Google+ Goes Bigger With Super Sized Thumbnails, Headlines

Following the bigger-is-better trend, Google+ has boosted the size of the thumbnails and headlines that display with posts on the platform.

As reported this morning by Google Plus Daily, now if the main image associated with the page you are posting is large enough, it will render across the full span of the G+ news feed display. It’s very similar to changes Facebook made last year and Twitter has implemented for some “Twitter Card” partners.

Here’s the new look:

Along with the larger, bolder headline, note that the bottom of the image is serrated, perhaps to give a torn-from-the-news-to-your-scrapbook look as noted by The Next Web.

At this early stage in the switchover, we’ve noticed inconsistent displays. In some cases posts with large photos aren’t getting the new treatment on Google+.  Here’s how that looks:

The above display will continue to be the default for posts that don’t include large images, which will prevent blown-out pixilation issues. And it might take some time for web developers to optimize tagging to make sure Google sees and displays larger images.

With this trend thumbnail inflation  — though we might have to come up with a different term for the new normal — Google, Facebook and Twitter each hope to boost engagement with more compelling visuals. This change makes it less necessary for page managers to upload images to the services to make their posts pop among the other content.