New, Bigger Shared-Link Images on Facebook Yield 69% Increase in Clicks

Back on Sept. 10, Facebook quietly introduced larger images on link shares. The reveal, made on the company’s Facebook + Journalists page, said the goal was to “increase click-through rates on links as larger images are more engaging.” So was the goal accomplished? A study from EdgeRank Checker has the answer, and it’s a resounding yes.

According to the study, link shares with larger images boast a 5.55 percent link average click rate (clicks/reach), which is about 69 percent higher than the 3.29 percent average click rate for link shares with smaller images. “Bigger link images are definitely contributing to an increase in clicks when being displayed in the news feed,” according to EdgeRank Checker.

The study also found that engagement rate (total engagement/reach) for the newer link shares with bigger images is 0.80 percent, which is about 63 percent higher than the 0.49 percent engagement rate for link shares with smaller images. EdgeRank Checker notes that this is likely due to the increased noticeability of the shared links with bigger images in users’ News Feeds. “The user is more likely to click on the object, therefore more likely to read the object, therefore more likely to potentially click the Like button.”

Brands and marketers who want to apply this knowledge should make sure that the images used in the pages they share are optimized. Facebook says the recommended size Open Graph image size (“og:image size“) is 1200x627px, with a recommended minimum size of 560x292px.

“Many brands use Photos that include a link to increase their likelihood of distribution in the news feed. If you’re still doing this tactic, we advise that you stop – update your images on your site and promote links that have stronger ties to ‘success’ with Facebook marketing,” according to EdgeRank Checker.

The larger images for shared links dovetail with Facebook’s larger images for its ads.