Facebook Link Preview Optimization Guide

How Facebook Link Previews Work

When you share a link on Facebook, Meta's crawler (formerly Facebook Bot) fetches your page's Open Graph tags to generate a rich preview card. This card includes your title, description, image, and domain—transforming a plain URL into an engaging visual element that can dramatically increase click-through rates.

💡 Preview Your Facebook Link

Use our Open Graph Preview Tool to see exactly how your link will appear on Facebook before publishing.

Required Open Graph Tags for Facebook

Facebook requires these four core Open Graph tags for optimal link previews:

<head>
  <!-- Required Facebook OG Tags -->
  <meta property="og:title" content="Your Page Title" />
  <meta property="og:description" content="Compelling description that drives clicks" />
  <meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/facebook-og.jpg" />
  <meta property="og:url" content="https://example.com/page" />

  <!-- Recommended -->
  <meta property="og:type" content="website" />
  <meta property="og:site_name" content="Your Site Name" />
  <meta property="og:locale" content="en_US" />

  <!-- Image Dimensions -->
  <meta property="og:image:width" content="1200" />
  <meta property="og:image:height" content="630" />
  <meta property="og:image:alt" content="Descriptive alt text" />
</head>

Facebook Image Requirements

Your Open Graph image is the most important element for Facebook engagement. Here are Meta's official specifications:

Recommended Dimensions

Optimal size: 1200×630 pixels (1.91:1 aspect ratio)
Minimum size: 200×200 pixels (Facebook will reject smaller images)
Maximum file size: 8MB
Supported formats: JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF

Why 1200×630px?

This dimension ensures your image displays perfectly in Facebook's large link preview format. Smaller images will be upscaled (losing quality), while larger images will be cropped or compressed.

⚠️ Common Image Mistakes

❌ Using images under 200×200px (Facebook rejects these)
❌ Relative URLs like /images/og.jpg
❌ HTTP URLs (must be HTTPS)
❌ Images behind authentication or paywalls
❌ Slow-loading images (timeout after 10 seconds)

Title & Description Best Practices

Title Optimization

Length: 60-90 characters (longer titles get truncated)
Front-load keywords: Put important words at the beginning
Be specific: Generic titles get ignored
Avoid clickbait: Facebook's algorithm penalizes misleading content

Description Optimization

Length: 150-160 characters for desktop, 110 for mobile
Add value: Explain what users will get by clicking
Include a CTA: "Learn how to...", "Discover...", "Get started..."
Avoid duplication: Don't repeat your title verbatim

Example: Good vs. Bad

❌ Bad Example

Title: "Blog Post"
Description: "Read our latest blog post about stuff"

✅ Good Example

Title: "10 Proven Facebook Ad Strategies for 2025"
Description: "Learn data-driven tactics that increased our ROI by 340%. Step-by-step guide with real examples."

Debugging Facebook Link Previews

Facebook caches Open Graph data aggressively (sometimes for months). If your preview doesn't update, use these tools:

Facebook Sharing Debugger

The official Facebook Sharing Debugger lets you:

See how Facebook's crawler reads your OG tags
Force a cache refresh with the "Scrape Again" button
Identify errors and warnings
View how your preview will appear

Common Error Messages

Error	Solution
"Could not retrieve data"	Check that your URL is publicly accessible
"Image too small"	Use images at least 200×200px
"Missing required property"	Add og:title, og:description, og:image, og:url
"Redirect warning"	Use canonical URL without redirects

Advanced Facebook OG Features

Video Previews

Facebook supports rich video previews with auto-play:

<meta property="og:video" content="https://example.com/video.mp4" />
<meta property="og:video:type" content="video/mp4" />
<meta property="og:video:width" content="1280" />
<meta property="og:video:height" content="720" />

Article-Specific Tags

For blog posts and news articles, use og:type="article" with additional metadata:

<meta property="og:type" content="article" />
<meta property="article:published_time" content="2025-12-16T00:00:00Z" />
<meta property="article:author" content="Author Name" />
<meta property="article:section" content="Technology" />
<meta property="article:tag" content="Facebook, Open Graph, SEO" />

Facebook Preview Testing Workflow

Implement tags using server-side rendering (not client-side JavaScript)
Test locally with our preview tool
Deploy to production with HTTPS enabled
Validate with Facebook Debugger - click "Scrape Again" to force refresh
Test real share - Share on your personal profile (friends-only) to verify
Monitor engagement - Track CTR in Facebook Insights

Mobile Facebook Previews

Over 90% of Facebook users access it on mobile. Keep these mobile-specific considerations in mind:

Shorter descriptions: Only ~110 characters visible on mobile
Larger text in images: Minimum 40px font size for readability
High contrast: Mobile screens have varying brightness
Test on device: Always verify on an actual phone

Performance Optimization

Facebook's crawler has a 10-second timeout. Optimize for fast OG tag delivery:

Use server-side rendering (SSR) or static generation (SSG)
Place OG tags in <head> before any JavaScript
Host images on a fast CDN
Use WebP format with JPG fallback
Avoid redirects on OG image URLs