Free tools / Title and meta description checker
Free title tag and meta description checker
Check a page, or type your own title and description. See how wide each one is in pixels, and a preview cut where Google may cut it.
Write or edit a title and description
See the free meta description checker in 20 seconds
Enter a page. See its title tag and meta description, their length, and a preview of how they may look in search results. The result in the video is a real run.
Read the video transcript
Check your title and description, for free. Type a page address, and press Check meta tags. See how the page may look in search results, and how long the title and description are. That is one page. SEOSage checks every page of your website. Start your fourteen-day free trial at seosage.co.
What this tool checks
- Title width in pixels, against the about 600 px Google shows on desktop
- Description width, against about 920 px on desktop and 680 px on mobile
- A live search result preview, cut at a whole word where Google may cut it
- Type your own title and description, or edit the ones from a page
- Whether the page has one H1 heading
Why it matters
Google cuts titles and descriptions by width, not by a set number of characters, so a title of wide letters is cut sooner than one of narrow letters. Google does not publish the limits. The figures here are the ones most tools use, and the title rule is the same one the SEOSage app uses in a crawl.
Want this for every page of a website? See Page basics checks in SEOSage.
Source: Google Search Central: snippets.
How to read your result
- The bars show how much of the space each one uses. Green fits, amber is close to the limit, red may be cut off.
- The preview cuts the text at a whole word with " ...", where Google may cut it. Switch between Desktop and Mobile.
- Google may show different text from the title and description you set.
- Good means the width is in a sensible range. It does not mean the text is well written.
Common problems and fixes
- No meta description. Write one that summarises the page and gives a reason to click.
- Title too wide. Shorten it until it fits about 600 pixels. Put the main words first.
- The same title on many pages. Give each page its own title. A site crawl lists repeated titles.
- More than one H1. Keep one main heading and use H2 for the rest.
What is a meta description checker?
A meta description checker is a tool that reads the title tag and meta description of a web page, measures how wide they are and shows a preview of how they may appear in search results. The title tag is the clickable headline in a search result. The meta description is the brief text below it. Both are set in the HTML of the page and both influence whether someone clicks your link from a search results page.
This free checker measures both in pixels, because Google cuts them by width, and lets you type your own title and description to test new wording before you publish it. It also shows the H1 heading and flags if there is more than one H1 on the page. It tests one page at a time. For a sweep of missing, too-long, too-short or repeated titles and descriptions across a whole website, SEOSage checks every page in a crawl and groups the problems in one report.
Title tag and meta description best practices
- Title tag width: under about 600 pixels, often 50 to 60 characters. Google cuts titles that are too wide. Put the most important words first. Include the primary keyword near the start.
- Meta description width: under about 920 pixels on desktop, often 150 to 160 characters, with the key words in the first 680 pixels for mobile. Longer descriptions are cut off. Write it as a pitch for a click, not a keyword list.
- Keep each one unique. Repeated titles make pages compete with each other in search. Repeated descriptions look poor in results.
- Google may rewrite them. If the title or description does not match the search query well, Google often replaces them with text from the page. A well-written, accurate pair still reduces rewrites.
- The H1 should match the topic, not the title. The title tag and H1 can be different, but both should be clear and relevant.
Questions about the title and meta description checker
How long should a title tag be?
Keep it under about 600 pixels, which is often 50 to 60 characters. Wide letters such as W and M take more space than narrow ones such as i and l, so the width in pixels is the better guide.
How long should a meta description be?
Under about 920 pixels shows in full on desktop, which is roughly 150 to 160 characters. Mobile shows about 680 pixels, so put the most important words first.
Why pixels and not characters?
Google cuts the text when it runs out of space, and letters take up different amounts of space. This checker measures each letter in Arial, as most tools do.
Does Google always use my title and meta description?
No. Google may rewrite either one if it thinks other text on the page fits the search better. A clear, accurate pair still gives you the best chance of a click.
Can SEOSage check every page at once?
Yes. A crawl measures every title in pixels and lists titles and descriptions that are missing, too long, too short or repeated across pages.
Check every page of your website
SEOSage crawls your whole website on your own computer, with no page limit, and lists what to fix. Free for 14 days, cancel any time.