Thumbnail photos in the SERPs

[Mbrinton]

Hey Local SEO superstars,

Recently, I've noticed Google placing photo thumbnails in the local SERPs... (see attached example). Anyone know how to help make this happen for a client? Any strategy help is appreciated! Make it a great day.

 

[Colan Nielsen]

We published an article on this here - How to Get Images in Mobile Search Results - Sterling Sky Inc

Most of the examples in the article are for mobile but the same concepts apply to desktop SERP's.

 

[JeffClevelandTN]

Hi @Mbrinton, the article that @Colan Nielsen is spot on. However, I would add that there are some exceptions to the best practice of using square images. Please see my post regarding variations of image sizes that could give you a leg up on your competition: Full Size picture showing up on mobile SERP

A brief update, for most of the search terms I mentioned in the original post thread to replicate the full-width images or carousel images, they still work on my Samsung phone but not on Google's Anonymous Ad Tool. I'd suggest trying your specific search terms on your phone and check if results with full-size images show up. If so, then use a full width image (e.g. 16:9) along with the proper page markup and see what happens. We are primarily a Wordpress shop, so like Colan's referenced article mentions, the easiest is to use Yoast or Rankmath to set the featured image without the need for manual markup. I will say we have the best luck by using the actual image in the body of the page that is also set as the featured image.

BTW, I've yet to see a full-width image on desktop, so if you choose to go the full-width approach I'd suggest using an image that will look appealing if the image is center cropped in a square shape. However, being that at least 65% of searches are done on mobile, I feel the benefit of having a full-width image is pretty significant.

 

[Mbrinton]

Hi @Mbrinton, the article that @Colan Nielsen is spot on. However, I would add that there are some exceptions to the best practice of using square images. Please see my post regarding variations of image sizes that could give you a leg up on your competition: Full Size picture showing up on mobile SERP

A brief update, for most of the search terms I mentioned in the original post thread to replicate the full-width images or carousel images, they still work on my Samsung phone but not on Google's Anonymous Ad Tool. I'd suggest trying your specific search terms on your phone and check if results with full-size images show up. If so, then use a full width image (e.g. 16:9) along with the proper page markup and see what happens. We are primarily a Wordpress shop, so like Colan's referenced article mentions, the easiest is to use Yoast or Rankmath to set the featured image without the need for manual markup. I will say we have the best luck by using the actual image in the body of the page that is also set as the featured image.

BTW, I've yet to see a full-width image on desktop, so if you choose to go the full-width approach I'd suggest using an image that will look appealing if the image is center cropped in a square shape. However, being that at least 65% of searches are done on mobile, I feel the benefit of having a full-width image is pretty significant.

Jeff, you rock! Thanks for taking the time to share these insights.

 

[JeffClevelandTN]

Jeff, you rock! Thanks for taking the time to share these insights.