# Open Graph

Category: [On-Page & Content](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/on-page-content/) › [Titles, meta tags & snippets](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/on-page-content/titles-meta-snippets/) · Also known as: OG tags, Open Graph protocol

**Open Graph** is a protocol that defines how a web page is displayed when it is shared on social networks or in messaging apps. It was originally created at Facebook and uses `meta` tags with the `property` attribute in the page's `<head>`.

## How does Open Graph work?

The specification at ogp.me lists four required properties. `og:title` is the title of the object, `og:type` its type, such as `website` or `article`, `og:image` the URL of an image, and `og:url` the canonical URL that serves as its permanent ID. Optional properties include `og:description`, `og:site_name`, `og:locale`, `og:audio` and `og:video`. Images can carry extra properties such as `og:image:width`, `og:image:height` and `og:image:alt`. If a property has several values, for example several images, the tag is simply repeated.

Platforms read these tags and build the link preview with image, title and description. Meta's sharing guide lists `og:url`, `og:title`, `og:description` and `og:image` as basic tags and recommends that `og:url` be the plain canonical URL without session or tracking parameters. Without Open Graph tags, Facebook's crawler guesses title, description and preview image with its own heuristics.

Open Graph is not a documented Google ranking signal. Google mentions it in its video documentation as one possible source of video metadata. A better preview can raise clicks on shared links (opinion).

## Example

```html
<head>
  <meta property="og:title" content="Canonical tag explained">
  <meta property="og:type" content="article">
  <meta property="og:image" content="https://www.example.com/images/canonical.png">
  <meta property="og:url" content="https://www.example.com/glossary/canonical-tag/">
  <meta property="og:description" content="How the canonical tag works.">
</head>
```

## Common mistakes

- `og:url` differs from the canonical URL or carries tracking parameters.
- The image is too small or sits behind a login and cannot be fetched.
- An old preview stays in the platform's cache. Meta caches images by URL and updates them only when the URL changes. The Sharing Debugger shows how Facebook's crawler reads the page.

## FAQ

**Is Open Graph free?** Yes. The specification is published under the Open Web Foundation Agreement 0.9, and anyone can add the tags to a page.

**What is an OG title?** The value of `og:title`. It appears as the headline of the link preview and can differ from the page's `title` element.

**What is an OG image?** The image from `og:image` that shows in the preview.

## Related terms

- [Meta tags](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/meta-tags/index.md)
- [Title tag](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/title-tag/index.md)
- [Meta description](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/meta-description/index.md)
- [Knowledge Graph](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/knowledge-graph/index.md)

## Sources

- [The Open Graph protocol](https://ogp.me/)
- [Sharing webmasters guide – Meta for Developers](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/sharing/webmasters/)
- [Video SEO best practices (Open Graph as video metadata) – Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/video)

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Last updated: October 7, 2026
URL: https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/open-graph/