In the last couple of years, the Open Graph protocol and the associated tags have become the de facto standard for describing social media content.

Whether you’re a social media manager, blogger, or content marketer, being able to add open graph tags to your content is essential. Knowing which tags to use and how to use them correctly can help you engage with your audience more effectively.

In this article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about adding open graph tags to your WordPress website, including:

What Are Open Graph Tags?

If you’ve ever used Facebook, Twitter, or other social media platforms, then you know that content can be described with a combination of metadata and user-generated content.

Metadata, otherwise known as ‘data about data’, provides information about a piece of content like its topic, date, or description. Think of the metadata for this blog post for example:

• Topic:
  

  How to Add Open Graph Tags to WordPress Website

• Date published: 2017-12-18
• Description:

  Learn how to add open graph tags to your WordPress website so you can fully engage with your audience on social media.

User-generated content, otherwise known as ‘content’, is what the user sees when they visit your website or social media platforms. Think of the content for this blog post:

• Blog article:
  

  How to Add Open Graph Tags to WordPress Website

• Title:
  

  How to Add Open Graph Tags to WordPress Website

• Blog article body:

  Learn how to add open graph tags to your WordPress website so you can fully engage with your audience on social media.

  In the last couple of years, the Open Graph protocol and the associated tags have become the de facto standard for describing social media content.

  Whether you’re a social media manager, blogger, or content marketer, being able to add open graph tags to your content is essential. Knowing which tags to use and how to use them correctly can help you engage with your audience more effectively.

  In this article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about adding open graph tags to your WordPress website, including:

  Why Should You Add Open Graph Tags To Your WordPress Website?

  Whether you’re just starting out or you’re already running a successful blog, you may wonder why you should care about adding open graph tags to your WordPress website. Here are some compelling reasons:

  • Attracting and engaging with potential followers on social media.
  • Establishing your authority in your industry.
  • Increasing the discoverability of your content.
  • Reducing the risk of reputation damage from content that is shared or linked to from another site.

  We can’t think of a situation where adding open graph tags would not be beneficial. However, it’s important to keep in mind that not all social platforms support all the tags, so you may not be able to use them all. That being said, it’s always a good idea to use as many tags as you can to ensure your content is described correctly by all major social media platforms.

  How Do I Add Open Graph Tags To My WordPress Website?

  The first step in adding open graph tags to your WordPress website is to log in to your account on WordPress.org and then go to the dashboard.

  From the dashboard, you can click on the “Tools” link in the top-right corner and then select the “Web Traffic” option from the drop-down menu.

  Once you’ve accessed the “Web Traffic” section of the dashboard, the next step is to click on the “Analytics” tab, which is located at the top of the page.

  On this page, you will see a number of metrics about your web traffic, including your most recent organic traffic. To add open graph tags to your site, enter “og:” (the colon is optional) into the “All Traffic” text box and then click on the “Save Changes” button.

  Once you’ve saved the change(s), you can click on the “View Results” button to view your new Open Graph tags.

  At this point, you can test the effectiveness of your new tags by re-optimizing your website and then re-checking the “Web Traffic” section of your analytics. You can also add more tags as needed (for example, you may want to add a category or two).

  How Do I Use The Open Graph Data On My WordPress Website?

  The advantage of having open graph tags on a WordPress website is that you can easily pull in all the relevant data using a tool like Google Analytics (which we’ll discuss in a bit).

  From the dashboard of your WordPress website, you can track your visitors and customers using a tool like Google Analytics. Just go to your website’s dashboard and then click on the “Admin” link in the upper-right corner. From there, you can choose to log in to either your Google or Facebook account.

  If you decide to log in to your Google account, you’ll be able to see all the data that Google has stored about you and your website, including your browsing habits, the content that you’ve interacted with, and more.

  From within Google Analytics, you can click on the “Behavior” tab to see the actions that your visitors take while on your site. This includes things like the pages that they visit and the events (like subscribing to a newsletter) that they take part in.

  The “Events” tab allows you to see the actions that your visitors take while on your site – including filling out forms, browsing your blog, and subscribing to newsletters.

  Within the Events section, you can separate these actions into “Event types” and then compare the results of one event type to another. For example, comparing the “Subscription event” to the “Lead conversion” can help you identify the best performing content on your site.

  Now, if you choose to log in using your Facebook account, you’ll be able to see all of the data that Facebook has stored about you and your blog, including your social media activity and traffic (from Twitter and Instagram).

  From the Facebook dashboard, you can access all your content that’s been shared on the social network and then click on the little circles with the exclamation points to subscribe to topics or follow people.

  You should also check out the “Audience” section of the Facebook dashboard to get a sense of how much interaction your content is getting on the platform. If you notice that one blog post is getting quite a bit of attention while another one is barely getting any engagement, you can determine which content is performing the best and then use that as a basis for future blog post ideas.

  Adding Open Graph Tags To Your WordPress Website Is As Easy As 1-2-3

  Once you’ve added your Open Graph tags to your WordPress website, it’s as easy as 1-2-3 to begin using them. Just make sure that you keep in mind the limitations of the platform (and the fact that not all social platforms support all the tags).

  If you follow these simple guidelines, you’ll find that adding Open Graph tags to your site is a piece of cake: