Metadata Guidelines for Publishers: Requirements & Best Practices

To ensure optimal performance on True Anthem’s platform, media and news publishers must implement the required metadata tags. These tags improve content discoverability and ensure proper rendering on social platforms.

Below is a guide to required and recommended metadata tags, including explanations and examples.

Required URL Meta Tags

1. Canonical URL

Defines the authoritative URL of your article, ensuring search engines and social platforms recognize the correct source.

<link rel="canonical" href="http://yourwebpagehere.com/article" />

2. Article Published Time (ISO Format)

Indicates when the article was first published.

<meta property="article:published_time" content="2023-02-17T10:19:50+00:00"/>

3. Article Modified Time (ISO Format)

Indicates the last time the article was updated.

<meta property="article:modified_time" content="2023-03-18T11:20:57+00:00"/>

Required Open Graph (OG) Meta Tags

These tags define how content appears when shared on social media.

1. og:type

Specifies the type of content. Articles should be marked as "article." Other valid values include gallery, story, video, product, album, playlist, song, or radio_station.

<meta property="og:type" content="article"/>

2. og:url

Defines the canonical URL for the page.

<meta property="og:url" content="http://yourwebpagehere.com/article"/>

3. og:title

Defines the article’s title (excluding site branding).

<meta property="og:title" content="Putting Your Best Foot Forward"/>

4. og:image

Specifies the image URL used when the article is shared.

<meta property="og:image" content="http://cdn.yourwebpagehere.com/im/monkey.jpg"/>

5. og:description

Provides a short description of the content for social sharing.

<meta property="og:description" content="10 great tips on saving money for college."/>

Recommended CMS Meta Tags

For enhanced discoverability and better social sharing performance, add the following metadata.

1. Keywords

Defines keywords related to the content to help search engines categorize the page.

<meta name="keywords" content="Compton, Eazy-E, street name, Eazy Street, renaming, street dedication"/>

2. Category

Defines the content category (e.g., entertainment, technology, politics).

<meta property="article:section" content="entertainment"/>

3. Facebook Share Message

Defines the custom message accompanying Facebook shares.

<meta name="FacebookShareMessage" content="This butternut squash-based menu is the perfect fall meal"/>

4. Twitter Share Message

Defines the custom message for Twitter shares (limited to 256 characters).

<meta name="TwitterShareMessage" content="This butternut squash-based menu is the perfect fall meal"/>

Remember

• Ensure all required metadata is present on each article page.
• Use structured and properly formatted metadata for accurate indexing.
• Regularly update metadata fields to reflect content changes.