Why does Google measure titles in pixels instead of characters?

Results are laid out in a fixed-width column, so the limit is the space the text takes up. A title full of narrow letters like i and l fits more characters than one with W and M. On desktop Google cuts titles at roughly 600 pixels in 20px Arial, which is usually 50 to 60 characters.

How long should my meta description be?

About 150 to 160 characters fills two lines on desktop, which is roughly 920 pixels in 14px Arial. Mobile has a little less room. Put the most useful information in the first 120 characters so it survives on every device.

Will Google always show my title and description?

No. Google rewrites titles and descriptions when it thinks other text on the page matches the search better, for example a heading or a passage that contains the query. A clear, accurate title and a description that summarises the page make rewrites less likely.

Why are some words bold in the description?

Google highlights words that match the search query, and sometimes close variants. Enter a query in the tool to see which of your words would be bolded. Bold words draw the eye, so including the main keyword naturally can help the click-through rate.

How accurate is this preview?

The widths are measured in your browser with the same font Google uses, so the cut-off points are a close estimate. Google's exact limits change with tests, devices and screen sizes, and it sometimes adds sitelinks, ratings or images that change the layout.

What does the URL line show?

Google shows the site name and a breadcrumb made from the domain and the URL path, such as example.com › blog › post. If your page has BreadcrumbList structured data, Google may show those names instead of the raw path.

Google Search Preview

See how your title and meta description will look in Google on desktop and mobile. The preview cuts text at Google's pixel limits, highlights your search terms and shows exactly how much room you have.

100% free
No sign-up
Runs in your browser

Title

URL

Meta description

Site name

Defaults to the domain.

Date (optional)

Favicon URL (optional)

Defaults to /favicon.ico on your domain.

Search query to highlight

HTML tags

<title>Instagram DM Automation for Brands and Creators | Hypello</title>
<meta name="description" content="Reply to every Instagram comment with a DM, send links automatically and let AI agents collect leads. Start free with 1,000 DMs a month.">

How Google builds a search result

A standard result has four parts: the favicon and site name, a breadcrumb made from your URL, the title (usually your <title> tag) and a snippet (often your meta description). Google cuts the title and snippet when they run past the space available and adds an ellipsis, so the end of a long title is simply lost.

Writing for the preview

Lead with the topic. Put the main keyword and the reason to click in the first 50 characters of the title.
Keep the brand at the end of the title, after a separator such as | or -.
Write the description as a promise: what the reader gets, in one or two sentences.
Give every page its own title and description. Duplicates make Google more likely to rewrite them.

About the limits

Desktop titles are cut at about 600 pixels and descriptions at about 920 pixels (two lines). On mobile the title can wrap onto a second line and the description has about 680 pixels. These are estimates: Google doesn't publish fixed limits and they vary with screen size.

How it works

How to use it

Step 1
Enter your title and description
Type the page title, URL and meta description, or import them from a live page. Add a publish date if the page shows one in results.
Step 2
Check desktop and mobile
The preview cuts the text at the same pixel widths Google uses and shows how much room you have left on each line.
Step 3
Fine-tune and copy
Type a search query to see which words get bolded, adjust until nothing important is cut off, then copy the finished tags.

FAQs

Frequently asked questions

Answers to common questions about the Google Search Preview.

: Results are laid out in a fixed-width column, so the limit is the space the text takes up. A title full of narrow letters like i and l fits more characters than one with W and M. On desktop Google cuts titles at roughly 600 pixels in 20px Arial, which is usually 50 to 60 characters.
: About 150 to 160 characters fills two lines on desktop, which is roughly 920 pixels in 14px Arial. Mobile has a little less room. Put the most useful information in the first 120 characters so it survives on every device.
: No. Google rewrites titles and descriptions when it thinks other text on the page matches the search better, for example a heading or a passage that contains the query. A clear, accurate title and a description that summarises the page make rewrites less likely.
: Google highlights words that match the search query, and sometimes close variants. Enter a query in the tool to see which of your words would be bolded. Bold words draw the eye, so including the main keyword naturally can help the click-through rate.
: The widths are measured in your browser with the same font Google uses, so the cut-off points are a close estimate. Google's exact limits change with tests, devices and screen sizes, and it sometimes adds sitelinks, ratings or images that change the layout.
: Google shows the site name and a breadcrumb made from the domain and the URL path, such as example.com › blog › post. If your page has BreadcrumbList structured data, Google may show those names instead of the raw path.

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