New brand, new logo, new OG image — shared on LinkedIn: old logo, old title, three weeks stale. The page was perfect; the cache was not. Social networks snapshot link previews on first share and re-fetch on their own schedule (read: eventually). This guide covers correct OG markup once, then the per-network refetch rituals plus ?v=2 cache-busting that forces fresh scrapes today.
Part of the SEO publishing guide. Mock renders in the open graph preview; compress oversized images via format conversion.
Correct markup first (1200×630, absolute, under 8MB)
| Tag | Requirement | Common failure |
|---|---|---|
| og:image | 1200×630, absolute HTTPS, <8MB | Relative path renders blank |
| og:title | Matches page, under ~60 chars | Stale title after rebrand |
| og:url | Canonical absolute URL | UTM-polluted canonicals split shares |
| twitter:card | summary_large_image for heroes | Small summary crops the visual |
Hotlinked images behind referrer-blocked hosts render blank in scrapers — self-host share art. Keep text within the center safe margin; Facebook, LinkedIn and X each crop edges differently, and focal subjects near borders get beheaded on at least one network.
Per-network refetch rituals + ?v=2
- Facebook/Meta: Sharing Debugger → scrape again (repeat until preview updates; stubborn URLs need 2–3 passes).
- LinkedIn: Post Inspector → inspect; LinkedIn caches aggressively —
?v=2on the image URL forces a fresh object reliably. - X/Twitter: Card Validator → preview; summary vs large-image mismatches usually mean the tag changed without a re-scrape.
- Slack/Discord: append a fresh query string per share during testing; their caches are short but opaque.
Version your share art deliberately (launch-v2.jpg) rather than overwriting filenames — immutable assets plus new URLs beat cache-invalidation waits every time. Verify all four renders in the preview mock before announcing.
Hotlink blocks and focal discipline
If previews show gray boxes, check hosting first: referrer policies and hotlink protection starve scrapers that fetch without browser credentials. Move art to the same domain as the page. Then enforce focal discipline: single subject, centered, high contrast at 120px thumbnail size — the LinkedIn feed compresses your 1200px art to a phone-screen stamp, and fine print becomes gray noise. Compress 12MB PNG masters before serving (see format guide); scrapers time out on heavy files and fall back to nothing.
General guidance only. Scraper behaviors shift without notice — re-verify refetch flows after any rebrand, not just markup.