Free Meta Tag Checker
Your title and meta description are the first thing people read in Google. If they're cut off, missing or vague, fewer people click, however good the page is. Paste a page to see its search result preview and get every on-page tag checked: title, description, headings, alt text and more.
Free · No sign-up · Nothing stored
At a glance
- Google cuts titles at about 600 pixels and descriptions at about 920 pixels on desktop. Pixels, not characters, decide what shows.
- The checker shows a preview of your result and measures both tags the way Google displays them.
- It also checks for one H1, headings in order, image alt text, the page language, the canonical tag and any noindex tag.
- Google can still rewrite your snippet. Specific tags that match the page make that less likely.
Why the meta tag checker measures pixels, not characters
Google trims a title when it runs out of width, so the same character count can fit or be cut depending on the letters. Capital W is about four times wider than a lowercase i. We measured these three titles with the same method the checker uses:
| Title | Characters | Width | In Google |
|---|---|---|---|
| Running Shoes for Beginners: How to Pick Your First Pair | 56 | about 511px | Fits |
| WWW Window Wall Mounts | Wholesale Window Wall Systems Worldwide | 64 | about 661px | Cut after "Systems" |
| little fill-in tips: list of simple lifting jobs till july 2026 | 63 | about 445px | Fits, with room to spare |
The second title is barely longer than the others, yet it's the only one that gets cut, because it's full of capitals and wide letters. A plain character counter would call all three fine.
How to read your results
- Google result preview
- Your page as it can appear in search: the site name, the address as a breadcrumb, the blue title and the grey description, cut where Google would cut them.
- Length bars
- How much of the available width your title and description use. A red bar means part of the text won't show.
- Every tag checked
- A pass, check or fail for each tag, with the reason and what to change. Failures come first.
- Heading outline
- Every H1 to H6 on the page in order, indented by level, so you can spot a missing H1 or a jump from H2 to H4 at a glance.
Worked example: fixing a title that gets cut
Here's how to fix the cut-off title from the table above in four steps.
- Find the words that matter. The searcher wants window wall mounts, ideally wholesale. "Worldwide" and the repeated "Window Wall" add width but no meaning.
- Put the topic first. Start with the product, not the brand or a slogan.
- Cut repetition. "Wholesale Window Wall Mounts | Brand" says the same thing in less than half the width.
- Check it again. Paste the page back into the checker after you publish and confirm the bar is green.
Title and description formulas by page type
Use these as starting points, then make each one specific to the page. Every page on your site should have its own title and description.
| Page type | Title | Meta description |
|---|---|---|
| Homepage | Brand: what you do for whom | What you offer, who it's for and one proof point |
| Product or service | Product name: main benefit | Brand | The problem it solves, one key detail, the next step |
| Blog post or guide | The question or topic, then the angle | The answer in one sentence and what the reader will learn |
| Local business | Service in City | Brand | Service, area, a trust signal and how to book or call |
When Google rewrites your snippet
Google treats your title and description as suggestions. It's most likely to replace them when they're missing, stuffed with keywords, much longer than the space, the same on many pages, or don't describe what the page is about. A title that agrees with your H1, and a description that answers the search in plain words, are the ones Google tends to keep.
Headings: the outline behind the snippet
Search engines and screen readers use headings to understand how a page is organised. One H1 names the topic, H2s divide it into sections and H3s sit under those. Skipping a level, for example going from H2 straight to H4, doesn't break anything, but it makes the structure harder to follow. Alt text matters for the same reason: it tells people who can't see an image, and image search, what the picture shows.
Limits of the meta tag checker
- It checks one page at a time. To review titles across a whole site, run a technical audit with Owl-gorithm Hacker.
- It reads the page's HTML. Tags added later by JavaScript may not appear here, and crawlers that don't run scripts may not see them either.
- It doesn't predict rankings. Good tags help people choose your result. They don't replace useful content.
- Social cards use different tags. Check those with the Open Graph Checker, and structured data with the Schema Markup Checker (new to it? start with what schema markup is).
The meta tag checker on one map
If a page has good tags but still isn't in Google, check it with the Indexability Checker. For the bigger picture of being found in search and AI answers, read how to check your AI visibility.
Fix titles and descriptions across your whole site
Opportunity Owl turns your audit into exact title and description fixes, page by page, and Watch Owl flags new problems after every change.
Frequently asked questions
Is the meta tag checker free?
Yes. It's free with no sign-up, you can check as many pages as you like within a fair-use limit, and we don't store the pages you check.
How long should a title tag be?
Short enough to fit about 600 pixels, which is usually 50 to 60 characters. Google cuts titles by width, not by a character count, so a title full of wide letters like W and M is cut sooner than one with narrow letters like i, l and t.
How long should a meta description be?
About 120 to 155 characters. Google shows roughly 920 pixels on desktop and less on phones, and puts an ellipsis where it cuts. Put the most useful words in the first half.
Does the meta description affect rankings?
Not directly. Google doesn't use it as a ranking signal, but it often shows it as the snippet under your title, so a clear description can earn more clicks from the same position.
Why does Google show a different title or description than mine?
Google rewrites snippets when it thinks other text on the page matches the search better, or when your tags are missing, too long, repetitive or don't match the page. Specific tags that agree with the page's main heading are rewritten less often.
Should the title tag and the H1 be the same?
They should agree, but they don't have to match word for word. The title is written for the search result and the H1 for the person already on the page, so the title often adds the brand or a benefit.
How many H1 headings should a page have?
One is clearest. HTML allows more, but a single H1 that names the page's topic, with H2 and H3 headings under it, is easiest for readers, screen readers and search engines to follow.
Do meta keywords still matter?
No. Google has ignored the meta keywords tag for ranking for many years, so this checker doesn't look at it.
Is the Google preview exact?
It's a close estimate of the desktop result. Google's layout differs by device and changes over time, and it may add a date, sitelinks or a different description. Use it to catch titles and descriptions that are clearly too long, too short or vague.
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