
-              ))}
-            </div>
+            {products.length === 0 ? (
+              <div className="rounded-2xl border border-dashed border-slate-300 bg-slate-50 p-8 text-center">
+                <p className="text-slate-500">
+                  Live product data is currently unavailable for this category. Please check back shortly or use the search to find products.
+                </p>
+              </div>
+            ) : (
+              <div className="grid gap-4 sm:grid-cols-2 xl:grid-cols-4">
+                {products.map((product) => (
+                  <ProductGridCard key={product.id} product={product} />
+                ))}
+              </div>
+            )}
           </div>
         </section>
 
diff --git a/src/lib/seo-landing-pages.ts b/src/lib/seo-landing-pages.ts
index c8e64f5ac..884629740 100644
--- a/src/lib/seo-landing-pages.ts
+++ b/src/lib/seo-landing-pages.ts
@@ -106,7 +106,23 @@ function formatMerchantName(value?: string | null) {
     .replace(/\b\w/g, (char) => char.toUpperCase());
 }
 
-function normalizeProduct(item: SearchApiItem, fallbackCurrency: string): LandingProduct {
+function isValidLandingProduct(product: LandingProduct): boolean {
+  return (
+    !!product.id &&
+    product.name.trim().length > 0 &&
+    product.name !== "Untitled product" &&
+    product.price !== null &&
+    product.price >= 0
+  );
+}
+
+function normalizeProduct(item: SearchApiItem, fallbackCurrency: string, fallbackCountry: string): LandingProduct {
+  const safeName =
+    typeof item.name === "string" && item.name.trim() ? item.name : typeof item.title === "string" && item.title.trim() ? item.title : "Untitled product";
+  const fallbackSearchParams = new URLSearchParams({
+    q: safeName,
+    country: fallbackCountry,
+  });
   const numericPrice =
     typeof item.price === "number"
       ? item.price
@@ -116,18 +132,20 @@ function normalizeProduct(item: SearchApiItem, fallbackCurrency: string): Landin
 
   return {
     id: String(item.id),
-    name: item.name || item.title || "Untitled product",
+    name: safeName,
     price: Number.isFinite(numericPrice) ? numericPrice : null,
     currency: item.currency || fallbackCurrency,
     merchant: formatMerchantName(item.merchant || item.source),
     imageUrl: item.image_url || null,
-    href: item.affiliate_url || item.buy_url || item.url || "#",
+    href: item.affiliate_url || item.buy_url || item.url || `/search?${fallbackSearchParams.toString()}`,
     brand: item.brand || null,
     category: item.category || null,
   };
 }
 
 export async function getSeoLandingProducts(config: SeoLandingPageConfig): Promise<LandingProduct[]> {
+  const fallback = config.fallbackProducts.filter(isValidLandingProduct);
+
   try {
     const params = new URLSearchParams({
       q: config.searchQuery,
@@ -139,23 +157,51 @@ export async function getSeoLandingProducts(config: SeoLandingPageConfig): Promi
       headers: {
         Accept: "application/json",
       },
-      next: { revalidate: 60 * 60 * 4 },
+      next: { revalidate: 60 * 15 },
+      signal: AbortSignal.timeout(10000),
     });
 
+    // Non-OK HTTP response - return fallback so page still renders
     if (!response.ok) {
-      throw new Error(`Search request failed with ${response.status}`);
+      console.warn(`[seo] search HTTP ${response.status} for ${config.slug}`);
+      return fallback;
     }
 
     const data = (await response.json()) as SearchApiResponse;
+
+    // Check for degraded API response - return empty array to show honest empty state
+    // instead of misleading fallback products
+    if (data.degraded || (data.total !== undefined && data.total === 0)) {
+      console.warn(
+        `[seo] degraded API response for ${config.slug}: degraded=${data.degraded}, total=${data.total}`
+      );
+      return [];
+    }
+
     const items = data.items || data.results || [];
 
+    // Empty items array - return empty to show honest state
     if (!Array.isArray(items) || items.length === 0) {
-      throw new Error("Search response was empty");
+      console.warn(`[seo] empty items array for ${config.slug}`);
+      return [];
+    }
+
+    const products = items
+      .map((item) => normalizeProduct(item, config.currency, config.country))
+      .filter(isValidLandingProduct)
+      .slice(0, 8);
+
+    // No valid products after normalization - return empty
+    if (products.length === 0) {
+      console.warn(`[seo] no valid products after normalization for ${config.slug}`);
+      return [];
     }
 
-    return items.map((item) => normalizeProduct(item, config.currency)).slice(0, 8);
-  } catch {
-    return config.fallbackProducts;
+    return products;
+  } catch (err) {
+    // Network failure - return fallback so page still renders
+    console.warn(`[seo] network failure for ${config.slug}:`, err);
+    return fallback;
   }
 }