An OG tag in SEO is an Open Graph meta tag: a line of HTML in a page’s <head> that tells social platforms which title, description, image and URL to show when someone shares the page. The most important one, og:title, sets the headline of that link preview. OG tags are not a direct Google ranking factor, but they decide how your links look on Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, X and Slack, and that strongly affects how many people click.
What Are OG Tags?
Open Graph is a protocol Facebook introduced in 2010 so any web page could become a rich “object” when shared. Today it is used by Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Pinterest, Slack, Discord, Telegram and many messaging apps. Without OG tags, these platforms guess what to show, often picking the wrong image or an unhelpful snippet of text.
OG tags are <meta> tags that use a property attribute starting with og:, for example:
<meta property="og:title" content="What Is an OG Tag in SEO?" />What Is og:title?
og:title is the Open Graph tag that sets the title shown in a social media link preview. When your page is shared, the platform reads og:title and displays it as the bold headline above or beside the preview image.
- Where it goes: inside the page’s
<head>. - What happens without it: most platforms fall back to your HTML
<title>tag, which may include your brand name or keywords that read awkwardly in a social feed. - Recommended length: there is no official limit, but long titles get cut off. Aim for roughly 40 to 60 characters so the full headline shows on mobile.
- Tone: write it for people scrolling a feed. It can be more conversational than your SEO title.
og:title vs the title tag
| <title> tag | og:title | |
|---|---|---|
| Main purpose | Search results and browser tabs | Social media and chat link previews |
| Read by | Search engines and browsers | Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Slack and others |
| Typical style | Keyword-focused, often includes the brand | Benefit- or curiosity-led, written for a feed |
| Must they match? | No. Many sites use the same text, but you can tailor each one to where it appears. | |
The Main OG Tags (with Examples)
The Open Graph protocol lists four basic tags every page should have (og:title, og:type, og:image and og:url), plus og:description, which almost every site also uses.
og:title
The headline of the preview, as explained above.
og:description
One or two sentences shown under the title on some platforms. Summarise the value of the page in about 100 to 160 characters.
og:image
The preview image, and usually the biggest factor in whether people click. Use an absolute URL and an image of 1200 × 630 pixels (a 1.91:1 ratio) so it displays sharply on all major platforms. Keep key text away from the edges, since some apps crop the image.
og:url
The canonical URL of the page. Shares of different versions of the URL (for example with tracking parameters) are then counted against one address.
og:type
The type of content, most commonly website for home and service pages and article for blog posts.
Other useful tags
og:site_name: your brand name, shown on some platforms.og:locale: the language and region, such asen_INoren_US.og:image:alt: a text description of the image for accessibility.
Complete OG Tag Example
<meta property="og:title" content="What Is an OG Tag in SEO? A Simple Guide" />
<meta property="og:description" content="Learn what OG tags are, how og:title works and how to set them up in WordPress." />
<meta property="og:image" content="https://www.example.com/images/og-tags-guide.jpg" />
<meta property="og:image:alt" content="Example of a link preview on LinkedIn" />
<meta property="og:url" content="https://www.example.com/what-is-og-tag-in-seo/" />
<meta property="og:type" content="article" />
<meta property="og:site_name" content="Example Agency" />Do OG Tags Affect SEO and Google Rankings?
Not directly. Google does not use OG tags as a ranking factor. They still matter for SEO in three indirect ways:
- More clicks from shares: a clear title and strong image get more people to visit your page from social and chat apps.
- More visibility: pages that are shared and visited more are more likely to be discovered, mentioned and linked to.
- Title links: Google’s documentation lists og:title among the sources it may consider when it generates the title shown in search results, alongside your title tag and main heading.
How to Add OG Tags in WordPress
You rarely need to edit code. Popular SEO plugins add OG tags automatically:
- Rank Math: open the post, go to the Rank Math panel, choose the Social tab and set the Facebook title, description and image. These become your OG tags.
- Yoast SEO: open the Social tab in the Yoast panel and fill in the social title, description and image.
- Site-wide defaults: set a default OG image in your plugin’s settings so every page has a fallback image.
On a custom or non-WordPress site, add the <meta> tags to the <head> of each page template.
What About X (Twitter) Cards?
X uses its own twitter: tags, such as twitter:card set to summary_large_image. If the X-specific title, description or image tags are missing, X falls back to your OG tags, so most sites only need to add twitter:card on top of their Open Graph tags.
How to Test Your OG Tags
- Facebook Sharing Debugger: shows what Facebook reads and lets you refresh its cached preview.
- LinkedIn Post Inspector: shows the LinkedIn preview and refreshes LinkedIn’s cache.
- View the page source: search for
og:to check the tags are present and the image URL works.
Platforms cache previews, so after changing a tag, use these tools to fetch the new version.
Common OG Tag Mistakes
- Missing og:image, so platforms pick a random logo or icon.
- Relative image URLs (such as
/images/photo.jpg) instead of full URLs. - Images that are too small or the wrong shape, which get cropped or shown as small thumbnails.
- The same og:title and image on every page.
- Duplicate OG tags from two plugins or a theme and a plugin, which confuses platforms.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does OG stand for?
OG stands for Open Graph, the protocol created by Facebook that defines these tags.
What is the difference between og:title and the title tag?
The title tag is used for search results and browser tabs; og:title is used for social and chat link previews. They can be the same, but you can write each for where it will be seen.
How long should og:title be?
There is no fixed limit, but around 40 to 60 characters usually displays in full on most platforms and devices.
Are OG tags required?
They are not required for a page to work or rank, but without them you cannot control how your links look when shared.
Why is my old image still showing after I changed og:image?
The platform has cached the old preview. Run the URL through the Facebook Sharing Debugger or LinkedIn Post Inspector to refresh it.
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