SERP Snippet Preview

A SERP snippet preview shows how your page might look in Google search results before you publish it. Our free tool takes your title tag, URL, meta description and an optional date, and draws a Google-style result for both desktop and mobile. Pixel-width meters, measured with your browser in the same Arial font Google uses for results, warn you when text is likely to be cut off with an ellipsis. It runs entirely in your browser and is the quickest way to write titles and descriptions that fit and still make people want to click.

How to use the SERP preview

1. 1 Enter your titleType the title tag for the page. Put the main topic near the start and your brand at the end, separated by a dash or pipe.
2. 2 Add the URLPaste the full page address. The preview shows it the way Google does, as a site name and a breadcrumb-style path rather than the raw URL.
3. 3 Write the meta descriptionSummarise the page in one or two sentences that match what the searcher wants, with a reason to click.
4. 4 Add a date if relevantFor news, blog posts and time-sensitive pages, add a date to see how it takes up space at the start of the description.
5. 5 Check desktop and mobileSwitch between views and watch the pixel meters. Rewrite until the important words sit comfortably before the cut-off point.

What a search snippet is made of

A standard organic result in Google has three main parts. At the top is the site name, favicon and a breadcrumb-style version of the URL, such as example.co.uk › services › boiler-repair. Below that is the blue title link, usually taken from your title tag. Underneath is the snippet, the short description that is often taken from your meta description and sometimes includes a date.

Google does not promise to use your title or description as written. It may rewrite the title using your main heading or other text on the page, and it often builds the snippet from page content that better matches the search. You control the inputs, and a preview helps you make those inputs as strong as possible, but the final display is always Google's decision.

The site name shown above the URL is also chosen by Google. It usually comes from your home page, and you can influence it by using your business name consistently in the home page title and by adding WebSite structured data with your preferred name. The breadcrumb path in our preview is built from the folders in your URL, which is a good reason to keep addresses short and meaningful.

Why pixel width matters more than character count

Google cuts off titles and descriptions when they run out of space on the screen, and space is measured in pixels. Letters vary in width: a capital W takes up several times the room of a lower-case i. That means a 55-character title in capitals can be truncated while a 65-character title with narrow letters fits.

Our tool measures your text with the browser's canvas using Arial at the sizes Google uses for results, then compares it with typical limits: roughly 580 to 600 pixels for a desktop title and roughly 920 pixels for a desktop description. These are working estimates rather than published Google figures. Google changes its layout from time to time, and truncation varies with device, screen width and the search itself, so leave a little headroom rather than filling every pixel.

Writing a title that earns the click

The title is the most prominent part of the result and one of the clearest signals of what the page is about. Keep each one unique across your site and make it describe the page honestly.

• Lead with the main topic: Boiler Repair in Leeds reads better in results than Welcome to Smith Heating.
• Add a distinctive detail: same-day, Gas Safe registered, free quotes or prices from £, if they are true.
• Put the brand last, and keep it short: Boiler Repair in Leeds | Smith Heating.
• Avoid lists of keywords or the same phrase repeated. Google is more likely to rewrite titles that look stuffed.
• Match the main heading on the page. Titles that differ wildly from the H1 are more likely to be replaced.

Writing a meta description that works

The meta description is not a ranking factor, but it can affect whether people choose your result. Write it as a short advert for the page: say what the visitor will get, include something specific such as an area, a price or a time frame, and end with a reason to act. Around 140 to 160 characters usually fits on desktop, while mobile shows a slightly different amount depending on the screen.

Every important page should have its own description. Duplicated descriptions across many pages give Google little reason to use them. Put the key message in the first part of the description, so that even if it is cut short or partly rewritten, the most useful words are still visible.

Google highlights words in the snippet that match the search, often in bold, so naturally including the phrase people search for can make your result stand out. Be careful with double quotation marks: if they are not escaped in the HTML, they end the content attribute early and cut the description short. And be honest: a description that promises something the page does not deliver may win the click but loses the visitor straight away.

Desktop versus mobile results

People often search for local services on their phones, so check the mobile preview as carefully as the desktop one. On mobile the layout is narrower and titles can wrap onto more than one line, while descriptions may show a different number of characters from desktop. A title that fits on one line on a laptop may look quite different on a phone.

Dates also take up room. When Google shows a date at the start of the snippet, the description has less space before truncation. Use the date field to see the effect for blog posts and news, and avoid writing dates into descriptions of evergreen pages, where they can make content look stale.

After you publish: check what Google really shows

Once the page is live and indexed, search for it to see the actual result. You can use a search for the exact page title or the site: operator with your domain. If Google is consistently rewriting your title or description, look at whether yours matches the page content and the main heading, and whether it answers the kind of searches people use to find the page.

Google Search Console shows impressions, clicks and click-through rate for each page and query. If a page gets plenty of impressions but few clicks, the snippet is a good place to start improving. Our Meta Tag Checker will confirm the title and description tags on the live page are present and correctly formed.

Examples you can copy

Title:        Boiler Repair in Leeds | Same-Day Callouts | Smith Heating
URL:          https://www.smithheating.co.uk/boiler-repair/leeds/
Displayed as: smithheating.co.uk › boiler-repair › leeds
Description:  Gas Safe registered engineers fixing all major boiler brands across Leeds. Same-day callouts, fixed prices and a 12-month guarantee on repairs.

<title>Boiler Repair in Leeds | Same-Day Callouts | Smith Heating</title>
<meta name="description" content="Gas Safe registered engineers fixing all major boiler brands across Leeds. Same-day callouts, fixed prices and a 12-month guarantee on repairs.">

Common mistakes to avoid

Frequently asked questions