SERP simulator that measures pixels, not characters
Google truncates by width, so the same 58 characters can fit or get cut depending on the letters. This measures the real thing with font metrics — desktop and mobile, keyword bolding, date prefixes, and how you look when an AI cites you.
Pulls the current title and meta description from a published page so you can edit against what is live.
No title. Google will write one for you from the page content.
No description. Google will assemble a snippet from the page, which is rarely the pitch you would have written.
Bolded in the preview, the way Google bolds matched terms.
Google prepends a date on many results, which eats description width.
Search result preview
Title0 chars
Description0 chars
As an AI citation
Your title will appear here
Illustrative. AI Overviews and assistants synthesise their own answer and cite sources as compact cards — they do not render your meta description. Your title and domain are what a reader sees, so the title has to make sense stripped of all context.
Measured with real font metrics rather than character counts, because Google truncates by width — the same 58 characters can fit or be cut depending on the letters. Google also rewrites titles and descriptions often, so treat this as the best case, not a guarantee.
Why character counts lie
Every SEO plugin ships a character counter with a green bar at 60. It is a useful rough guide and a bad rule, because Google does not count characters. It renders your title in a proportional font and cuts it when it runs out of room.
A lowercase i is roughly a third the width of a capital W. Two titles at exactly 58 characters can differ by more than a hundred pixels — one fits with room to spare, the other loses its last three words. If your brand name is wide, or your title carries a lot of capitals, the character counter is quietly wrong in the direction that costs you.
This tool measures the rendered width in your own browser, at the font size Google uses. That is why it will sometimes tell you a “safe” 55-character title is going to be cut.
The three things worth getting right
- 1Front-load. Whatever survives truncation is the part at the start. Put the term you want to rank for and the reason to click in the first half.
- 2Fill the space. A 30-character title is not “safe”, it is unused advertising. You get this width for free in the highest-value position on the page.
- 3Check both devices. Mobile gives you more title lines but a narrower column. A title that fits desktop can wrap awkwardly on mobile, where most of your traffic is.
Frequently asked questions
How many characters should a title tag be?
The honest answer is that characters are the wrong unit. Google truncates by rendered width, roughly 600 pixels on desktop, so a title of 60 narrow characters fits comfortably while 55 wide ones get cut. "Illinois Millwright Institute" and "lilliput title titling" have the same character count and wildly different widths. This tool measures the actual pixels, which is why it sometimes disagrees with a character counter.
How long should a meta description be?
Aim to fill roughly two lines on desktop and three on mobile without overflowing — in practice about 120 to 160 characters. Under-filling wastes free advertising space in the most valuable position you get for nothing; overflowing means the reason to click ends up in the part nobody sees. Put the important half first either way.
Does the meta description affect rankings?
No. Google confirmed years ago that meta description is not a ranking factor. It affects click-through rate, which is a different and often more immediately valuable thing. A page ranking third with a compelling description can out-earn a page ranking first with a truncated one.
Why does Google show a different title than the one I wrote?
Google rewrites titles on a large share of results, usually pulling from your H1, other on-page text or anchor text pointing at the page. It happens most when the title is truncated, keyword-stuffed, boilerplate-heavy or does not match what the page is actually about. Writing a title that fits and describes the page honestly is the most reliable way to keep the one you wrote.
What does the AI citation preview show?
How your page appears when an AI assistant cites it as a source — a compact card with your favicon, domain and title. It is illustrative rather than exact. The point it makes is real though: AI Overviews and assistants synthesise their own answer and never render your meta description, so your title has to make sense stripped of all surrounding context.
Why does the preview show a date sometimes?
Google prepends a publication date to many results, particularly for content it considers time-sensitive. It consumes description width, so a description that fits without a date can be truncated with one. Toggle it on if your content is dated, and check the result still reads well.
Are the pixel widths exact?
They are measured with real font metrics in your browser at the size Google renders at, which is far more accurate than a character count — but Google's exact layout, fonts and truncation points change without notice and vary by query, device and result type. Treat the preview as a guardrail that catches truncation before you publish, not as a specification.
Related tools and reading
Rewriting titles is the cheapest win in SEO.
No new content, no links, no development. A pass over the titles and descriptions of your top fifty pages routinely moves click-through before it moves anything else — and it is usually the first thing an audit finds.
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