Choosing the best images for your ads
What makes an ad image work: real photos, one clear subject, little text, the right shapes for each platform, and enough variety to test.
Your image is usually the first thing people notice, and often the only thing they see before scrolling past. These guidelines work across Google, Meta, TikTok, Microsoft Advertising and LinkedIn.
Use real images of your business
People respond to real things: your product, your premises, your team, your customers using what you sell. A clear, well-lit phone photo often beats a polished stock image. Use stock to fill gaps, not as your main creative.
Make one thing the focus
- Pick one subject per image, and make it big enough to recognise on a phone screen.
- Use a simple background so the subject stands out.
- Show the product in use where you can. A coffee in someone's hand says more than a cup on a white background.
- Faces and eye contact draw attention, especially on social platforms.
Keep text to a minimum
Your headline and description already carry the words. If you do add text to an image, keep it to a few words, make it large and high-contrast, and keep it away from the edges. Google doesn't allow images that are mostly text or that copy its own interface, such as fake buttons.
Use the right shapes
Each platform shows images in different shapes, and an image in the wrong shape gets cropped or surrounded by bars. Most campaigns need:
- Square (1:1): works almost everywhere.
- Landscape (1.91:1): Google, Microsoft Advertising and LinkedIn.
- Portrait (4:5): Meta feeds, and Google's Performance Max and Demand Gen.
- Vertical (9:16): TikTok, and Stories and Reels on Meta.
You don't need to make every shape yourself. Upload one good, high-resolution image and use the crop tool to make the rest.
Leave room around the edges
Platforms place buttons, captions and profile pictures over parts of your image, especially on vertical placements like TikTok and Stories. Keep your subject, text and logo near the centre.
Give platforms variety
Platforms test your images against each other and show the ones that perform best. Google Performance Max accepts up to 20 images per asset group. Aim for at least three or four different images per campaign, not just one image in several shapes.
Quality and rights
- Upload the highest-quality version you have. It's easier to scale down than up.
- Only use images you own or have a licence for, including photos of people.
- Check AI-generated images carefully, especially hands, faces, text and logos.
- Check file sizes before you upload. See Image size limits for each platform.