Open Graph Meta Tags： Your Guide to OG Meta Tags [+FAQ]

Have you encountered dissatisfaction with how your Facebook posts appear?This issue is a common challenge for businesses on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, ranging from low-quality images to unappealing titles. If your business is grappling with this problem, there’s a solution: Open Graph meta tags.Open Graph meta tags empower you to dictate how your content appears on Facebook and other social media sites, ensuring that links to your website and blogs are both enticing and informative.Continue reading to find answers to questions such as:

What Are Open Graph Tags?

Why Are Open Graph Meta Tags Important?

What Does The Code Look Like For Open Graph Meta Tags?

Types Of Open Graph Meta Tags

FAQ On Open Graph Meta Tags

Moreover, refer to our comprehensive FAQ section at the end for additional insights on open graph meta tags!P.S. Eager to gain more marketing tips and tricks for your online business? Join the ranks of over 200,000+ astute marketers by subscribing to Revenue Weekly!Open graph meta tags facilitate control over the information displayed when content is shared from your website, blog, or similar platforms to your Facebook page. These tags are embedded in your website’s header and dictate the visibility of your content on Facebook.Created to foster integration between websites and Facebook, these tags simplify the process of creating engaging Facebook posts that encourage visitors to your website.Now that you understand what open graph tags are, you might be curious about the coding involved.The appearance of this coding varies depending on the tag and the information required, but the fundamental structure is as follows:

<meta property=“tag type” content=“information for tag” />

Here, you’ll specify the tag type in the designated section, which we will delve into in the following section. For the information part, you provide the necessary data. For instance, if you use an open graph meta tag for your URL, you would include the web page’s URL as the content.There are five types of open graph meta tags that can be utilized to manage the information within your Facebook posts:1. og:titleOur list of open graph tags begins with og:title. This tag allows you to customize the title that appears when your web content is shared on your Facebook page.  By not using this tag, Facebook defaults to pulling the meta title tag from your page. Utilizing this tag can help create a more compelling title that prompts Facebook users to click on your article.Here’s the code to implement this open graph tag:

<meta property=“og:title” content=“page title here” />

2. og:descriptionAnother essential og meta tag to consider is og:description. This tag enables you to add a concise description that appears when the page is shared on social media.  This description provides your audience with insights into what they can expect on the page, without the need to incorporate keywords for SEO purposes. Focus on crafting an informative and enticing description to encourage users to click on your link.Here’s the code to use this feature as an open graph tag:

<meta property=“og:description” content=“description here” />

3. og:typeAnother type of open graph meta tag to employ is og:type. This tag allows you to specify the type of object you’re sharing, with numerous options available, including:

Website

Blog post

Video

Picture

When sharing a page from your website, you’ll use the “website” type to indicate this.Here’s the code to implement this tag:

<meta property=“og:type” content=“type tag (website, video, etc)” />

4. og:urlNext on our list of open graph meta tags is og:url. This tag allows you to specify the URL you want visitors to be directed to on your website, which is particularly useful if you have multiple URLs for the same content.Setting up this tag ensures that all traffic from your shares is directed to the correct URL.Here’s the code to implement this tag:

<meta property=“og:url” content=“url link here” />

5. og:imageThe final open graph meta tag we’ll discuss is og:image. This tag allows you to set the thumbnail for your content when it’s shared.  The image in your post significantly impacts whether someone clicks on it. If your photo is pixelated or unrelated to the content, you risk deterring visitors from your page.When setting up this og meta tag, it’s recommended to choose an image that’s at least 1200 x 627 pixels and no larger than 5MB. You can select an image from your site or elsewhere.Here’s the code to implement this open graph tag:

<meta property= “og:image” content= “domainname.com/imagename.filetype” />

Do you have further questions about open graph tags? We have the answers!Why are open graph meta tags significant?After learning about og meta tags, you may ponder their importance.How does incorporating these tags benefit your business?A primary reason for using open graph tags is the enhanced control they provide over the appearance of your content when shared on social media.When sharing links to your website on social pages, you aim to encourage others to share your content as well. If your posts aren’t compelling enough to prompt clicks and further exploration, users are unlikely to share them. Open graph tags enable you to modify how your posts appear, thereby piquing more interest in what you share.Additionally, og meta tags influence the engagement of your content with your audience.By controlling the presentation of your posts, you can tailor them to be more appealing to your audience. Consequently, your audience is more likely to take notice and engage with your content.Can I verify my tags to ensure they’re correct?Indeed!You can use the Facebook Crawler Sharing Debugger to view how your posts appear when shared on a social media page. This tool also reveals which open graph tags Facebook recognizes.  This is an excellent method to confirm that your tags are used correctly and functioning as intended.It provides a straightforward way to visualize how your content will appear when shared on social media.Do other platforms utilize open graph meta tags?Yes. While Facebook is the primary platform for using open graph meta tags, both Twitter and LinkedIn also employ these tags.For LinkedIn, the tag setup is similar to Facebook. You can use the following tags for the platform:

og:title

og:image

og:description

og:url

For Twitter, the coding setup is slightly different. The code is as follows:

<meta name=“twitter:tag” content =“info” />

Here are the og meta tags you can use on Twitter:

Twitter:card (Twitter version of og:types)

Twitter:title

Twitter:description

Twitter:url

Twitter:image

Open graph meta tags are an excellent tool for businesses to control how posts to their page appear on social media, boosting clicks and driving more traffic. However, if you lack coding experience or knowledge on implementing open graph meta tags, WebFX can assist.With a team of over 500+ marketing experts, we can help you implement open graph meta tags to enhance your post performance.Furthermore, our social media marketing services can manage all aspects of your social media presence, from content posting to engaging with potential leads.Contact us online or call us today at 888-601-5359 to speak with a strategist!