A link preview is a visual representation that appears when you share a URL on social media or messaging platforms. These previews typically include an image, title, and description that give users a glimpse of what they'll find at the destination URL. The quality and accuracy of these previews impact click-through rates and user engagement, making them a crucial element of online content sharing.
Link previews are typically powered by web page metadata, information embedded in a webpage's HTML that describes the content. When you share a link on social media, metadata determines how that link is presented, creating a "rich snippet" - a preview with images, titles, and descriptions, rather than just a plain URL.
Benefits of Metadata for Link Sharing
Enhanced Visual Presentation: Links appear with proper titles, descriptions, and images
Higher Engagement: Well-formatted previews improve click-through rates
SEO Benefits: Helps search engines better understand and rank your content
Brand Consistency: Ensures uniform display across different platforms
Increased Brand Awareness: Shared content includes your branding information
More Backlinks: Quality content presentation can lead to more website links
When a URL is shared on social media, the platform scrapes the page for metadata tags and uses them to generate the preview. But with Rebrandly's link preview settings, you can customize the displayed image, title, and description.
When you create or edit a link, you can edit these settings in the Link preview panel.
You can also leverage Rebrandly AI to generate a title and description.
Changes to link previews may not appear immediately after sharing due to caching. For immediate changes, consider creating a new link.
Tips for using link previews effectively:
Use clear and concise titles and descriptions that accurately reflect the content of your web page.
Select an image relevant to your content and visually appealing to social media users. The recommended image size for link previews is 1200x630 pixels. This will fit within the display of most social media platforms and avoid cropping.
Test your link preview tags regularly to ensure they are working properly. You can test your Open Graph tags using the Facebook Open Graph Debugger.