SERP Snippet Preview — Title & Meta Description Checker

Key takeaways

Truncation is pixel-based. A 55-character title of capitals can be cut while a 70-character lowercase one fits.
Working limits (estimates; Google doesn't publish them): desktop title ~600px at 20px Arial, desktop description ~920px at 14px; mobile shows titles over up to two lines and descriptions around 680px.
Put the primary keyword and the reason to click in the first ~50 characters of the title and the first ~110 of the description.
Google rewrites a large share of titles and descriptions. A clear, accurate title matching the page's H1 is the best defense.

How long should a title tag and meta description be?

Aim for a title of 50–60 characters and a description of 120–158 characters, then check the pixel width, because characters vary a lot: a capital W is about 4 times as wide as a lowercase i in Arial. The preview measures your text with Arial's real character widths — the font Google has long used for result text and the standard SEO tools measure against — so it predicts truncation far better than a character counter.

Element	Desktop	Mobile	Rule of thumb
Title	~600px, 1 line (20px font)	Up to 2 lines (~680px total)	50–60 characters
Meta description	~920px, about 2 lines (14px font)	~680px, about 3 lines	120–158 characters; front-load the key point
URL / breadcrumb	Site name + domain › path	Same, shorter	Short, readable slugs

Limits are estimates converged on by SEO tools from observed results as of 2026. Google adjusts layouts regularly.

How to use the SERP preview

1.Paste your current title tag and meta description, plus the page URL and site name (Google shows the site name above the URL).
2.Toggle Desktop and Mobile. The bar under each field shows the estimated width against the limit and turns red when the text will be cut.
3.Add your target keyword. The checks confirm it appears in the visible part of the title and in the description, where Google bolds matching words.
4.Rewrite until both fit, then compare with what Google actually shows by searching site:yourdomain.com plus a word from the title.

Examples: same length, different result

Title	Characters	Approx. width	Desktop
Web Analytics Without Cookies — Pricing, Features & Setup Guide	63	~596px	Fits, barely
WEB ANALYTICS WITHOUT COOKIES: PRICING & SETUP GUIDE	52	~612px	Likely cut — capitals are wide
Cookieless analytics for indie hackers, with Stripe revenue	59	~516px	Fits with room to spare

Widths computed with the same Arial metrics the preview uses.

Why Google rewrites titles and descriptions

Google generates its own title link when it thinks yours doesn't describe the page well: titles that are very long, stuffed with keywords, identical across many pages, or mismatched with the visible H1. Since its 2021 title-generation update, Google mainly uses the H1 and other prominent headings as the replacement. Descriptions are rewritten even more often — Google picks the passage that best matches each query, so a page can show different snippets for different searches. You can't prevent rewrites entirely, but writing a specific, accurate title that matches the H1 and a description that answers the query directly makes them less likely.

Common title and description mistakes

Brand first. "VisitTrack | Cookieless Analytics…" spends the most valuable pixels on a word searchers didn't type. Put the brand at the end unless it's what people search for.
Counting characters instead of pixels. Character limits are a proxy; capital letters, W, M and em dashes eat width fast.
Duplicate titles across a template. Hundreds of pages titled "Product | Store" invite rewrites and make results indistinguishable.
Descriptions that don't answer the query. The snippet is an ad for the click: say what the page gives the reader, with a number or specific if you can.
Forgetting mobile. Mobile cuts the description earlier, so the second half of a 158-character description may never be seen by most searchers.
Optimizing the snippet and ignoring the result. A higher click-through rate only matters if the visitors convert — measure what happens after the click.

Measuring whether a new title worked

After changing a title, compare impressions, clicks and click-through rate for the page's queries over the following two to four weeks. VisitTrack shows your Google Search Console keywords next to your traffic, and — unlike Search Console — what those visitors did next: signups, goals and revenue. If you also want the page to look right when shared on social, check it with the Open Graph preview, and add structured data with the schema markup generator.

Frequently asked questions

What is the maximum title length for Google?

Google doesn't set a character limit; it truncates titles by width, at roughly 600 pixels on desktop. That is usually 50–60 characters, but wide letters and capitals can push a shorter title over the limit. Titles that run long are cut with an ellipsis or rewritten.

How long should a meta description be in 2026?

About 120–158 characters, or roughly 920 pixels on desktop. On mobile the visible snippet is shorter (around 680 pixels), so put the most important information in the first 110 characters. Google may show a longer or different snippet depending on the query.

Why does Google show a different title than my title tag?

Google rewrites titles it considers too long, keyword-stuffed, boilerplate or inconsistent with the page, often using the H1 instead. Keeping the title concise, unique per page and aligned with the page's main heading reduces rewrites.

Does the meta description affect rankings?

No. Google has said the meta description isn't a ranking factor. It influences click-through rate, because it's often used as the snippet, and a better click-through rate brings more traffic from the same ranking position.

How accurate is a pixel-width SERP preview?

Close, but approximate. This tool uses Arial's real character widths and the limits most SEO tools observe, so it predicts truncation well for Latin-script text. Google's exact cut-off varies with layout changes, device and whether it adds elements like dates.

Should I put my brand name in the title tag?

Usually at the end, separated by a pipe or dash, unless your brand is what people search for. Google also shows a separate site name above the URL, so repeating the brand at the start of the title wastes the most visible space.

SERP snippet preview: see where Google cuts your title