How to get large Facebook & Twitter link thumbnails

Social media is a major referral source for websites. According to Sprout Social, social media drives 31% of all website traffic. Optimizing your link thumbnails is a great way to capitalize on social media traffic.

Studies show large, attention-grabbing thumbnails can significantly increase click-through rates:

• BuzzSumo found posts with optimized link previews get 70% more Facebook clicks and 60% more Twitter engagement.
• Hootsuite determined posts with images receive 37% more engagement than non-image posts.
• Buffer discovered tweets with images get 150% more retweets than tweets without images.

This post will explain how to create optimized Open Graph and Twitter Card metadata and thumbnails to boost your social performance.

How to Add Open Graph and Twitter Card Metadata

To optimize link thumbnails, you need to add Open Graph and Twitter Card metadata to your website's HTML code. These special meta tags tell social platforms how to display your links.

There are two main ways to add metadata:

Manually

Manually insert the meta tags into your HTML code:

html

<!-- Open Graph Tags --> 
<meta  property="og:title"  content="Post Title"/>
<meta  property="og:description"  content="Post description"/>  
<!-- Twitter Card Tags -->  
<meta name="twitter:image" content="https://your-amazing-website.com/images/twitter-card-image.jpg">
<meta  name="twitter:card"  content="summary">

Using SEO Plugins

Plugins like Yoast SEO can add metadata automatically. Simply connect social accounts, enter settings, and the plugin will insert the tags.

Recommended Image Sizes

For ideal thumbnails, use these image dimensions:

• Open Graph: 1200 x 630 pixels
• Twitter: 1200 x 600 pixels

Square images (1:1 ratio) also display well on social platforms.

Image Optimization Tips

Choose eye-catching images that represent your content:

• Use custom images instead of generic stock photos when possible.
• Ensure images are high resolution with no blurriness or pixelation.
• Pick images with bright colors and strong contrast.
• Overlaying some text can help highlight key info.
• JPG compression balances image quality and file size.

Analyzing Performance

Use UTMs and platform analytics to track thumbnail click-through rates. Test different images, texts, and formats to determine what resonates most with your audience.

Conclusion

Leveraging social metadata and images can significantly boost your link performance. With some optimization best practices, you'll be sure to create compelling thumbnails that earn more clicks and engagement.