Facebook seems to have a problem recently with the algorithm to display your blog’s Featured Image. I mean we go to a lot of trouble to write our blog posts and then we choose just the right image to represent our post. When we tell people about our blog post on Facebook, the image chosen isn’t our featured image. Often the only images offered are from you sidebar opt-in forms. This is a problem. As I write this, the problem seems to have been resolved; however I still get questions about this regularly. For example bloggers Publish a post and then when they go to post it on Facebook, they realize that they didn’t create a featured image or somehow Facebook selected the wrong image . Here is a How-To on fixing this problem.
I’m going to out on a limb here and posting some information that I believe is correct, but I can’t prove it. On the other hand it has worked for me the last 10 times I’ve used it and I hear other people facing the same problem.
Background About Facebook and Blog Post Images
Again I can’t swear to any of this, but it is fairly obvious to me that when you first post a link on Facebook it look through the page you post is on and picks what it thinks is the best image. This takes it a little time. It stores that image in a database. After that when you post the same URL it goes to the database, finds the image and uses that. You can remove the image they used from your blog post and Facebook will still use the image from its first pass.
How to Get Facebook to Change the Image Facebook Displays
If you Google for Facebook Debugger, you will find a page that asks you for a URL (something that starts with http://Facebook.com or http://www.facebook.com. The page will display debugging information about your page.
I’ll be honest, half of what it says I don’t understand (and I’ve been doing this for a llooonngg time.)
I 0ften do see it telling me that it found an image and that image is too small. They say that it is under 200 x 200 pixels. Of course it isn’t too small and it has always been okay in the past, but what the heck. In some cases they are just falt using the wrong image. It might be our fault or it might be theirs. Either way – let’s fix it.
Making Facebook Play Nice – Get it to Display Your Blog’s Featured Image
Here is what I do.
If I forgot the image, I just add it, make it the featured image and then use the Facebook Debugger to see if that fixes the problem. If it doesn’t I go the next step.
- Start to post a link on Facebook.
- Look at the image options Facebook offers (if any)
- If my Featured Image is NOT the correct image I create a copy of that image and make it 1000 x 1000 pixels. (I call it <image name>-large.png
- You can try resizing it to where both height and width are 1,000 pixels or greater. I’ve just been using the 1000 x 1000 and it works.
- Upload the large image
- Make it the Featured Image.
- Process my Blog’s URL through the Facebook Debugger
- See if Facebook is playing nice now. So far it always has.
Steps 1 and 2 – Start to Post a Link in Facebook and Look at the Image Options
Okay – this is not the image I want. Maybe I forgot to set the featured Image or maybe Facebook went off and decided for themselves.
Let’s assume I did set the Featured Image.
Steps 3 and 4 – Create a Copy of the Image and Resize it to 1000 x 1000 pixels.
Let’s look at a simple way to do this.
Resize the Image
Browse to PIXLR.COM and open the Advanced Editor.
Choose to upload an image from your computer and upload the image that you want to resize.
Choose to Resize the Image using the IMAGE –> Resize menu option. Choose Image Size
You will see this pop-up.
You will see this screen. Take the larger number and change it to 1000. Then press the OK button
Choose to Resize the Canvase using the IMAGE —> Resize menu option. Choose the Canvas Size this time.
Now you will see this screen pop-up.
Change the smaller number to 1000, click the center square for the Anchor and press OK
Now Click on File –> Save
You will see this screen:
This is where you change the file name to LARGE. Make sure it is a PNG (to keep the canvas you increased transparent) and press OK.
Steps 5 and 6 Upload Your Large Image and Set it as the Featured Image
This is pretty standard so I won’t cover it much here. (Upload the image. While editing your post, click on Add Media, choose Set Featured Image from the left and choose the large image).
Step 7 – Process my Blog’s URL through the Facebook Debugger
Google for Facebook Debugger and go to the page. It will look like this. Put the URL for your post in the text box and click the debug button.
NOTE: If you do not do this, Facebook will continue to use the image it has in it’s database. Nothing will change.
Step 8 – See if Facebook is playing nice now. So far it always has.
There you have it. How to Get Facebook to display your blog’s featured image.
Until next time, you have a Great Day!
↓ ↓ If this post gave you some ideas – Go ahead & comment below. ↓ ↓
Hale Pringle – Hale Yes!
Skype hale.pringle
Email: HaleYes@HalePringle.com
P.S. If you are working to move your business online and it all seems overwhelming, I can help! Take a look at http://HalePringle.com, or sign up for the free coaching call. You can email me or give me a Skype call. I’ll give you the benefit of my years of experience and many thousands of dollars in training and searching the rabbit hole called Internet Marketing and Network Marketing. I can help you with Lead Generation, the feeling of overwhelm, blogging, and even career change. Add that to the finest mentoring on the Internet (Ann Sieg’s Team and Inner Circle) and you have a Winner!
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