You just share a link, but it shows a nice picture related to this link and title, then it is a well-optimized open graph meta tag. This comes under the Open Graph Protocol, which was introduced in 2010 by Facebook. It allows web pages to become rich objects in social media sites.
It helps websites to organize information easily for platforms (like Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) to understand and show detailed snippets of links. These meta tags, placed in the <head> section of a webpage, attract more visitors. This will enhance the online presence of your website through this link. Open Graph meta tags play a vital role in web content being shared effectively on various platforms.
In the present scenario, over than a million websites and businesses use open graph metadata to get further clicks, attract more consumers to interact with their content, and keep track of their online brand presence. There are about 10 commonly used Open Graph tags, and each one does a certain job, like showing the right preview image or defining the page’s title. In short, they’re indispensable for strong social media visibility.
So, in this blog, you will have a detailed knowledge about open graph meta tags and how you will implement this in your website to get more clicks.
What Are Open Graph Meta Tags?
Open Graph meta tags are small sections of code, also called snippets. You put these codes on your website to control how your content appears when it’s shared on social media. Search engines display the title tag on the search results page. These tags help your links look better, be clickable, and work the same on all devices when you put them in the <head> section of your page. There are four required Open Graph tags for Facebook, which are og:title, og:type, og:image, and og:url.The difference between regular meta tags and Open Graph tags.
Though both traditional and open graph meta tags have the same functionality in web page content. Open Graph metadata makes sure that your blog post or web page looks attractive when shared socially. The image tag, title tag, and meta description work together to create compelling social media previews.
- Regular meta tags help with search engine optimization (SEO).
- Open Graph tags help with how your content looks when shared on social media.
| Feature | Regular Meta Tags | Open Graph Meta Tags |
| Purpose | Help search engines understand your page | Help social media platforms display rich previews |
| Used By | Google, Bing, other search engines | Facebook, LinkedIn, X (Twitter), WhatsApp, etc. |
| Examples | <meta name=”description” content=”…”> | <meta property=”og:description” content=”…”> |
| Placement | In the <head> section of HTML | Also in the <head> section |
| Focus | SEO and search engine results | Social media appearance and sharing |
| Custom Previews for Social? | No (limited control) | Yes (full control over title, image, URL, etc.) |
| Introduced By | Web standards (general HTML) | Facebook (as part of the Open Graph Protocol in 2010) |
Why Open Graph Tags are Important?
Open Graph tags are very essential nowadays to create a strong online presence for your brand.
Enhance Social Media Appearance
Open Graph tags control how your website looks when you share its link on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. If you don’t add these tags, social networks will use their content, which is not so appealing. It’s necessary to customize these tags to produce a more professional and attractive glimpse.
Required Properties for Best Results
The most important Open Graph tags can be
- Title tag: presents your page headline
- Description: gives a summary
- Image: provides visual appeal
- URL: guarantees the right link to the page
Present Your Website Professionally.
Open Graph meta tags design your title, description, and image to be displayed properly. This enhances your whole website’s presence and increases your authenticity to visitors. It helps social media from picking random HTML elements. If you add eye catchy pictures in your link then you will get 38% to 291% engagement on Twitter.
If you implement proper Open Graph meta tags, then you can display what your concept behind the website is. You can share more info with these tags.
What are The Most Essential Open Graph Properties?
These additional tags improve how your content appears across multiple versions of social platforms. While the four essential tags work for basic sharing, optional tags provide better control over presentation. Open Graph tags must be unique for each page served on your website. All the tags should be placed in your source code’s head section for proper functionality.
- og:title – Your title tag should be short, concise, and specifically related to your website. This is the main headline of your webpage. Schema markup can work alongside Open Graph meta tags to enhance content understanding. Title tags should be under 60 characters to ensure they are fully displayed in search results.
- og:description – It is similar to a meta description. This should be a brief description of your webpage content. The og:description tag gives you control over the description shown when your page is shared on social media. Meta descriptions should be between 155 and 160 characters for optimal search results display.
- og:image – The first image that appears when your page is shared. You should high resolution images for better display on different devices. The og:image tag defines the thumbnail image shown when the webpage is shared on social media.
- og:url – The og:url tag specifies the canonical URL of your page for social media sharing.
Optional But Useful Tags
- og:type – You can use specific content like “article” for blog posts or “video” for video files. This helps social platforms understand your content better.
- og:site_name – This demonstrates your website or site name.
- og:locale – It helps you to develop the language of your content for international audiences.
- og:video/og:audio – The audio and video are very important for media content. The video tag specifies video file URLs for platforms that support video previews.
How to Add Open Graph Tags to Your Website?
Step-by-step guide using HTML
Step 1: Find Your HTML Head Section
Find the <head> part at the top of the HTML file for your site. This is where your meta tags go.
Step 2: Copy and Paste These Tags
Add these lines inside your <head> section:
Step 3: Fill in Your Information
- Then you have to modify “Your Page Title Here” with your real page title.
- Moreover, you can describe your page in a few words.
- Then, you can add the best picture to this link.
- Add your page’s web address.
Step 4: Save and Upload
Make a copy of your HTML file and put it on your website.
How to Implement Open Graph Meta Tags in WordPress?
You can use plugins to get the best results.
- Yoast SEO: Go to post editor → Yoast section → Social tab → Fill Open Graph fields.
