What this tool does
Enter a title, a URL and a description, and the page shows a mock Google search result, with a switch between desktop and mobile layouts. Two counters track the title against 60 characters and the description against 160.
How accurate is it
Treat it as a rough guide. Google doesn’t cut titles at a fixed number of characters. It cuts them by pixel width, so a title full of narrow letters like “i” and “l” fits more than one full of wide ones like “W” and “M”. A real limit is about 580 pixels for titles on desktop. This tool counts characters, so a title near the limit might fit or might be cut.
Google also rewrites titles and descriptions often. If the title in your tag doesn’t match what the page is about, or it is too long, Google may use your H1 or another part of the page instead. The same goes for descriptions, which are replaced with a passage from the page when that matches the query better.
So use the preview to catch obvious problems:
- A title far over 60 characters will almost certainly be truncated.
- A description far under 120 characters is wasting space, and one over 160 will be cut.
- A title that doesn’t read well as a link isn’t getting better by being shorter.
Writing a good snippet
Put the main topic early in the title. Write the description as a short, honest summary of what the page offers, because a person decides from it whether to click. Don’t stuff keywords: it doesn’t help and it reads badly.
For previews of how the page looks when shared on social networks, use the SEO and social preview tool.
Is 60 characters a hard limit?
No. Google truncates by pixel width, so the real cutoff varies. 60 characters is a sensible guide.
Will Google show my meta description?
Sometimes. It often chooses a passage from the page instead, depending on the search query.
Does it fetch my real page?
No. You type the values in and it shows a mock-up. Use the Meta Tag Analyzer to read the tags from a live URL.
Why does the mobile preview look different?
Mobile results use a different layout and typically show a slightly different amount of text.
How long should a meta description be?
The counter uses 160 characters as a guide. Around 120 to 160 is a sensible length, but Google may show more or less depending on the query.