SERP preview

Pixel width is more useful than a character count

Letters do not take up equal space. A title full of wide characters can be shortened sooner than another title with the same character count. The preview measures the rendered text and still shows the character count for a quick reference.

To find what is wrong with a page’s tags, such as a missing or empty description, two title tags or a title that does not match the H1, use the title and meta description checker.

Google may show different text

Google creates title links from several page and link signals. It can use the title element, the main visible heading, prominent text, anchor text, and other sources.

Search snippets are usually drawn from page content. A good meta description can be used when it describes the page well, but the actual snippet can change with the query.

Preview additions do not create rich results

The optional result details show how the layout can change. They do not validate structured data or prove rich result eligibility. Use the schema markup validator to inspect JSON-LD separately.

What happens when you load a page

Loading a page sends its URL to the site worker. The worker reads the public HTML and a small favicon, then returns the title, meta description and site name. Any edits you make after that stay in this browser tab.

How long should a title and description be?

Google sets no character limit. It cuts titles to fit the width of the screen, so on desktop a title of about 600 pixels shows in full, which is often 50 to 60 characters. Descriptions are cut at about two lines on desktop and a little more on phones. The preview measures the real width, so trust its truncation over a character count.

Put the words that make someone click at the start. If the end is cut off, the searcher still sees what matters.

Write a title and snippet people click

• Name the thing the searcher is looking for, in their words.
• Say what is different about this page: a price, a date, a number, a free tool.
• Make each page’s title unique. Twenty pages called “Products” all look the same in results.
• Keep the description true to the page. Google rewrites descriptions that do not match.

Find the titles worth rewriting with your agent

The pages to work on are the ones people see but do not click. The SEO report has a low click-through rate section: queries where your page ranks in the top four and gets fewer clicks than your own site gets at that position. Your agent can pull that list from Search Console, draft new titles, and you can check each one here before it ships. Ask:

Show the low click-through rate pages for example.com and suggest a clearer title for each one

Add the hosted MCP server to your agent and sign in with Google:

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