# Meta Tags Meta tags provide metadata about your web pages to search engines and social media platforms. Varbase uses the **Metatag** module to manage meta tags both globally and on a per-content basis. ## What Are Meta Tags? Meta tags are HTML elements in the `` section of a page that provide information about the page to search engines and other services. Key meta tags include: * **Title tag**: The page title displayed in search engine results and browser tabs. * **Description**: A summary of the page content displayed in search engine results. * **Canonical URL**: The preferred URL for the page, preventing duplicate content issues. * **Robots**: Instructions for search engine crawlers (e.g., index, noindex, follow, nofollow). ## Social Media Meta Tags ### Open Graph **Open Graph** meta tags control how your pages appear when shared on Facebook, LinkedIn, and other platforms that support the Open Graph protocol: * **og:title**: The title displayed in the social share preview. * **og:description**: The description displayed in the social share preview. * **og:image**: The image displayed in the social share preview. * **og:type**: The type of content (e.g., article, website). ### Twitter Cards **Twitter Cards** meta tags control how your pages appear when shared on Twitter/X: * **twitter:card**: The card type (summary, summary with large image, etc.). * **twitter:title**: The title displayed in the Twitter card. * **twitter:description**: The description displayed in the Twitter card. * **twitter:image**: The image displayed in the Twitter card. ## Configuring Global Meta Tags Global meta tag defaults apply to all pages on your site unless overridden at the content level: 1. Navigate to **Configuration > Search and metadata > Metatag**, or go to `/admin/config/search/metatag`. 2. Click **Edit** next to the **Global** defaults. 3. Configure the default values for meta tags using tokens (e.g., `[node:title] | [site:name]` for the title tag). 4. Click **Save** to apply the defaults. You can also configure defaults for specific entity types (e.g., Content, Taxonomy terms, Users) to provide type-specific meta tag patterns. ## Configuring Meta Tags per Content Item Each content item can have its own meta tag values that override the global defaults: 1. Open the content item for editing. 2. Find the **Meta tags** section on the content form (usually a collapsible fieldset). 3. Fill in or modify the meta tag values: * **Page title**: Override the default title for this specific page. * **Description**: Write a custom description for this page. * **Open Graph** fields: Set specific social sharing information. * **Twitter Cards** fields: Set specific Twitter sharing information. 4. Click **Save** to apply the meta tags. If a field is left empty at the content level, the global default is used. ## Using Tokens Meta tag values support **tokens**, which are placeholders that are automatically replaced with dynamic values: * `[node:title]`: The content item's title. * `[site:name]`: The site name. * `[node:summary]`: The content item's summary or trimmed body. * `[node:field_image:entity:field_media_image:alt]`: The alt text of the content's primary image. Tokens allow you to create dynamic meta tag patterns that work automatically for new content without manual configuration. ## Tips * **Write unique descriptions.** Each page should have a unique meta description that accurately summarizes its content. Avoid duplicating descriptions across pages. * **Keep titles under 60 characters.** Search engines typically display only the first 60 characters of a title tag. * **Keep descriptions under 160 characters.** Longer descriptions may be truncated in search results. * **Use Open Graph images.** Always set an `og:image` for important pages. Social shares with images receive significantly more engagement. * **Review meta tags after content changes.** When updating a page's content significantly, review and update its meta tags to ensure they remain accurate. * **Do not keyword-stuff.** Write meta tags for humans, not just search engines. Natural, descriptive text performs better than keyword-stuffed meta tags. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.varbase.vardot.com/content-designers/search-engine-optimization/meta-tags.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.