Free SERP Snippet Previewer
Paste a page’s head, or a title and description, to see the search result, measured in pixels, and what gets cut.
What is a SERP Snippet Previewer?
A SERP snippet is how a page appears in search results: a site name and address, a blue title link and a short description. Google cuts titles and descriptions by width in pixels, not by a character count. This previewer measures yours and shows the result as it would be cut.
Paste a page’s head HTML and it reads the title, meta description and canonical link; or write the three on separate lines. Widths are measured with Arial’s character metrics at Google’s sizes, so a title full of wide capitals is flagged long before one of narrow letters. To write new titles and descriptions from scratch, use the SEO Meta Tags Generator.
Key Features
Pixel Widths
Titles at 20 px against about 600 px, descriptions at 14 px against about 920 px.
Reads Page Heads
Title, meta description, canonical and og:url from pasted HTML.
Result Preview
Site, breadcrumb address, title link and description, cut where they would be.
Snippet Check
Missing, too short, too long, duplicated or not on https.
Tags to Paste
The title, description and canonical tags, escaped and ready for the head.
Perfect for everyone
- SEO specialists
- Content writers
- Marketers and developers shipping new pages
How to Use the SERP Snippet Previewer
View your page’s source and paste the head, or write the title, the address and the description on three lines. The result, check and tags all update as you edit, so you can tune the wording until nothing is cut.
Paste or Write
A page’s head HTML, or title, address and description lines.
Read the Result
See where the title and description would be cut.
Tune the Wording
Shorten wide words or front-load the key phrase until both fit.
Copy the Tags
Paste the title, description and canonical into your page.
Titles and Descriptions, Measured
Each row is a page head or a title and description of the kind sites publish every day, from product pages to blog posts in other languages. Each answer is this tool’s check, its search result as HTML, or the tags to paste.
“<head> <title>Brass Ship Lantern, 30 cm – Hand-Finished | Harbour Goods</title> <meta name="description" content="A hand-finished brass ship lantern with a real glass chimney. 30 cm tall, burns for 12 hours on one fill, and ships free across the EU within 3 days."> <link rel="canonical" href="https://harbourgoods.example/lighting/brass-ship-lantern"> </head>”
“<head> <title>Brass Ship Lantern, 30 cm – Hand-Finished | Harbour Goods</title> <meta name="description" content="A hand-finished brass ship lantern with a real glass chimney. 30 cm tall, burns for 12 hours on one fill, and ships free across the EU within 3 days."> <link rel="canonical" href="https://harbourgoods.example/lighting/brass-ship-lantern"> </head>”
“The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Restoring Antique Brass Lanterns at Home Without Special Tools https://harbourgoods.example/blog/restore-antique-brass-lanterns Restoring an antique brass lantern is easier than it looks. This guide walks you through cleaning, polishing, replacing the glass and rewiring, with photos for every step, a list of supplies under 20 euros, and the mistakes that most often ruin old brass for good.”
“The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Restoring Antique Brass Lanterns at Home Without Special Tools https://harbourgoods.example/blog/restore-antique-brass-lanterns Restoring an antique brass lantern is easier than it looks. This guide walks you through cleaning, polishing, replacing the glass and rewiring, with photos for every step, a list of supplies under 20 euros, and the mistakes that most often ruin old brass for good.”
“Brass Lantern Care http://harbourgoods.example/care Keep it shiny.”
“WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW https://example.com/wide A title of wide letters reaches the limit with far fewer characters than ordinary text does.”
“<head><title>Contact Us</title><meta name="description" content="Contact Us"></head>”
“<head> <title>Opening Hours & Directions | Ferry Street Bakery</title> <meta property="og:url" content="https://ferrystreetbakery.example/visit"> <meta name="description" content="Open daily from 7am. Find us two minutes from the ferry terminal, with parking on Quay Lane."> </head>”
“Pricing https://app.example.com/pricing Simple plans for teams of every size. Start free, upgrade when you need more seats, and cancel any time with no fees or contracts.”
“Ferienwohnung am Hafen – Ruhige Lage, Balkon mit Meerblick und kostenlose Parkplätze für Gäste https://hafen-ferien.example/wohnung Unsere Ferienwohnung liegt direkt am Hafen.”
The Parts of a Search Result
A standard result has the same few parts on every search. Each comes from a different place on your page or site, and knowing where helps you decide which one to fix when a result looks wrong.
Title Link
Usually the title tag, though Google may use a heading or other text instead.
“What is Google’s name for the blue title?”
Description
Often the meta description, or a passage from the page matching the search.
“Does Google always use the meta description?”
Site Name
From the WebSite structured data and the home page, shown above the address.
“Where does the site name come from?”
Breadcrumb Address
The address shown as a path, or BreadcrumbList markup when present.
“What can replace the raw path?”
Favicon
The site’s icon, which needs to be crawlable and at least 48 pixels.
“What size should a favicon be?”
Date
A published or updated date when Google judges it useful.
“Can you force a date to show?”
Rich Results
Stars, prices or FAQ rows from structured data, when eligible.
“What powers stars and prices?”
Why Pixels, Not Characters
Character limits are a rough guide because letters differ in width. Sixty narrow letters can fit where forty wide ones don’t, so measuring in pixels gives a far better idea of where Google will cut a title.
Wide Letters
W, M and capital letters take far more room than i, l and t.
About 600 Pixels
Desktop titles are cut around 600 px, roughly 50 to 60 characters of mixed text.
About Two Lines
Descriptions usually show up to two lines, around 920 px or 150 to 160 characters.
Mobile Differs
Phones wrap titles onto more lines, so desktop is the stricter test.
Approximate Limits
Google changes layouts, so leave a little room below the limit.
When Google Rewrites Your Snippet
The title and description you write are suggestions, not instructions. Google often swaps in other text when it judges something on the page to match the search better, so it helps to write tags that leave little reason to.
Match the Page
Titles that don’t describe the page are the most likely to be replaced.
Avoid Boilerplate
The same title or description on many pages invites rewrites.
Keep It Honest
Keyword lists and clickbait tend to be swapped for page text.
Use the Main Heading
A title close to the page’s main heading is usually kept.
Queries Vary
Descriptions change per search, so write for the main intent.
When to Use a Snippet Previewer
Whenever a title or description is written or changed, and especially before a page goes live, when changing it costs nothing.
New Pages
Check the title and description before publishing.
CMS Templates
Test what a template outputs for long and short product names.
Click-Through Work
Rewrite results that rank but don’t get clicks.
Translations
Check that translated titles still fit, since some languages run longer.
Audits
Paste heads from key pages and fix the ones that are cut.
Snippet Pitfalls
Mistakes that waste the space in a search result, most of which come from templates that never got a second look after launch.
Brand First
Putting the brand first pushes the topic toward the cut.
Duplicate Titles
Many pages with one title look identical in results.
Empty Descriptions
Without one, the result shows whatever text Google picks.
All Capitals
Capitals are wide, and they read as shouting.
Stuffed Keywords
Lists of phrases are cut early and often rewritten.
Missing Canonical
Without one, a tracking or duplicate address may be shown.