Let’s talk about Open Graph and Social Markup for SEO! Whether you’re a seasoned marketer or a beginner, you’ve probably heard the term “social media optimisation” thrown around. But what does it really mean? Simply put, it’s about making sure your website content is properly optimised for social media sharing.

Enter Open Graph and Social Markup. These tags help control how your content appears when it’s shared on social media platforms. You can use them to specify things like the title, description, and image that will appear in the preview.

Why is this important for SEO, you ask? Well, for starters, having a well-optimised preview can increase the click-through rate from social media to your website. That means more traffic and more potential customers. Plus, when your content is consistently formatted and recognisable on social media, it can help build brand recognition and trust.

So, how do you get started with Open Graph and Social Markup? Here are the steps:

• Determine what type of content you’re sharing: Are you sharing a blog post, product page, or video? Different types of content may have different requirements for the Open Graph and Social Markup tags.
• Choose which tags to use: There are several tags you can use, but the most commonly used ones are the og:title, og:description, and og:image tags.
• Add the tags to your website: You can add the tags to the head section of your HTML code. You can also use plugins like Yoast SEO for WordPress to make the process easier.
• Test your tags: Make sure to test your tags using tools like the Facebook Debugger to make sure they’re properly formatted, and appearing as you intended.
• Monitor and adjust as needed: Keep an eye on how your content is appearing on social media, and make any necessary adjustments to your Open Graph and Social Markup tags.

It’s worth noting that while Open Graph is the most commonly used protocol for social markup, there are alternatives such as Twitter Cards and Schema.org. You may want to consider using multiple protocols to ensure your content is properly optimised for all major social media platforms.

So, what are the best Open Graph and Social Markup techniques for optimising content for websites and social media platforms? 

1. Use Open Graph Tags: Open Graph tags provide social media platforms with information about your website, including the title, description, and image. Use relevant Open Graph tags on your website to ensure that social media platforms display your content accurately and attractively.
2. Optimise Image Size: Social media platforms display images differently depending on the platform and device. Optimise your images to the recommended size for each platform to ensure they display correctly and attractively.
3. Implement Twitter Cards: Twitter Cards provide additional context and media to Twitter users when they share your content. Implement Twitter Cards on your site to enhance your content’s visibility and engagement on Twitter.
4. Use Schema Markup: Use schema markup to provide more context to social media platforms and improve the visibility of your content. Schema markup can help with information such as reviews, ratings, and other metadata that can help improve social sharing.
5. Test and Validate: Test and validate your Open Graph and Social Markup using Facebook’s Sharing Debugger and Twitter’s Card Validator. These tools help identify any errors and make corrections to your markup to improve your content’s visibility and engagement on social media platforms.

In conclusion, don’t forget to have some fun with your social media optimisation! Experiment with different tag combinations to see what works best for your audience. With a little bit of effort, you’ll be well on your way to more traffic, better brand recognition, and a higher search engine ranking. Happy optimising!

Social media optimisation is just one of the things we can assist with at Tomedia. Get in touch with us today to find out more about how we can help your website to achieve SEO success and beyond.