LinkedIn is a powerful platform for professional networking and content sharing. When you share a link on LinkedIn, it automatically generates a preview with an image, title, and description. But sometimes LinkedIn shows the wrong image, an outdated image, or no image at all. In this guide, we'll explain why this happens and how to fix it quickly.
Why LinkedIn Link Previews Matter
LinkedIn link previews are crucial for professional content sharing:
- Posts with images get 2x more engagement than text-only posts
- The preview image is often the first thing people notice
- A professional preview builds credibility and trust
- Wrong or missing images can make your content look unprofessional
How LinkedIn Previews Work
When you paste a URL into LinkedIn, it crawls the page and looks for:
- Open Graph meta tags (og:image, og:title, og:description)
- The page's <title> tag as a fallback
- Images found in the page content
- Schema.org structured data
Common Causes of Wrong LinkedIn Preview Images
1. LinkedIn's Aggressive Caching
LinkedIn caches link previews heavily. Even after updating your og:image, LinkedIn may show the old image for days or weeks.
2. Missing or Incorrect og:image Tag
If the og:image tag is missing, malformed, or points to a broken URL, LinkedIn will either pick a random image from your page or show no image.
3. Image Size Requirements Not Met
LinkedIn has specific image size requirements. Images that don't meet these may be cropped incorrectly or not displayed.
4. HTTP Instead of HTTPS
LinkedIn requires secure connections. If your image URL uses HTTP instead of HTTPS, it may not load.
5. Redirect Issues
If your image URL redirects (especially through multiple hops), LinkedIn's crawler may not follow it correctly.
6. Server Response Time
If your server is slow to respond or temporarily unavailable when LinkedIn crawls, it may cache incomplete or wrong data.
Step-by-Step Solutions
1. Use LinkedIn Post Inspector to Refresh Cache
LinkedIn provides an official tool to refresh cached previews:
- Go to linkedin.com/post-inspector
- Enter your URL and click 'Inspect'
- Review the preview that appears
- Click 'Refresh' to force LinkedIn to re-fetch the page
- Wait a few minutes and share your link again
2. Add Proper Open Graph Tags
Ensure your page has all required OG tags in the <head> section:
<head>
<meta property="og:title" content="Your Page Title" />
<meta property="og:description" content="A compelling description" />
<meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/image.jpg" />
<meta property="og:url" content="https://example.com/page" />
<meta property="og:type" content="article" />
</head>3. Optimize Your Image
Follow LinkedIn's image guidelines:
- Recommended size: 1200x627 pixels (1.91:1 aspect ratio)
- Minimum size: 200x200 pixels
- Maximum file size: 5MB
- Supported formats: JPG, PNG, GIF
- Use absolute URLs with HTTPS
- Avoid image redirects
4. Add URL Versioning
Force LinkedIn to see your page as 'new' by adding a query parameter:
Example
Instead of sharing example.com/page, share example.com/page?v=2
5. Check Image Accessibility
Ensure your image is publicly accessible:
- Open the image URL directly in an incognito browser window
- Check that no authentication is required
- Verify the image loads without redirects
- Ensure robots.txt doesn't block the image
6. Use Direct Image URLs
Avoid dynamically generated or CDN URLs that might redirect:
<!-- Good: Direct image URL -->
<meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/images/preview.jpg" />
<!-- Avoid: CDN URL that might redirect -->
<meta property="og:image" content="https://cdn.example.com/img/abc123" />Quick Fix with LinkPreview
Can't modify your website or need an immediate solution? Use LinkPreview to create a custom short link with any preview image you want. It works instantly on LinkedIn and all other platforms.
blog.quickFix.ctaTesting Your LinkedIn Previews
Use these tools to ensure your previews work correctly:
- LinkedIn Post Inspector - Official LinkedIn testing tool
- Facebook Sharing Debugger - Tests OG tags comprehensively
- LinkPreview - Real-time preview across all platforms
- OpenGraph.xyz - Detailed OG tag analysis
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion
LinkedIn preview image issues are usually caused by caching, missing OG tags, or image requirements not being met. Use the LinkedIn Post Inspector to refresh cached data, and ensure your images meet LinkedIn's specifications. For a quick fix without code changes, LinkPreview offers instant custom previews for any URL.
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