What it looks like
Open Graph tags sit in the head of a page, the part visitors do not see. These are the four common ones:
<meta property="og:title" content="How to repot a houseplant">
<meta property="og:description" content="Five steps, the tools you need and the mistakes to avoid.">
<meta property="og:image" content="https://www.example.com/images/repot.jpg">
<meta property="og:url" content="https://www.example.com/repot-a-houseplant">
When someone pastes your link into a social post or a chat, the app reads these tags and builds the preview card from them: a picture, a headline and a line of text. Most site builders fill them in from a "social sharing" field on each page.
Why it matters
- It decides how a shared link looks. Without these tags, the app has to guess. It may pick an unrelated image, or show none.
- A clear preview is easier to click. A card with a fitting image and headline tells people what they will get. A bare address does not.
- It is separate from search. The title tag and the meta description are written for search results. Open Graph tags are written for shared links, so you can word them differently.
- The image needs a full address. It should start with
https://, not with a slash. Read more under HTTPS.
GOOD TO KNOWApps keep a saved copy of the preview. After you change the tags, the old image or headline can keep showing for a while. That is the saved copy, not a mistake on your page.
How to check yours
- Open the page, right-click and choose "View page source".
- Search the source for
og:and confirm that the title, description, image and URL tags are all there. - Copy the image address into a new browser tab to see that the picture loads.
- Paste the link into a private message to yourself in the app your audience uses, and look at the preview.
The free audit checks for these tags on any live page. The other tags in the head of a page are covered in the On-page SEO series.