Open Graph Preview

Open Graph tags are snippets of code that control how your content appears when shared on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. They tell these platforms what title, description, and image to display in the social card preview.

Without proper Open Graph tags, social networks will try to guess what to show - and they often get it wrong. They might pull a random image from your page or truncate your title awkwardly. Setting up these tags gives you full control over your content's first impression.

Open Graph tags don't directly affect your search rankings, but they have a big impact on your click-through rates from social media. A well-crafted social preview can mean the difference between someone scrolling past your link or actually clicking on it.

Here's why they're worth your time:

• Posts with optimized images get significantly more engagement than text-only shares.
• A compelling title and description encourage clicks and shares.
• Consistent branding across social platforms builds recognition and trust.
• More social engagement can lead to more backlinks, which does help SEO.

The recommended image size is 1200 x 630 pixels with a 1.91:1 aspect ratio. This size works well across Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn without getting cropped awkwardly.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Keep important content (like text or logos) centered since different platforms crop differently.
• File size should be under 8MB, though smaller is better for load times.
• Use JPG for photos and PNG for graphics with text or transparency.
• Facebook requires images to be at least 200 x 200 pixels, but bigger is always better.

After adding Open Graph tags to your page, you can test them using the official debugging tools from each platform:

• Facebook's Sharing Debugger shows exactly what Facebook will display and lets you clear their cache.
• Twitter's Card Validator previews your Twitter cards before sharing.
• LinkedIn's Post Inspector checks how your content will appear on LinkedIn.

These tools also force the platforms to re-fetch your page data, which is helpful when you've made changes and want to see them reflected immediately.