Meta Tag Checker

How a page looks in search — the Google snippet

What a user sees in Google’s results — the title, the address and the description — is called a snippet (SERP snippet). This tool shows a preview of that snippet: how your title and meta description will look in search on desktop and mobile before you publish. You see the length, where it gets cut off, and the overall look of the line people decide to click on.

Optimal lengths

Title tag — 50–65 characters. Keyword and core message in the first 50, brand at the end. Meta description — 140–160 characters, with the main point in the first 120 so it survives on smaller screens. Google truncates both by width, not by a fixed character count, so the same text can show in full on desktop and be shortened on mobile — the preview shows both.

Why the real Google snippet can differ from the preview

The preview is a guide, not a guarantee. In real results Google may:

• rewrite the title or description for a specific query;
• cut them by screen width rather than a fixed character count — so mobile shows less than desktop;
• pull its own description from the page text if it matches the query better;
• add a date, rating, sitelinks or other elements that change the look of the line.

So the same title can appear in full for one query and be shortened for another.

When to check your title and description

• Before you publish a new page — so the snippet reads well and isn’t cut off.
• For pages that get impressions but few clicks — CTR work often starts with the title and description.
• After a redesign or migration — when title templates may have changed.
• When Google shows a description other than the one you set.

How to write titles and descriptions that get clicks

• Match search intent: answer what the person wants to find, don’t describe the site in general.
• Front-load the important part: keyword and core message in the first 50 characters of the title and the first 120 of the description, because the tail gets cut off.
• Look at the preview, not just the counter: the same character count can fit on desktop and be shortened on mobile.
• Don’t keyword-stuff: one clear meaning works better than a list of queries.
• Unique title and description on every page — identical snippets compete with each other.

Read the full guide to meta tags →