{"id":4496,"date":"2013-10-10T09:01:12","date_gmt":"2013-10-10T16:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.dlvr.it\/?p=4496"},"modified":"2026-04-06T21:02:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T04:02:19","slug":"facebook-open-graph","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dlvrit.com\/blog\/facebook-open-graph\/","title":{"rendered":"What You Need to Know About Facebook Open Graph [Non-technical Explanation]"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever shared a blog post to Facebook and it didn\u2019t look quite right or the wrong image displayed? The probable culprit is you haven\u2019t enabled your blog to communicate properly with the social networks. There is a fix. It\u2019s called the Facebook\u00a0Open Graph (OG) protocol<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Facebook Open Graph\u00a0is somewhat technical. Our goal is to avoid any tech speak and explain the open graph\u00a0so your mother could understand it. Furthermore, there is no one size fits all when troubleshooting issues that may arise when content is misaligned or images missing. We\u2019ll focus on Facebook and tackle the other networks in future posts. However, the steps we lay out below will fix many problems you may be experiencing on Google+ or LinkedIn.<\/p>\n

<\/span>What is the Facebook Open Graph?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Think of Facebook Open Graph (OG) as a translation service that helps your website speak with the social networks. Facebook created the OG, but other social networks support it including Google+ and LinkedIn.<\/p>\n

When OG tags are properly enabled, your website takes on characteristics of a Facebook Page which means your site is enhanced with additional features seen only on Facebook. With the millions of updates shared across all the social networks, the OG establishes a common language between your site and the social network. OG tags make it easier to quickly interpret, process and properly format your content on their platform. The tags determine how the summarized information, image, and title appear when you share a link.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Why should I care about Facebook Open Graph?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Have you ever shared a piece of content from your blog on Facebook and the wrong image appears? How does this happen? This mistake occurs because your blog and Facebook have a miscommunication. Facebook scans the page or blog post you are sharing and makes a decision on which thumbnail to include in your update on Facebook. \u00a0The image may come from ANY portion of the linked page.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t use the OG tags on your website, this is what your post may look like on Facebook:<\/p>\n

\"Facebook<\/p>\n

With OG tags, your posts look more appealing and includes the right images. According to Kissmetrics<\/a>, photos get 53% more likes, 104% more comments and 84% more click-throughs on links than text-based posts.<\/p>\n

\"Facebook<\/p>\n

<\/span>Why is Facebook Open Graph important?<\/span><\/h2>\n

OG tags are identifiers that tell Facebook what your site is – a brand, blog, news site, store, etc. As a content producer, OG ensures your content appears on Facebook exactly how you want it to appear either when shared by you or your readers. You can associate OG tags with a brand or personal Facebook ID. However, you don\u2019t have to have a Facebook page to use OG tags. Facebook emphasizes images<\/a> in its News Feed, so you want to be certain you are properly communicating with Facebook when sharing content.<\/p>\n

Within the OG tags, you can help Facebook categorize your site:<\/p>\n