Search Snippet Preview

Write page titles and meta descriptions and preview roughly how they may look in search results.

Runs in your browser — nothing you enter is sent to our servers

Approximate preview

How it works

The preview measures your title in pixels using a 20px Arial font — similar to how results are rendered on desktop — and shortens it with “…” beyond about 600px. Descriptions are clipped at roughly two lines. Character counts are shown alongside, but width, not characters, decides truncation: “WWW” is much wider than “iii”.

  • Lead with the answer. Put the main topic near the start of the title.
  • Be specific. “Free VAT calculator (15%)” beats “Useful tool for businesses”.
  • Make every page unique, and don’t promise what the page doesn’t deliver.

Example

The pre-filled title “VAT Calculator South Africa (15%) — Add or Remove VAT | ToolTarvern” is around 65 characters; the preview shows whether it fits before truncation. Try removing “| ToolTarvern” to see how much space a brand suffix takes.

Need a clean URL to go with it? Use the URL slug generator.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a title tag be?

There is no fixed character limit — search engines truncate by display width, which depends on the characters used and the device. As a practical guide, aim for roughly 50–60 characters and put the most important words first.

How long should a meta description be?

Many SEO practitioners aim for about 120–160 characters so the key message fits before truncation. Search engines often rewrite descriptions, so focus on accurately summarising the page.

Is this exactly how Google will show my page?

No. This is an approximation. Search engines change their layouts, may rewrite titles and descriptions, and display widths differ by device. Use it to catch obviously long or weak snippets.

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