Fixing Metadata

Workflow

1. Identify pages with missing or incorrect metadata (titles, descriptions, canonical, OG tags)

2. Audit against the priority rules below — fix critical issues (duplicates, indexing) first

3. Ensure title, description, canonical, and og:url all agree with each other

4. Verify social cards render correctly on a real URL, not localhost

5. Keep diffs minimal and scoped to metadata only — do not refactor unrelated code

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