To show a thumbnail image (also known as a rich snippet or preview image) in Google Search Engine Results Pages (SERP) beside your meta title and description, you need to implement structured data correctly and follow some guidelines. Here’s how to do it:
Use Proper Structured Data (Schema Markup)
Google relies on structured data (JSON-LD, Microdata, or RDFa) to understand your page and decide whether to display a thumbnail.
For a Webstie / Blog Post / Article webstie, use following code to implement:
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Your Blog Post Title",
"image": [
"https://example.com/path-to-image.jpg"
],
"author": {
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Author Name"
},
"publisher": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Your Website Name",
"logo": {
"@type": "ImageObject",
"url": "https://example.com/logo.png"
}
},
"datePublished": "2024-04-09",
"dateModified": "2024-04-09"
}
</script>
Follow Image Guidelines
Google has specific requirements:
- Minimum size: 1200 x 675 pixels (ideal is 1200×1200 or 1200×630)
- Aspect ratio: 16:9 preferred
- Format: JPG, PNG, or WebP
- Must be crawlable and indexable (i.e., not blocked in robots.txt)
- Image URL must be absolute and publicly accessible
Use Open Graph (for Social Sharing & Sometimes Google)
Open Graph tags are used by Facebook and other platforms but can sometimes help Google too.
<meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/path-to-image.jpg" /> <meta property="og:title" content="Your Page Title" /> <meta property="og:description" content="Page description here" />
Submit Page to Google Search Console
Once your structured data is added:
- Go to Google Search Console
- Paste your page URL in the top bar
- Click “Request Indexing”
Use Rich Results Test
Check if Google detects your structured data:
