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Question About Thumbnail Image Display in Bing Search Results

wataru 0 Reputation points
2025-10-09T02:51:56.24+00:00

Dear Bing Support Team,

I hope this message finds you well.

I have a question regarding the thumbnail images displayed in Bing search results for my website.

Even though I have properly specified images using OGP tags and structured data, sometimes an unintended image appears as the thumbnail in Bing search results.

Could you please clarify the following points?

Are the thumbnail images in Bing search results automatically selected and displayed by Bing’s own algorithm?

If so, could you explain why the image specified by the website owner may not always be displayed, and what selection criteria Bing uses?

If there are any relevant sections in official manuals or help pages that describe this behavior, I would appreciate it if you could point me to them.

Thank you very much for your time and assistance.

Best regards,

Bing | Bing Search APIs | Bing Web Search API
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  1. Ian-Ng 5,015 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2025-11-12T16:53:46.31+00:00

    Hi @wataru, 

    Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum. 

    Thank you for reaching out. I understand you have concerns about unintended images appearing as thumbnails for your website in Bing search results, even though you have correctly specified images using OGP tags and structured data. 

    I have outlined the answers to your questions below. Please feel free to reach out if you have any further concerns or require clarification on these points. 

    1. Are thumbnails automatically selected by Bing? 

    Yes. Thumbnail images displayed in Bing search results are selected by Bing’s algorithm. While Open Graph (OGP) tags and structured data are important signals, they are treated as strong recommendations rather than strict directives. Bing’s primary goal is to show the image most relevant to the user’s query. 

    2. Why might the specified image not appear? 

    While OGP tags and structured data are important signals, the algorithm also considers several other factors beyond these tags. These include query relevance (how well the image matches the user’s search intent), image quality (its resolution, clarity, and suitability for display), and page context (where the image is placed and its relationship to the main content). Because Bing's primary goal is to optimize for the user's experience, the image you specify may be replaced if another image on the page is deemed more relevant to the query. 

    3. Where can I find official guidance?

    For detailed information, please refer to these official resources: 

    For any persistent, site-specific concerns, we highly recommend using the Bing Webmaster Help Center. This is the official channel for personalized assistance, and it is the great place to get the most correct and up-to-date information directly from our technical team. 

    Please let me know if you would like additional details about how Bing Web Search API handles thumbnails or if you have any other questions.

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