Title & Meta Description Preview
Write the title and description, see the search snippet, and get a warning before Google truncates it.
Snippet check
–
Desktop limits
- Title
- –
- Enter a title
- Description
- –
- Enter a description
- Title pixels
- –
- 20px Arial
- Description pixels
- –
- 14px Arial
- Title characters
- –
- 50 to 60 is typical
- Description characters
- –
- 150 to 160 is typical
Google truncates by pixels, not characters
Google cuts a title at a pixel width, not a character count. A title built from wide letters, capitals, W, M, and numerals, truncates sooner than one built from narrow letters like i, l, and t. That is why the same 60 characters fit one day and lose the brand name the next. Character counts are a proxy. This tool measures the actual string in the font Google renders on desktop, Arial at 20 pixels for the title and 14 pixels for the description, and reports the width.
The working limits are roughly 580 pixels for a desktop title and about 920 pixels, two lines, for a desktop description. Mobile is narrower for the title, around 490 pixels, but shows a third description line, so it holds more description text. Google also rewrites titles it considers poor and swaps descriptions for page text when the page copy answers the query better. Treat the measurement here as a proxy that catches the obvious problems, not a rendering guarantee.
The practical rules follow from the mechanism. Front-load the words that earn the click and put the brand at the end after a separator, so a cut costs you the least important part. Write the description as a sentence that finishes its promise before the second line ends. Truncation is not fatal, but a snippet cut in the middle of a claim reads as unfinished, and unfinished loses to the result below it.
Formulas
- Title width
- = measureText(title, "20px Arial")
- Description width
- = measureText(description, "14px Arial")
- Desktop limits
- = title ≈ 580px, description ≈ 920px (about 2 lines)
- Mobile limits
- = title ≈ 490px, description ≈ 1,200px (about 3 lines)
- Status
- = width ≤ limit ? fits : likely truncated
Frequently asked questions
How long should a title tag be?
Around 50 to 60 characters usually fits inside the roughly 580 pixel desktop limit, but the real constraint is width. A title full of capitals and wide letters such as W and M can truncate at 50 characters, while one built from narrow letters can run past 65 and still fit. Measure the pixels, put the words that earn the click at the front, and keep the brand name at the end where losing it costs least.
How long should a meta description be?
Roughly 150 to 160 characters fits the two-line desktop snippet at about 920 pixels. Mobile shows a third line, so it can display more. Write it as a sentence that answers the query and makes a specific promise, not a list of keywords. Google frequently replaces descriptions with text pulled from the page when it decides the page copy answers the query better, so the description is a suggestion, not a guarantee.
Why does Google show a different title than the one I wrote?
Google rewrites titles it judges unhelpful: too long, stuffed with repeated keywords, identical across many pages, or mismatched with the visible H1. The fix is alignment. Make the title, the H1, and the first paragraph agree on what the page is about, keep it within the pixel limit, and avoid boilerplate. A title that fits and matches the page is rarely rewritten.
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