How can I specify an image for Google to use alongside my web page in the search results? Please see the following screenshot which illustrates what I am referring to.
Can I control what image is shown here and how? Could this be done through metadata, for example?
To specify an image that Google can use alongside your webpage in search results, you need to use structured data. This can be done through metadata, and there are several important points to consider.
Use Open Graph markup, which Google uses to extract image information.
Also, make use of Schema.org img tags, which help search engines better understand the content of your page.
However, an image won’t always be shown next to your search results. It depends on the context of the query and the page. For example, in certain categories like recipes, images are far more likely to be shown. In contrast, in fields like financial services, Google might not display images at all in the search results.
If you want to know which types of queries display images, use tools like Ahrefs. There is a very handy section with enhanced snippets that allows you to analyze all your competitors’ keywords and understand exactly where to focus on using images.
General Recommendations:
Ensure that the image is relevant to the content of the page and of high quality.
This image by default taken by Google from your 1st image of the page. But if you are using WordPress then you can set the featured image.
If you are not using WordPress there are some things you should keep in mind:
Yes. You should set the "featured image". But also the position of the image is very important. The desired image should ideally be in the header of the page and near the title
