# Title and meta description checker

Type a title and a description, or paste a page, and see them the way a results page shows them, measured in pixels and characters, on a desktop and on a phone. The page's own h1, canonical and robots line sit beside them, because a snippet that fits on a page Google will not index is two lines nobody reads.

Updated 2026-09-14 · Source: https://porteur.ai/tools/title-and-meta-description-checker

## What it checks

Two things about the two lines Google shows for a page: whether they fit, and whether they say something. The title is measured in characters and in pixels, because Google cuts by width, not by count: about 600 pixels on a desktop in the font it uses, which is usually sixty characters and fewer when the letters are wide. The description is measured the same way, at about 920 pixels, and a phone shows less of both. Two previews, a desktop and a phone, show the cut as it happens while you type.

Paste a page and the tool reads what is live: the title tag, the meta description, the h1 headings, the canonical, the robots meta tag and the X-Robots-Tag header, the og:site_name, the word count. Then it says what it sees: a title that starts with the site name and a separator, a name that appears twice, a description that repeats the title or opens with it, a page with no h1 or with several, a title and an h1 that name different subjects, a title that is a placeholder, and a page that carries noindex or a canonical pointing elsewhere, which makes the snippet moot.

## Why two lines matter more than the page

A page that Google shows two thousand times a month and nine people click is not a page problem. Google has already decided it deserves the position; the searcher decided it does not deserve the click, and the searcher only saw these two lines. On a small site, the pages shown most and clicked least are the cheapest work there is: one line rewritten, no code, and the figures move within weeks.

The title is the line. It is what the eye reads on the results page, what the browser tab shows, what a link on another site often carries. The description is the second read, and Google rewrites it more often than not, but a description that answers the query as written is the one Google keeps.

## How to read the result

- **Characters and pixels** under each field, red when the line is likely cut. The pixel figure is the one that decides; the character count is the habit.
- **The two previews** show the cut on a desktop and on a phone. A title that fits on one and not the other is cut for the half of searchers on that device.
- **The list of things to change** names each finding in a sentence: the brand first, the repeated name, the description that echoes the title, the missing or doubled h1, the title and h1 that disagree.
- **h1, canonical, indexable, robots** are read from the page. Indexable says whether Google may index this address, and the reason: a noindex tag, a header, or a canonical that hands the page to another URL.
- **Fits** with nothing listed means the two lines are in order. Whether they win the click is a question of words, and the free check below reads the queries the page is shown for.

## What to write instead

1. **Lead with the words people type** Open the page's report in Search Console, read the queries it is shown for, and start the title with the one that carries the most impressions, as written. "Invoice template for freelancers" beats "The smarter way to invoice".
2. **Promise the specific thing** After the query, say what this page gives: a template, a comparison, a calculator, a guide with steps. A title that only names the topic loses to the result that names the outcome.
3. **Write the description as the snippet** One sentence, a hundred and twenty to a hundred and fifty-five characters, that answers the query and says what is on the page. Not a summary of the company; a reason to click this result rather than the one above it.
4. **Match the intent the query shows** A query that asks for a tool wants a title that says tool; a query that asks how wants a guide. A tool page titled like a blog post gets skipped by the people who wanted the tool.
5. **Check again in a month** Search Console shows clicks and impressions by page. A rewritten title shows its effect within a few weeks; if the rate did not move, the position, not the title, is the problem.

## What this tool does not do

It does not tell you whether Google will use your description. Google rewrites descriptions when it judges another passage of the page answers the query better, and it rewrites titles on occasion too. Writing both well is the way to keep them, not a guarantee.

It does not know your queries. The fit is measured; the words are yours. The free check below reads the queries your pages are shown for, which is where the words come from.

## Questions

### How long should a title tag be?

Under about sixty characters, and under about 580 pixels, so it shows whole on a desktop results page. Google cuts on width, so a title of fifty-five wide letters can still be cut; the pixel figure is the one to watch.

### How long should a meta description be?

Between a hundred and twenty and a hundred and fifty-five characters, one sentence. Longer is cut on a desktop; shorter leaves the space to a passage Google picks itself.

### Does Google always use my meta description?

No. Google shows its own passage when it judges one answers the query better than the description. A description that answers the query as written is the one it tends to keep.

### Should the brand be in the title?

On the home page, yes. On every other page, at the end or not at all: the first words are the ones people read, and they are looking for their query, not your name.

### Why measure the title in pixels rather than characters?

Google truncates the title by its width in the font of the results page, about 600 pixels on a desktop, not by a count of letters. Sixty characters of narrow letters fit; fifty of wide capitals may not. The tool measures both and colours the one that is cut.

### Should the title and the h1 be the same?

They need not match word for word. The title is written for the results page and the h1 for the reader who arrived; both must name the same subject. When the tool says they differ, one of the two is about something else, and Google may rewrite the title from the h1.

## Read next

- [Title tag length: what fits, what Google rewrites, and how to write one](https://porteur.ai/guides/title-tag-length): About 60 characters is a safe line. Learn pixels versus characters, why Google rewrites titles, and how to write titles that earn clicks.
- [Meta description length, with examples that earn the click](https://porteur.ai/guides/meta-description-length): Keep meta descriptions around 155 characters on desktop and shorter on phones. Here is how to write snippets that earn clicks, with clear examples.
- [Pages Google shows and nobody clicks: a title problem, not a page problem](https://porteur.ai/guides/pages-shown-but-never-clicked): If a page gets impressions but no clicks, read its queries and position. On page one, rewrite the title. Past page one, change targeting first.
- [What is a good click-through rate in search, by position](https://porteur.ai/guides/what-is-a-good-click-through-rate-in-search): CTR depends on position, query intent and the results page. Learn how to benchmark your own CTR in Search Console and what to fix on low-CTR pages.
- [Click-through rate calculator](https://porteur.ai/tools/click-through-rate-calculator): Clicks and impressions to a rate, the typical range at your position, and the rows of a Search Console export ranked by the clicks they leave behind.
- [Keyword cannibalization](https://porteur.ai/glossary/keyword-cannibalization): Keyword cannibalisation is when two of your pages compete for the same search, splitting clicks and weakening both; here is how to find and fix it.
- [SERP](https://porteur.ai/glossary/serp): A SERP is a search engine results page. See its parts as of 2026, how to read features, how they affect clicks, and what to do on your site.

This checker fits the two lines. The free check reads which of your pages Google shows most and nobody clicks, with the queries each is shown for, so you know which titles to rewrite first. Free check: https://porteur.ai/