Optimizing Your Site's Thumbnail Image in Google Search Results

1 min read
A thumbnail image is the image that sometimes appears beside your site's name in Google search results.
When a user enters a search query, Google finds sites that best match the search phrase and automatically creates a thumbnail image from the site's images. Google uses its own criteria to choose the best image that explains a site's purpose and how the site relates to the search query. 

Here is an example:
A screenshot of a Google search result with a thumbnail image visible.
Important:
It's not guaranteed that Google will add a thumbnail image to your site's search result. 

Tips to get Google to use the thumbnail you want:

It's not possible to manually change the thumbnail image that Google uses. However, there are some steps you can take to improve your chances of getting the thumbnail you want used. 
  • Use high-quality images on your site. Small or low-resolution images may not be used in search results.
  • Add alt text to your images. Search engine bots can't read images and use alt text to get a description of the image. Learn more about adding alt text.

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