How to Optimize Images for Google Discover (PNG Guide)

By admin · Jun 4, 2026

Google Discover is one of the most valuable sources of traffic for content publishers — a personalized feed that surfaces relevant articles to millions of users without them even searching. And unlike traditional SEO, images play an especially central role in Discover performance. Here's how to optimize your PNG images for maximum Google Discover visibility.

What Is Google Discover?

Google Discover is a content feed available in the Google app (iOS and Android) and on google.com (mobile). It surfaces articles, blog posts, and news to users based on their interests, location, and browsing history — without any active search query.

Key stat: Google Discover reaches over 800 million users monthly. A single article appearing in Discover can drive thousands to hundreds of thousands of page views.

Why Images Are Critical for Google Discover

In Google Discover, your article's image is displayed prominently in the feed — often larger than traditional search snippets. A compelling, high-quality image:

• Increases click-through rate (CTR) from the Discover feed
• Makes your content stand out among competing articles
• Is one of Google's stated requirements for Discover eligibility

Google Discover Image Requirements

Required HTML: Enable Large Images in Discover

To enable large image display in Google Discover (the bigger format drives more clicks), add this meta tag to your page:

<meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:large">

Without this tag, Google may only show a small thumbnail from your article in the Discover feed.

Step 1: Compress Your PNG Images

Page speed is a factor in Google Discover eligibility. Slow-loading pages get lower Discover visibility — and large, uncompressed PNG images are the most common cause of slow pages.

1. Create your article hero image at minimum 1200 px wide (1280×720 recommended)
2. Export as PNG from your design tool
3. Compress with compresspngfile.com — target under 200 KB
4. Upload compressed PNG to your article

Goal: Your hero PNG image should be under 200 KB after compression. This ensures fast page load time, which contributes to Discover visibility.

Step 2: Implement Open Graph Image Tags

Google Discover uses your Open Graph image as the preview in the feed. Set it correctly:

<meta property="og:image" content="https://yoursite.com/article-hero-1280x720.png">
<meta property="og:image:width" content="1280">
<meta property="og:image:height" content="720">
<meta property="og:image:type" content="image/png">

Important: The og:image must be the compressed PNG (under 200 KB). Google fetches this image for the Discover card — a smaller file loads faster and serves better.

Step 3: Add Structured Data (ImageObject)

Adding structured data helps Google understand your article images:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Article",
  "headline": "Your Article Title",
  "image": {
    "@type": "ImageObject",
    "url": "https://yoursite.com/article-image.png",
    "width": 1280,
    "height": 720
  },
  "author": {...},
  "publisher": {...}
}
</script>

PNG vs JPG for Discover Images

Discover Image Best Practices Summary

• Use images at least 1200 px wide — always
• Compress PNG hero images under 200 KB with compresspngfile.com
• Add max-image-preview:large robots meta tag
• Set complete Open Graph image tags with dimensions
• Use images that are genuinely relevant to your article content
• Avoid stock photos that look generic — distinctive images perform better in Discover
• Ensure the image is visible in the article body (not just in metadata)

Conclusion

Optimizing PNG images for Google Discover combines technical requirements (1200px minimum, proper meta tags) with performance requirements (fast-loading, compressed images). Compress your article hero PNGs with compresspngfile.com to meet the file size requirements, then implement the Open Graph and structured data tags to maximize your Discover eligibility and CTR.