Glossary
Open Graph Tag
HTML metadata that controls how a page appears when shared on social media.
Definition
Open Graph (OG) tags are HTML meta tags placed in the head of a web page that control how a page's content is displayed when shared on social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. The most important OG tags are og:title, og:description, og:image, and og:url.
Why It Matters
How a link preview looks on Facebook or LinkedIn directly affects how many people click it. A compelling og:title and og:image can dramatically increase click-through rates from social shares compared to a default scraped preview with no image.
Examples
og:title<meta property='og:title' content='Free Word Counter — Count Words Online Instantly'>
og:description<meta property='og:description' content='Count words, characters, sentences, and reading time in real-time. Free, no sign-up required.'>
og:image<meta property='og:image' content='https://example.com/social-preview.jpg'> — minimum 1200x630px recommended
Common Mistakes
Not setting OG tags at all.
Using the same OG description as the meta description.
Setting og:image to a low-resolution image.
Forgetting to test OG tags with each platform's debugging tool.