Google SERP preview tool.

Why pixels matter more than characters

Google doesn't cut titles at a fixed number of characters. It cuts them at a width, roughly 580 to 600 pixels on desktop. A title full of wide letters like W and M runs out of room much sooner than one with narrow letters like i and l. That's why "keep it under 60 characters" is only a rough guide, and why this tool measures the rendered width.

Meta descriptions work the same way, with about 920 pixels across two lines on desktop and a little less on mobile. Anything beyond that ends in "…".

Writing a title that gets the click

• Put the main keyword near the start, where it's least likely to be cut off.
• Say what the page gives the reader: a price, a number, a location, a benefit.
• Keep your brand at the end, after a separator, unless the brand is what people search for.
• Make every title on your site unique. Duplicates compete with each other.
• Write for people first. A title that matches the search intent beats one stuffed with keywords.

Writing a meta description

The meta description isn't a ranking factor, but it's your advert in the results. Summarise what the page offers, include the keyword naturally (Google bolds it), and end with a reason to click. Around 140 to 155 characters usually fits.

Google rewrites descriptions it thinks don't match the search, and it sometimes rewrites titles too. A description that clearly answers what the searcher wants is the one most likely to be shown as you wrote it.

Snippets are only half the job

A better snippet can lift your click-through rate from the same position, which is the fastest SEO win there is. But a page has to rank first. If yours sit on page two, the problem is usually technical SEO, thin content or a lack of links, and an SEO audit is the quickest way to find out which.