- Rank Math: Edit post → Rank Math → Social → Add title, description, image.
Manual Method: Add code to your theme’s functions.php or header.php file.
Integrate the Open Graph Meta Tag in Shopify
- Go to Online Store → Themes → Actions → Edit Code.
- Open the theme.liquid file.
- Add Open Graph tags in the <head> section.
- Use Shopify’s liquid variables for dynamic content.
Incorporate Open Graph Meta Tags in the Wix Platform
- Go to Pages → SEO Settings.
- Click “Edit Social Share Settings.”
- Then you can upload an image and add a title/description.
- Moreover, Wix automatically generates Open Graph tags.
You Can Use These Codes or Different Content
Blog Post:
Product Page:
How to Improve Open Graph Meta Tags Appearance?
After implementing open graph meta tags, you need to improve these for various social media sites. So, the following are the advanced tips for maintaining your open meta tags-
How to Optimize An Image for Open Graph Tags?
Recommended Dimensions: The recommended image size for og:image is 1200px X 630px to ensure proper display. This size works flawlessly for high-resolution gadgets and mobile screens.
File Formats:
- You should use the JPEG format for photos.
- PNG for graphics with text
- WebP for high-quality files at reduced sizes.
File Size: The file size should be under 1MB for faster loading, but ensure they’re originally created for high-resolution devices.
Platform-Specific Considerations
Facebook Requirements:
- You can handle different types of objects (like articles, websites, and products).
- Moreover, you may add metadata like author and publication date.
- You can show a larger image as a preview.
Twitter Card vs. Open Graph:
- Twitter uses its own Twitter Card tags but falls back to Open Graph.
You need to accept different card types. (summary, large image) - Requires specific Twitter Card meta tags to be included in the HTML <head>.
LinkedIn Implementation:
- In this specific social media platform, you need to prioritize professional content presentation.
- It is a little different from Facebook, so it is important to adjust your content strategy accordingly.
- You need to show your brand name very professionally.
Mobile vs. Desktop: There are different platforms that show shared content on mobile and desktop in different ways, so make sure you test your previews on both to make sure they look great on all devices.
What Mistakes Should You Avoid With Open Graph Tags?
Most people can make some basic mistakes, so I am going to point out those for you. So that you can avoid those mistakes. Image Problems
Wrong Image Sizes: If your image size is smaller than 1200×630 pixels, then it might be unprofessional. So try to avoid tiny or stretched images.
Missing Images: When you don’t include og:image tags, platforms will pick random images from your page, which are usually logos or graphics that don’t have anything to do with your page.
Broken Image Links: You have to take an extra look at the URLs for your images. There can be broken links, which can affect your online presence.
Technical Errors
Wrong Placement: The Open Graph tags will not function if they are positioned outside of the <head> section.
Typos in Properties: Putting “og:titel” instead of “og:title” breaks functionality.
Forgetting Updates: The Open Graph tags should be updated whenever you make changes to the images or content of a page.
Which Tools Help You Test Open Graph Tags?
Here, you can use various tools to check whether your Open Graph tags are well optimized or not. These tools can analyze your website’s metadata and provide suggestions for improvement.
- Facebook Sharing Debugger
Facebook’s Official Tool: First you need to visit developers.facebook.com/tools/debug and paste your URL to find out specifically how Facebook shows your content. Moreover, this tool also clears Facebook’s cache when you make changes.
- Twitter Card Validator
Twitter’s Testing Tool: Use cards-dev.twitter. You can see how your content looks on Twitter at com/validator. This also retrieves both Twitter Cards and Open Graph.
- LinkedIn Post Inspector
You can use LinkedIn’s Validator at linkedin.com/post-inspector to check how your content looks when it’s shared on LinkedIn’s professional network.
- Multi-Platform Tools
OpenGraph.xyz: A free online tool that shows ads for several social networks at the same time. It works really well for quick tests on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Metatags.io: This is an all-in-one tool for making and testing Open Graph tags. Moreover, it gives real-time samples and suggestions for improving existing conditions.
Social Share Preview: Web tools and browser extensions that display your page’s appearance on various social media networks.
- Browser Developer Tools
Built-in Testing: Use Chrome/Firefox developer tools to look over your page’s head section and confirm that all Open Graph tags are accurately installed.
Best Practice
Before putting up content, you should always check your tags. Once you use these tools, you can check your social media posts for missing pictures and broken links that could make them look sloppy.
Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs)
Although they don’t directly enhance SEO, Open Graph tags increase click-through rates by adding visual appeal to shared links. So if you want to present your website in a professional and visually appealing manner, then you need to implement Open Graph tags.
Yes, OG tags are still helpful because they regulate how your content shows up on social media, even if you have regular meta tags.
In normal OG tags, you can only use one picture, but you can set it as the main image. If they need to, some sites, like Facebook, may pick others from the page.
Let’s wrap up
In this digitize era, where people are so much into appealing visuals and graphics. There are so many people who just don’t take your products if you don’t present them well on your websites. So, optimizing open graph meta data is very influential. The right open graph meta tags can attract a wider audience to your website by sharing a small link. Yes, you can generate a huge revenue by sharing your website URLs through social media. And you are optimizing Open Graph meta tags to present your website in the best possible way to potential customers.
