Free tool · No sign-up · Runs in your browser
SERP preview and meta length checker
Type your title and description and see the search result as Google would draw it, including where each gets cut off. Nothing is sent anywhere; it runs in your browser.
586 of about 580 pixels · 61 characters (aim for under 60) · will be cut off
1082 of about 920 pixels · 169 characters (aim for under 155) · will be cut off
How it would look on Google (desktop)
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Google can swap in its own title or description when it thinks they fit the search better, so this is what you are asking for, not a promise.
Why pixels and not characters
Google cuts a title when it runs out of room, and room is measured in pixels. "Illinois" and "Mammogram" are both eight or nine letters, but one is narrow and the other wide. A character limit is an approximation of that: about 60 for titles and about 155 for descriptions, which is right often enough to be the usual advice and wrong often enough to be worth measuring.
The preview measures your text in the font Google uses for results and cuts it at about 580 pixels for the title and about 920 for the description on desktop. Those widths are the ones SEO tools have converged on by observation. Google does not publish a limit, and it changes its layout from time to time, so treat the cut-off as close and not exact.
Google may not use what you write
Google rewrites titles and descriptions when it thinks its own version matches the search better. Its documentation says the title link can come from your title tag, your headings or other text, and that the snippet is often taken from the page content. Writing a title that fits is still worth it: a title that is too long is more likely to be replaced.
What to put in the space
Lead with the words the searcher typed, because that is what they scan for. Put the brand last, where being cut off costs nothing. In the description, say what the page gives them that the title did not.
Questions
- What is the ideal meta description length?
- Aim for 120 to 155 characters. Shorter is fine if it says everything. Longer usually gets cut on desktop and cut sooner on mobile.
- Does the meta description affect rankings?
- Not directly. Google has said for years that it is not a ranking signal. It affects whether people click, when Google chooses to show it.
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Updated 14 November 2026.