Google Search Preview
See how a title and description will be cut, measured in pixels rather than characters.
Pixels, not characters
Every guide gives a character limit for titles, and every character limit is wrong for some titles. A search result is cut when the text runs out of horizontal room, and letters are not the same width: WILLIAM takes roughly twice the space of illiili at the same character count.
This preview measures the rendered width of your actual text in the same typeface and size the result uses, which is why a title of exactly 60 characters may fit comfortably in one case and be cut in another. The familiar figures come from averaging mixed-case English, and they are a reasonable starting point rather than a rule.
| Element | Room available | Roughly, in characters |
|---|---|---|
| Title, desktop | About 580 px | Near 60 |
| Title, mobile | About 490 px | Near 50 |
| Description, desktop | About 920 px over two lines | Near 155 |
| Description, mobile | About 1080 px over three lines | Near 170 |
What this preview cannot promise
That the result will look like this. Search engines rewrite titles when they judge that something on the page fits the query better, and they replace descriptions with a matching passage more often than not. The layout changes over time as well. What a preview is genuinely good for is checking that your text is not obviously too long and that the words that distinguish this page come before the cut.
Writing for the cut
Since the end may disappear, the practical rule is to put the distinguishing words first. A title that begins with the brand name spends its most valuable room on the word every one of your pages shares, and the part that says which page this is gets trimmed. The brand belongs at the end, after a separator, where losing it costs nothing.
The same applies to the description. Put the reason to click in the first clause. If the second half survives, it is a bonus.
Which matters more
The title, comfortably. It carries real weight in ranking as well as being the clickable line. The description has no direct effect on ranking at all: its entire job is persuading somebody to click, which is worth plenty but is a different job. If you have time for one, spend it on the title.
How to use it
Type into the fields and the preview updates as you go, with the gauge under each showing how much of the available width you have used. Or paste an address and press Load to pull the live tags from a page and edit from there. Switch between Desktop and Mobile, since the two cut at different points and mobile is usually the tighter constraint on the title.
Questions
Why is truncation measured in pixels rather than characters?
Because that is how a search result is actually cut. A title of wide capitals runs out of room far sooner than the same number of narrow lowercase letters, so a character limit is at best an average. This preview measures the rendered width, which is why a title of exactly 60 characters may fit in one case and not another.
Will Google show exactly what this preview shows?
No, and no preview can promise that. Search engines rewrite titles and descriptions when they judge something else fits the query better, and the layout changes over time. Treat it as a check on length and phrasing rather than a screenshot of the future.
How much room do I actually have?
Roughly 580 pixels for a title on desktop and about 920 for the description, with mobile narrower for the title and more generous for the description. In characters that works out near 60 and 155 for typical mixed-case text, which is where those familiar numbers come from.
Does the description affect ranking?
Not directly. It affects whether somebody clicks, which is worth plenty on its own. The title carries real weight for both, so it is the one to spend effort on, and putting the distinguishing words first protects them from being cut.
Is my page uploaded anywhere?
Only if you use the load button, which asks our server to fetch that public page and read its tags. Editing and previewing happen entirely in your browser, and nothing you type is transmitted or stored.
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