Meta Title and Description Checker (Free SERP Preview Tool)

How to use the meta title checker

1. Paste your title into Page title (SEO title). Use the SEO title your site actually outputs, which may differ from the headline on the page.
2. Paste your description into Meta description.
3. If you like, add the URL in Page address (optional) so the preview looks closer to a real result. The tool doesn’t visit the page; it only displays the address.
4. Read the results as you type: the width of each line in pixels, a warning if one is too wide, and a preview of how the result might look.
5. Edit until both fit, then copy the final versions back into WordPress or wherever you manage your pages.

How it works: pixels, not characters

Google doesn’t cut titles at a fixed number of characters. Its documentation says there’s no technical limit on the length of a title element, and that title links are truncated as needed, typically to fit the device width. It says the same about snippets: there’s no limit on meta description length, but the snippet is trimmed to fit.

Because the cut-off depends on space, width is the useful measure. A title full of wide letters like W and M runs out of room much sooner than one with lots of i, l and t, even at the same character count. Capital letters are wider too.

The tool measures your text as it would render in Arial at 20px for the title and 14px for the description, the sizes SEO tools commonly measure on Google’s desktop results. Google doesn’t publish its fonts, sizes or limits, so these figures come from observation and can change when Google updates its design.

How to read your result

• Title within the limit: the full title should show on desktop, unless Google decides to rewrite it (see below).
• Title over the limit: expect it to end with “…”. Move the most important words to the front and trim boilerplate such as a long site name or tagline.
• Description within the limit: if Google uses your description, it should show in full on desktop.
• Description over the limit: it will be cut. Put the answer or main benefit in the first sentence so the important part survives.
• Very short title or description: nothing is wrong with short, as long as it clearly describes the page. A description of a few words gives Google little reason to use it, though.

Mobile results use a different layout and font sizes, so a title can display differently on a phone than on desktop. Treat the desktop limits as your target and check important pages on your own phone too.

Why Google rewrites titles and snippets

Google picks the title link for each result automatically. According to its documentation, it looks at the <title> element, the main visible title or <h1>, og:title tags, other prominent text, anchor text in links to the page and WebSite structured data. It’s more likely to use something other than your title when the title is half-empty, out of date, inaccurate, repeated as boilerplate across many pages, or stuffed with the site name.

Snippets work in a similar way. Google says they’re mainly created from the page content itself, and it uses the meta description when that gives searchers a more accurate summary. The snippet can also change depending on what someone searched for.

So a SERP preview tool shows the result you’re asking for, not a guarantee. You improve the odds by following Google’s own advice:

• Write a descriptive, concise title that accurately reflects the page.
• Don’t stuff keywords or repeat the same words several times.
• Give every page its own title and description instead of reusing a template.
• Make the visible main heading clear and close in meaning to the title.
• Write the description as a short summary for a person, not a list of keywords. Google says keyword lists are less likely to be shown.

Where to set the SEO title and meta description in WordPress

Out of the box, WordPress builds the title from your post title and site name (in themes that support it) and doesn’t add a meta description at all. To set them separately, sites usually use an SEO plugin such as Yoast SEO or Rank Math, which add a snippet editor to the post screen.

1. Open the post or page in the WordPress editor.
2. Find your SEO plugin’s panel. Depending on the plugin, it’s below the content or in a sidebar panel.
3. Open the snippet or preview editor and paste in the title and description you finalised with this tool.
4. Click Update (or Publish) to save.
5. View the page source or use your plugin’s preview to confirm the new title and description are in place.

Writing titles and descriptions people click

• Lead with the words people search for, in the order they’d type them.
• Say what the page delivers: a fix, a comparison, a free tool, a step-by-step guide.
• Keep the brand short and at the end, after a separator such as a hyphen or pipe.
• Avoid ALL CAPS: it reads as shouting and takes up much more width.
• In the description, answer the question in the first sentence and give a reason to click in the second.
• Never promise something the page doesn’t have. People notice and leave, and Google may replace a misleading title.

Limitations

• The pixel limits are approximations of Google’s desktop layout, which isn’t published and does change.
• It previews desktop results only. Mobile results use different sizes and can wrap lines rather than cut them.
• Widths assume Arial is installed. On a device without it, your browser substitutes another font and the numbers may be slightly off.
• It can’t show extras Google may add, such as dates, images, the site name line or sitelinks.
• It can’t predict whether Google will use your title and description or rewrite them.

FAQ

Sources

• Influencing your title links in search results — Google Search Central
• Control your snippets in search results — Google Search Central