Twitter Cards
What are Twitter Cards?
Similar to the Open Graph protocol (used by Facebook/LinkedIn), Twitter Cards control how your content looks when shared specifically on X (formerly Twitter). Without them, your shared link is just plain blue text. With them, it's a large, clickable billboard.
Why it Matters
1. Visibility & Engagement
Tweets with images get 150% more retweets than those without. A "Summary Card with Large Image" takes up significant vertical space in a user's feed, demanding attention.
2. Professionalism
It signals that your brand understands social media. A broken or plain link looks like spam.
Types of Cards
- Summary Card: Title, description, and thumbnail. Good for news/blogs.
- Summary Card with Large Image: The gold standard. Huge image, title, description. Best for visual impact.
- App Card: For driving mobile app installs.
- Player Card: For video/audio media.
Code Implementation
Add these to your <head>:
<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" />
<meta name="twitter:site" content="@mygomseo" />
<meta name="twitter:title" content="Free SEO Audit Tool" />
<meta name="twitter:description" content="Check your ranking in seconds." />
<meta name="twitter:image" content="https://mygomseo.com/og-image.png" />Common Pitfalls
Missing the "Card" Type
The Mistake: forgetting <meta name="twitter:card" ... />.
The Result: Twitter defaults to a tiny summary or nothing at all. Always define summary_large_image.
Image Cropping
The Mistake: Using an image with text on the edges.
The Fix: Twitter crops images differently on mobile vs desktop. Keep critical visual information in the center 2:1 ratio safe zone.
Robots.txt Blocking
The Mistake: Blocking the Twitterbot in robots.txt.
The Result: Twitter cannot crawl your page to generate the preview.
How to Audit
Use the Twitter Card Validator (official tool) or check the "Social" tab in the Mygom SEO Checker to preview exactly how your link will look.