Embedly image ranking when og:image is missing

Without an og:image tag, Embedly scans the page body and ranks all candidate images by pixel dimensions and DOM position. A sidebar ad, a logo, or a decorative element can easily win. Always provide an explicit og:image.

Dimension mismatch

Embedly uses og:image:width and og:image:height when ranking images. If your og:image has no dimensions and a larger image exists elsewhere on the page, Embedly may prefer the larger one. Include dimensions:

<meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/preview.jpg">
<meta property="og:image:width" content="1200">
<meta property="og:image:height" content="630">

Multiple og:image tags

Embedly uses the first og:image it encounters. If your CMS injects an unintended one before yours, that image wins.

curl -s https://yoursite.com/page | grep -i "og:image"

Multiple results? Make sure the first one is the image you want.

Stale Embedly cache

If you recently changed your og:image, Embedly may still be serving the old version from its cache (several hours). Options:

1. Wait for the cache to expire
2. Append ?v=2 to the URL to force a fresh extraction
3. Delete the post and resubmit after the cache clears

Diagnosis steps

1. Curl the URL and confirm the correct og:image URL is first in the HTML
2. Search for duplicate og:image tags
3. Open the og:image URL in a browser – is it the right image?
4. Check embed.ly/code to see what Embedly is actually selecting
5. Add og:image:width and og:image:height to strengthen your image’s ranking

Testing your fix

Submit the URL as a new post in r/test with a fresh query parameter (e.g., ?v=3) to bypass Embedly’s cache. Confirm the correct image appears.