What are Open Graph tags?

Open Graph tags are meta tags in a page's head that tell social networks and messaging apps what title, description, image and address to show when someone shares the link. Without them, the platform guesses from the page and may show a poor preview. The four core tags are og:title, og:type, og:image and og:url.

Why it matters

A shared link is often the first thing a new visitor sees. A clear title with a sharp image makes a link look trustworthy and worth opening, while a blank or wrongly cropped card does the opposite. Open Graph is mainly about sharing previews, and it is not a search ranking factor.

How to add them

Open the head section of the page, or the social settings in your SEO plugin.
Add the core tags with values that fit the page:

<meta property="og:title" content="How to create a sitemap.xml file">
<meta property="og:description" content="Create, check and submit a sitemap in a few steps.">
<meta property="og:type" content="article">
<meta property="og:url" content="https://www.example.com/guides/create-sitemap">
<meta property="og:image" content="https://www.example.com/img/sitemap-share.jpg">
<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image">

Use a full https address for the image. A size of about 1,200 by 630 pixels is widely used for large link cards, and the picture should keep its key content away from the edges, since platforms crop differently.
Set og:url to the canonical address of the page.
Test a link in the sharing debugger or preview tools of the platforms you care about, and check the image loads. Some platforms keep a cached preview, so they may need a refresh before changes appear.

The twitter:card tag is not part of Open Graph itself. It selects the card style on X, which otherwise falls back to Open Graph values for other fields.

Common mistakes

Pointing og:image at a file that returns an error or needs a login.
Using a small or very narrow image that gets cropped badly.
Leaving one site-wide image on every page, so all shared links look the same.
Using relative addresses where full ones are expected.
Changing tags and expecting an already shared preview to update at once.

Crawvix's scan checks that Open Graph and Twitter card tags are set, with a working image.

Frequently asked questions

Do Open Graph tags affect Google rankings?

No ranking effect is documented. They control previews on social and chat platforms.

Do I need both Open Graph and Twitter tags?

Open Graph covers most platforms, and X can use it as a fallback. Adding twitter:card gives you control over the card style.

Why does my old image still show when shared?

Platforms cache previews. Use the platform's debugger to request a fresh fetch.

To check your own tags, Try the free website sample.