How long should a meta description be?

Google typically displays up to about 155 to 160 characters on desktop and around 120 on mobile before truncating with an ellipsis. Front-load the most important wording so it survives any cut-off.

Does Google always use my meta description?

Not always. Google may rewrite the snippet to better match a query, but a clear, relevant description still gives you the best chance of it being used as written.

Is my content uploaded?

No. The preview is rendered locally in your browser — your title and description never leave your device.

How long should a title tag be?

Aim for around 60 characters or fewer so the full title shows on desktop. Google truncates longer titles with an ellipsis, so put the most important keywords near the front.

Why does my snippet look different on mobile?

Mobile results truncate descriptions earlier, at roughly 120 characters versus about 160 on desktop. Toggle to mobile in the preview to check your wording still makes sense after the shorter cut-off.

Should I count pixels or characters for snippet length?

Google actually truncates by pixel width, so wide letters use up the space faster. Character counts like 60 for titles and 155 to 160 for descriptions are reliable rules of thumb, which this tool uses.

SERP Snippet Preview

SERP snippet preview

Before you publish, see exactly how your page will look in Google’s search results. This preview renders your title, URL breadcrumb and meta description the way Google formats them, and shows where text gets truncated on both desktop and mobile. It is for SEO writers, marketers and site owners tuning how a page reads in the results before clicking publish.

How it works

Search engines truncate snippets that exceed roughly fixed lengths. The tool applies these limits and appends an ellipsis when text is cut off:

Element	Limit
Title	~60 characters
Description (desktop)	~160 characters
Description (mobile)	~120 characters

It counts by Unicode characters (so emoji and accents are handled correctly) and renders the URL as a breadcrumb from the path segments, matching Google’s display style. Switching to mobile applies the tighter 120-character description limit so you can see how the snippet shortens on phones.

Example

A 75-character title is shown trimmed to about 60 characters followed by ”…”, while a 200-character description appears cut to ~160 on desktop and ~120 on mobile. Trim either field until the preview shows your full text with no ellipsis.

Note Google may rewrite a snippet to better match the search query, so this is a guide to length and formatting rather than a guarantee. Everything runs locally in your browser — nothing is sent to a server.