Fixing Metadata

fixing-metadata

Ship correct, complete metadata.

Triggers

• metadata
• meta tags
• og tags
• open graph
• seo
• title tag
• description tag
• social preview
• twitter card
• favicon
• structured data
• schema.org

how to use

• /fixing-metadata Apply these constraints to any metadata work in this conversation.

• /fixing-metadata <file> Review the file against all rules below and report:

  • violations (quote the exact line or snippet)
  • why it matters (one short sentence)
  • a concrete fix (code-level suggestion)

Do not introduce new frameworks or SEO libraries unless explicitly requested. Prefer minimal diffs.

when to apply

Reference these guidelines when:

• adding or changing page titles, descriptions, canonical, robots
• implementing Open Graph or Twitter card metadata
• setting favicons, app icons, manifest, theme-color
• building shared SEO components or layout metadata defaults
• adding structured data (JSON-LD)
• changing locale, alternate languages, or canonical routing
• shipping new pages, marketing pages, or shareable links

rule categories by priority

quick reference

1. correctness and duplication (critical)

• define metadata in one place per page, avoid competing systems
• do not emit duplicate title, description, canonical, or robots tags
• metadata must be deterministic, no random or unstable values
• escape and sanitize any user-generated or dynamic strings
• every page must have safe defaults for title and description

2. title and description (high)

• every page must have a title
• use a consistent title format across the site
• keep titles short and readable, avoid stuffing
• shareable or searchable pages should have a meta description
• descriptions must be plain text, no markdown or quote spam

3. canonical and indexing (high)

• canonical must point to the preferred URL for the page
• use noindex only for private, duplicate, or non-public pages
• robots meta must match actual access intent
• previews or staging pages should be noindex by default when possible
• paginated pages must have correct canonical behavior

4. social cards (high)

• shareable pages must set Open Graph title, description, and image
• Open Graph and Twitter images must use absolute URLs
• prefer correct image dimensions and stable aspect ratios
• og:url must match the canonical URL
• use a sensible og:type, usually website or article
• set twitter:card appropriately, summary_large_image by default

5. icons and manifest (medium)

• include at least one favicon that works across browsers
• include apple-touch-icon when relevant
• manifest must be valid and referenced when used
• set theme-color intentionally to avoid mismatched UI chrome
• icon paths should be stable and cacheable

6. structured data (medium)

• do not add JSON-LD unless it clearly maps to real page content
• JSON-LD must be valid and reflect what is actually rendered
• do not invent ratings, reviews, prices, or organization details
• prefer one structured data block per page unless required

7. locale and alternates (low-medium)

• set the html lang attribute correctly
• set og:locale when localization exists
• add hreflang alternates only when pages truly exist
• localized pages must canonicalize correctly per locale

8. tool boundaries (critical)

• prefer minimal changes, do not refactor unrelated code
• do not migrate frameworks or SEO libraries unless requested
• follow the project’s existing metadata pattern (Next.js metadata API, react-helmet, manual head, etc.)

review guidance

• fix critical issues first (duplicates, canonical, indexing)
• ensure title, description, canonical, and og:url agree
• verify social cards on a real URL, not localhost
• prefer stable, boring metadata over clever or dynamic
• keep diffs minimal and scoped to metadata only

Verify

• Title, description, OG image, canonical URL, and favicon were each inspected on the live page (view-source or DOM), not just edited in source
• Title length is within the 50-60 char window and description within 140-160 chars; final counts are recorded
• OG and Twitter card previews were validated with a real fetcher (e.g., opengraph.xyz, cards-dev) and screenshots/links attached
• Structured data (JSON-LD) validates against schema.org; the validator output or zero-error report is attached
• Sitemap and robots directives were checked so the page is actually indexable (or intentionally noindex)