ByTheWeb GEO lets you control the image used in Open Graph and Twitter social metadata when ByTheWeb GEO is managing your site’s SEO layer.
You can define a site-wide default image and, when needed, choose a different Social Media Image for individual posts, pages, supported content types, and taxonomy terms.
For a feature overview, see Social Image (OG).
When Is This Feature Active?
The Social Image controls are part of the SEO functionality managed by ByTheWeb GEO.
If Yoast SEO or Rank Math SEO is active, that SEO provider manages the overlapping social SEO metadata instead. In that case, use the active SEO plugin to configure your social images.
ByTheWeb GEO continues to provide its non-overlapping GEO functionality.
Set a Site-Wide Default Social Image
To define a default image:
- Go to ByTheWeb GEO > SEO Settings.
- Open the Social tab.
- Find Social Media Defaults.
- Under Default OG Image URL, click Select Image.
- Choose an image from your WordPress Media Library.
- Save the settings.
The recommended image dimensions shown in the plugin are 1200 × 630 pixels.
This image acts as a fallback when a more specific image is not available.
Set a Social Image for a Post or Page
You can override the default image for individual content.
Edit the post, page, or supported content item and open the ByTheWeb GEO area.
Under Advanced SEO, Indexing & Social, find:
Social Media Image (OG)
Click Select Image, choose the image you want to use, and save or update the content.
This Social Media Image is stored separately from the WordPress Featured Image.
Which Image Is Used for Posts and Pages?
When ByTheWeb GEO is managing the social metadata, it selects an image using this priority:
- The Social Media Image (OG) set specifically for the content.
- The content’s Featured Image.
- The site-wide Default OG Image.
- The WordPress Custom Logo, when available.
This means you do not have to assign a separate OG image to every page if its Featured Image is already suitable.
Social Images for Taxonomy Terms
Supported taxonomy terms can also have their own Social Media Image.
Edit the taxonomy term and open Advanced SEO, Indexing & Social.
Use Social Media Image (OG) to select an image specifically for that term, then update the term.
For taxonomy terms, the image priority is:
- The term’s Social Media Image (OG).
- The site-wide Default OG Image.
- The WordPress Custom Logo, when available.
Taxonomy terms do not use the post/page Featured Image fallback.
What Does ByTheWeb GEO Output?
When ByTheWeb GEO is managing the SEO layer, it uses the selected social image in the applicable social metadata in the page <head>.
This includes the image metadata used for Open Graph and Twitter sharing, including:
og:image
twitter:image
ByTheWeb GEO also uses a summary_large_image Twitter Card when generating its social metadata.
What Happens If No Custom Image Is Set?
A custom Social Media Image is optional.
For posts and pages, ByTheWeb GEO can first use the Featured Image. If that is unavailable, it checks the site-wide Default OG Image and then the WordPress Custom Logo.
For taxonomy terms, it checks the Default OG Image and then the Custom Logo after the term-specific image.
If none of the available image sources contains an image, ByTheWeb GEO has no image URL to use for the social image metadata.
What Happens with Yoast SEO or Rank Math?
ByTheWeb GEO avoids generating competing social SEO metadata when a supported external SEO provider is active.
If Yoast SEO or Rank Math SEO is managing the site’s SEO:
- Manage Open Graph and social image settings through that plugin.
- ByTheWeb GEO does not take over the overlapping social SEO fields.
- ByTheWeb GEO continues to manage its supported GEO features such as AI Summary, Short Answer, and FAQ Schema.
The same provider-aware behavior applies to individual posts and supported taxonomy terms.
For more information about other provider-aware SEO controls, see Canonical URL & Robots and Title & Description Templates.
Does Changing the Social Image Change the Featured Image?
No.
The Social Media Image (OG) is a separate setting. Selecting an image there does not replace the WordPress Featured Image.
If you leave the Social Media Image field empty, the Featured Image can be used as the next available image for supported post and page content.
Do I Need AI Credits?
No.
Selecting, saving, and outputting Social Image / Open Graph metadata is part of ByTheWeb GEO and does not require AI credits or an API connection.
Troubleshooting
I cannot edit the ByTheWeb social settings
Check whether Yoast SEO or Rank Math SEO is active. When a supported external SEO provider is managing the overlapping SEO layer, those settings are managed by that plugin.
The page is using the Featured Image instead of my default image
This is expected when no custom Social Media Image is set. For posts and pages, the Featured Image has priority over the global Default OG Image.
A taxonomy page is using the global default image
Edit the taxonomy term and check whether a term-specific Social Media Image (OG) has been selected.
The wrong image is being selected
Check the image priority in this order for posts and pages:
Custom Social Media Image → Featured Image → Default OG Image → WordPress Custom Logo.
Recommended Setup
A simple setup for most websites is:
- Add a suitable Default OG Image under the Social settings.
- Make sure important posts and pages have appropriate Featured Images.
- Use Social Media Image (OG) only when a specific page or term needs a different social image.
- If Yoast SEO or Rank Math SEO is active, manage the overlapping social image settings through that plugin.