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What is the attribute property="og:title" inside meta tag?

html
meta-tags
structured-data
social-media-optimization
Anton ShumikhinbyAnton Shumikhin·Oct 19, 2024
TLDR

The property="og:title" attribute inside a <meta> tag sets the page's title as it appears when shared on social platforms. This is part of the Open Graph protocol, used predominantly by Facebook.

Example:

<meta property="og:title" content="Your Page Title">

Place this tag within the <head> element of your webpage. This ensures "Your Page Title" appears when your page is shared on social media.

Open Graph tags: The key to optimized Social Media sharing

When a link is shared on social platforms like Facebook, the appearance of the shared content is governed by Open Graph tags. Using the property="og:title" attribute allows for more engaging previews that can gain user attention and boost click-through rates.

Open Graph Protocol: What and Why

The Open Graph Protocol is a key part of social media optimization. With these tags, you can take charge of how your content appears on social platforms during sharing, liking, or engagement checks; thus, unlocking the viral potential of your posts.

Common Challenges & Recommendations

Despite their perks, Open Graph tags can present challenges if not leveraged correctly:

  1. Unappealing Content Display: To debug this, use validation tools such as the Facebook Sharing Debugger or LinkedIn's Post Inspector.
  2. Mismatched Content: Ensure the property attributes genuinely reflect your webpage content.
  3. Inconsistency upon Updates: Upon updating your webpage, re-check your tags. Append a ?v=1 query string at the end of URLs to refresh the cached versions on social media platforms.

Structured Data: Unveiling RDFa

Open Graph properties employ RDFa or 'Resource Description Framework in attributes', a format for embedding structured data into webpages. It's part of HTML5 specifications and helps mark up data that social networks can comprehend.

RDFa, Microdata & JSON-LD: Choose your Fighter!

Among options like Microdata and JSON-LD, RDFa is one way to deploy structured data:

  • RDFa: Unlike Lord of the Rings, this 'RDF' calls for embedding structured info directly within HTML tags. This may result in fuller HTML code.
  • Microdata: This simplified version of RDFa can be more intuitive to learn.
  • JSON-LD: Generally preferred by Google, JSON-LD nests structured data within a script tag, making it separate from the HTML structure.