Why did my link preview change after publishing?

This article explains why the link preview (the title, image, and description that automatically appears when you paste a link) might look different after you publish your post on social media, especially on Facebook. It also provides steps on how to control the appearance of your link previews.

Editing Link Previews in Sprout Social

You may notice that when you create a post in Sprout Social with a link to your website, the preview that is generated looks correct. However, after publishing, the link preview on Facebook appears differently, or you are unable to edit the link's metadata (title, description, image) within Sprout Social's composer.

This is because, in an effort to combat the spread of misinformation, Facebook (now Meta) has restricted the ability to edit link metadata for most links. This change affects all third-party publishing tools, including Sprout.

How to edit Facebook link previews for my website?

In order to be able to edit link previews for your own website, you will need to claim ownership of your domain within your Meta Business Manager. Completing these steps informs Facebook that you are the legitimate owner of your website and gives you the ability to edit the link's metadata.

How to verify your domain in Facebook/Meta?

To edit your link metadata, you need to verify your domain through the Facebook Business Manager. This process involves adding a piece of code to your website to prove you own it. For detailed instructions on how to do this, please refer to Meta's official documentation on Domain Verification in Business Manager. This guide walks you through the necessary steps, including:

• Adding your domain to your Business Manager.
• Choosing a verification method (DNS verification, HTML file upload, or meta-tag verification).
• Confirming your domain verification with Facebook.

Once your domain is verified, you can edit your link previews within Sprout for any links that point to your verified domain.

What about other social networks?

Sprout enables you to customize link previews for other social networks where this feature is available:

• LinkedIn: You can edit the title and description of your link preview directly in the Sprout composer.
• Pinterest: You can edit the title and description for your pins.
• X (formerly Twitter): While you can't directly edit the metadata in the same way as other networks, you can ensure your website has the correct Twitter Card meta tags implemented. This ensures that the correct preview appears when you share a link on X.

How to troubleshoot Link Previews?

• Facebook: Re-authenticate your Facebook connection - sometimes, re-establishing the connection between Sprout and your Facebook account can resolve the issue. Alternatively, clear your cache and cookies, as this can sometimes resolve the display issue. You can also use the Facebook Sharing Debugger to see what information Facebook is pulling from your website and help you refresh the preview.
• X (formerly Twitter): If your post doesn't generate a rich preview with an image and text summary after publishing a link post, "Twitter Card" meta tags might not exist in your website HTML code or aren't properly placed. To see what your link preview will look like and to troubleshoot any issues, use the official X Card Validator. Enter the URL of your link, and the validator shows you a preview and provide a "Log" of any errors or warnings it finds, which you can use to correct the meta tags on your website.
• LinkedIn: When you share a link on LinkedIn, the preview image, title, or description is outdated. This is common if you've recently updated the featured image or content on that web page. LinkedIn, like other social networks, caches (stores) link preview data for a period of time to improve loading speeds. If the data is cached, LinkedIn shows the old version of the preview until its cache is updated. The best way to fix this is to force LinkedIn to clear its cache for your specific URL. You can do this by using the official LinkedIn Post Inspector tool.

FAQs

What is a link preview and why is it important for my social media posts?

A link preview is the summary of a link that social media platforms automatically generate, usually consisting of an image, a title, and a short description. It's important because a compelling preview can significantly increase user engagement and click-through rates on your posts.

Why does my link preview look different on different social networks?

Each social network (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) has its own set of rules and crawlers for generating link previews. They may pull different images or text from your website's metadata, leading to variations in how the same link appears across platforms.

Why can’t I edit the image and text for a link I’m sharing on Facebook anymore?

To combat misinformation, Facebook (Meta) restricted the ability for third-party tools like Sprout to modify link metadata (the image, title, and description) for most websites.

My link preview looks fine in Sprout's Composer, but it changes after I publish it to Facebook. Why?

This happens because of Facebook's restrictions. While Sprout may show a standard preview during composition, the final post on Facebook will adhere to Facebook's rules. If your domain isn't verified, Facebook will display its own version of the preview, which can't be edited.

What is Facebook Domain Verification?

Domain Verification is a process within Facebook Business Manager where you can prove you own your website. This is now a mandatory step if you want the ability to edit how your website's links appear on Facebook.

Why must I verify my domain with Facebook to edit my link previews?

Verifying your domain signals to Facebook that you're a trusted source and the legitimate owner of the content. This grants you permission to customize the link preview metadata for any link pointing to your verified website.

How do I start the domain verification process in Facebook Business Manager?

You need to log in to your Facebook Business Manager, navigate to Business Settings, find the "Brand Safety" section, and click on "Domains." From there, you can add your domain and follow Meta's instructions for verification.

Can I edit the preview for a link from a website I don't own (e.g. a news article)?

No. Due to Facebook's policy, you can only edit link previews for domains you have successfully verified as your own. You can't edit previews for third-party links.

Can I edit link previews for LinkedIn posts in Sprout?

Yes. Within Sprout, you can edit the title and description of a link preview for posts being published to LinkedIn directly within the Composer.

My link isn't showing a rich preview with an image on X (formerly Twitter). What's wrong?

This typically means your website is missing the specific "Twitter Card" meta tags in its code. X requires these tags to generate a rich preview. Without them, it only displays a simple hyperlink.

What are Twitter Cards?

Twitter Cards are a set of specific meta tags you can add to your website's HTML. These tags provide X (formerly Twitter) with the rich content (image, title, description) to display in a link preview when someone shares a URL from your site.

I’ve verified my Facebook domain, but I'm still having issues. What should I do?

First, try re-authenticating your Facebook connection in Sprout's settings. If that doesn't work, use the official Facebook Sharing Debugger tool to refresh the link's cache and see what information Facebook is pulling.

The link preview for my LinkedIn post is showing an old image. How do I update it?

LinkedIn caches link information. To fix this, use the official LinkedIn Post Inspector tool. Pasting your URL into this tool forces LinkedIn to clear its cache and fetch the most recent information from your page.

How can I check if my website has the correct X (formerly Twitter) Card tags?

Use the official X Card Validator tool. When you enter your URL, it will show you a preview of your card and provide a log of any errors or warnings it finds, helping you diagnose issues with your website's meta tags.

What is the Facebook Sharing Debugger?

It's a tool provided by Meta that enables you to see the information Facebook pulls from a URL. It's primarily used for troubleshooting by "rescraping" a URL to force Facebook to update its cached version of the link preview.

What is the LinkedIn Post Inspector?

It's a tool provided by LinkedIn that helps you troubleshoot link previews. It shows you how LinkedIn's crawler sees your URL and allows you to refresh LinkedIn's cache to pull in the latest image and text for your preview.

What is the X (formerly Twitter) Card Validator?

It's a tool from X that allows you to preview how your link will appear as a Twitter Card. It also provides diagnostic information to help you fix any issues with the required meta tags on your website.

Which social networks allow me to edit link previews directly within Sprout Social?

You can edit link preview titles and descriptions directly within the Sprout Composer for LinkedIn and Pinterest. For Facebook, editing is only possible after you have completed Domain Verification.

Does Facebook's link preview restriction affect all publishing tools or just Sprout Social?

This restriction affects all third-party publishing platforms. It is a universal change implemented by Facebook (Meta) and not specific to Sprout.

Do I have to verify my domain for every social network?

No. Domain verification is a requirement specific to Facebook (Meta) for the purpose of editing link previews. Other networks like LinkedIn and X don't currently have a similar domain verification requirement for their link previews.