How Google shows your page
A search result has four parts: the site name with its icon, the address, the title link and the snippet under it. You write the title tag and the meta description, but Google decides what to show. It can shorten them, and it can build its own title or snippet from the page when that describes the page better for a search.
Characters or pixels?
Google does not set a character limit. Titles and snippets are cut when they no longer fit the width of the screen, so a title full of wide letters like W and M is cut sooner than one with i and l. This tool measures the width in pixels and shows where the cut would happen.
How we got these numbers: on 19 October 2026 we measured live results on google.com. Titles were 22 px Google Sans, in a column about 652 px wide on desktop and 343 px wide on a phone, where they get two lines. On desktop, snippets were 14 px Arial, at most two lines. Common SEO tools put the cut at 960 to 985 px of text and the longest snippets we saw were about 1030 px, so the tool uses 990 px. On a phone, snippets were 14 px Roboto, cut after three lines. Google Sans is usually not installed on computers, so the tool measures with Arial, which comes out almost the same width. Google also tests new layouts all the time, so treat the result as close, not exact.
Tips for titles
- Write a unique title for every page that says what the page is about.
- Put the most important words first. If something gets cut, it is the end.
- Add your brand at the start or the end, separated with | or a colon, as Google suggests.
- Do not repeat the same keyword. Google advises against keyword stuffing.
- Use the same idea in the main heading (h1) of the page. Google also looks at the main visible title when it builds the title link.
Tips for descriptions
- Sum up what the page offers and why it is worth a click, in plain words.
- Use concrete facts: what is included, where, how fast, for whom.
- Write a different description for every important page.
- Do not list keywords. A sentence a person would say works better.
- Do not worry if Google sometimes shows other text from the page. It picks what fits each search.
Titles and descriptions for AI search
- Google says AI Overviews and AI Mode have no extra requirements: a page that is indexed and can be shown with a snippet can appear there, and no special markup is needed.
- A clear title and description help people and AI tools see at a glance what the page is about.
- Answer the main question near the top of the page, in text, not only in images.
- Keep facts such as prices, hours and contact details the same on your site and your profiles.
- Since the end of August 2026, Search Console has a setting for Google's AI features. It is on by default, and turning it off does not change regular results.
FAQ
Why does Google show a different title than the one I wrote?
Google can build the title link from the main heading, other headings, og:title, the text of links pointing to the page and other visible text. It does this more often when a title is missing, outdated, inaccurate, the same on many pages or in a different language than the page.
Is there a character limit?
Not an official one. Google cuts by width, which depends on the letters and the device. SEO tools often use about 60 characters for titles and about 155 for descriptions as a rough rule, but pixels are more precise.
Why is my meta description not shown?
Google writes most snippets from the page content and uses the meta description when it describes the page better for that search. So the snippet can change from one search to another.
Does it work with Serbian letters?
Yes. Č, ć, ž, š, đ and Cyrillic letters count as one character each, and their width is measured like any other letter.
Where does the site name come from?
Google chooses it, mainly from WebSite structured data on your home page, and checks it against the home page title and og:site_name. If you fill in the site name, the tool also gives you that code.
Sources: Google Search Central on title links, snippets, site names and AI features, and Search Console Help on the AI features setting. Checked in October 2026. Font sizes and widths measured on google.com on 19 October 2026. The tool only uses what you enter and sends nothing.