Record Builders guide
How to build SPF and DMARC records and write title, description, Open Graph and Twitter tags with XGM Record Builders, and what each warning means.
What these tags do
The <title> element names the page in browser tabs, bookmarks and usually search results. The description meta tag is a summary that search engines may show under the title. Neither is shown on the page itself, which is why they are easy to forget and worth checking deliberately.
Open Graph tags (og:title, og:description, og:image, og:url) were introduced by Facebook and are now read by most platforms that build link previews, including messaging apps and business chat tools. Twitter card tags (twitter:card and related) do the same for X, which also falls back to Open Graph values.
How to use the meta tag builder
- Open the meta tag builder.
- Enter the page title, description, canonical URL, share image URL, site name and, optionally, the Twitter handle.
- Review the warnings, for example about length or a missing image.
- Copy the generated HTML into the
<head>of the page, or into your CMS's SEO fields.
<title>Pricing | Example Analytics</title>
<meta name="description" content="Simple monthly plans for teams of every size. Start free, upgrade when you need more projects." />
<meta property="og:title" content="Pricing | Example Analytics" />
<meta property="og:description" content="Simple monthly plans for teams of every size. Start free, upgrade when you need more projects." />
<meta property="og:url" content="https://www.example.com/pricing" />
<meta property="og:image" content="https://www.example.com/images/pricing-share.png" />
<meta property="og:site_name" content="Example Analytics" />
<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" />Building SPF and DMARC records
Record Builders also writes the two DNS records every sending domain needs. The SPF builder lists common sending services with the include each one documents, takes your own IPv4 and IPv6 ranges, and counts DNS lookups as you type. RFC 7208 allows ten; because includes contain includes of their own, Check nested lookups resolves every include through the XGM DNS API and gives the real total before you publish.
The DMARC builder sets the policy, subdomain policy, percentage, report addresses and alignment. The record it produces is read by the same analyser as Email Security, so the builder shows the findings the checker would report. Start with p=none and a report address, as the p=none to p=reject guide recommends.
example.com. IN TXT "v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com -all"
_dmarc.example.com. IN TXT "v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc-reports@example.com"The robots.txt builder completes the set: it blocks paths for all crawlers, adds your sitemap URL and can opt out of known AI training crawlers. After publishing any of these, follow the verify link to the matching checker.
Writing good titles and descriptions
| Tag | Aim for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Title | About 50–60 characters, unique per page, most important words first | Longer titles are cut off in results; duplicates confuse users and search engines |
| Meta description | About 120–160 characters, a specific summary with a reason to click | Search engines truncate long snippets and may rewrite vague ones |
| og:title | Can match the title, or be slightly more conversational | Shown in link previews |
| og:description | One or two sentences | Many previews show only a short excerpt |
Character limits are guidelines, not rules: search engines truncate by pixel width and may choose their own snippet from the page when the description does not match the query. What consistently helps is a description that accurately summarises the page and a title that tells people what they will find.
Keywords meta tag
keywords meta tag for ranking. Spend the effort on the title, description, headings and the content itself.Share images
A link preview with an image gets much more attention than one without. The og:image must be an absolute URL that crawlers can fetch without login, served over HTTPS. A size of 1200 × 630 pixels, an aspect ratio of about 1.91:1, suits large preview cards on most platforms.
- Use an absolute URL such as
https://www.example.com/images/share.png, not/images/share.png. - Keep important text away from the edges; some platforms crop previews to other ratios.
- Keep the file reasonably small so previews load quickly.
- Use a different image per important page when possible; a generic logo for every page looks repetitive in feeds.
- After changing an image, platforms may keep the old preview cached; most offer a debugger or refresh tool.
What the generator warns about
| Warning | Why it matters | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Title is n characters | Very short titles say too little; very long ones are cut off in results | Aim for roughly 50–60 characters |
| Description is n characters | Descriptions outside the usual range are ignored or truncated | Aim for roughly 120–160 characters |
| Canonical URL should be absolute and use https:// | Relative or HTTP canonical URLs are ambiguous | Use the full https:// address of the preferred URL |
| og:image must be an absolute URL | Preview crawlers cannot resolve relative paths | Use a full https:// image URL |
The generator also escapes quotes and angle brackets in your text, so a title containing " or < does not break the HTML attribute it is placed in.
Canonical URLs and duplicates
The same page is often reachable at several URLs: with and without www, with tracking parameters, or with a trailing slash. A canonical link element tells search engines which URL to index, and the og:url tag tells social platforms which URL to count shares for. Both should point to the same final HTTPS address.
<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.example.com/pricing" />Common mistakes are canonical tags pointing at the home page from every page, at URLs that redirect, or at HTTP versions of the site. Each of these tells search engines to ignore the page you want indexed or wastes a crawl on a redirect. Generate the canonical from your routing, not by copying a template value.
Pages that should not be indexed at all, such as internal search results or thank-you pages, should use a robots meta tag with noindex rather than a misleading canonical.
Checking what you published
Tags only help if they are in the HTML that crawlers receive. Single-page applications that add tags with JavaScript after loading may show generic previews in chat apps, because many preview crawlers do not run scripts. Prerendering or server-side rendering puts the tags into the initial HTML.
curl -s https://www.example.com/pricing | grep -iE '<title>|name="description"|property="og:'Check that each page's canonical URL is the final URL after redirects, using the Redirect Checker, and that the robots rules allow crawlers to read the page, which the robots.txt builder helps you write.
FAQ
How long should a meta description be?
Roughly 120 to 160 characters. Search engines truncate longer snippets and may generate their own when the description does not fit the query.
Do meta descriptions affect rankings?
Not directly. They influence whether people click, which is why a clear, specific description is still worth writing.
Do I need both Open Graph and Twitter tags?
Open Graph covers most platforms, and X falls back to Open Graph values. Add twitter:card to choose the large image card.
Why does my link preview show an old image?
Platforms cache previews. Use the platform's sharing debugger to refresh it, or change the image URL.
Can I set tags with JavaScript?
Search engines that render JavaScript may see them, but many preview crawlers do not. Put important tags in the server-rendered HTML.
What image size works best?
1200 × 630 pixels is a common choice for large previews. Use an absolute HTTPS URL.
Should every page have a unique title?
Yes. Unique titles help users tell pages apart in tabs and results, and help search engines understand each page.
Is the keywords meta tag useful?
Not for major search engines. It is ignored for ranking.
What should the site name be?
The brand name people know, such as Example Analytics, without taglines. Platforms show it next to or above the preview title.
Why does a search result show a different title than my tag?
Search engines sometimes rewrite titles that are too long, repetitive or do not match the page content. A concise, accurate title that matches the main heading is rewritten less often.
Are my inputs uploaded?
No. The tags are generated in your browser.