What Are Open Graph Tags?
Open Graph (OG) tags are meta tags in your page's HTML that control how your content appears when shared on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp. Without them, social platforms guess which title, description, and image to use — often choosing poorly.
Essential Open Graph Tags
| Tag | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
og:title | The title shown when shared | Your Page Title Here |
og:description | A brief description | A compelling summary of your page content |
og:image | The image shown in the share card | https://yoursite.com/image.jpg |
og:url | The canonical URL of the page | https://yoursite.com/page |
og:type | The type of content | article, website, product |
HTML Code Example
<meta property="og:title" content="Your Page Title"> <meta property="og:description" content="A brief description of your page"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://yoursite.com/share-image.jpg"> <meta property="og:url" content="https://yoursite.com/page"> <meta property="og:type" content="article">
Twitter Card Tags
Twitter uses its own set of tags that work alongside Open Graph:
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
twitter:card | Card type: summary, summary_large_image |
twitter:title | Title (falls back to og:title) |
twitter:description | Description (falls back to og:description) |
twitter:image | Image (falls back to og:image) |
OG Image Best Practices
- Size: 1200 x 630 pixels for optimal display
- Format: JPEG or PNG
- File size: Under 1MB
- Content: Include your brand, a clear visual, and readable text
- Unique per page: Each important page should have its own OG image
Why Open Graph Tags Matter for SEO
While OG tags are not a direct ranking factor, they increase social sharing by making your content look professional when shared. More shares mean more visibility, more traffic, and potentially more backlinks — all of which help SEO indirectly.
Check your Open Graph tags with the OG tag checker or preview your share appearance with the SERP snippet generator.
Check your site now: Run a free audit on the RankNibbler homepage to see how your page scores across 30+ SEO checks.
Last updated: March 2026