Preview your Google search snippet before you publish
This SERP preview tool shows how a page’s title, URL and meta description may appear in Google search results on both desktop and mobile. Instead of counting characters, it measures your text in pixels with the same fonts Google uses — about 20 px Arial for desktop titles and 14 px for snippets — and cuts it with “...” where Google is likely to.
You can bold the words people search for, add a date, and try example review stars or a price to see how much room a richer result leaves. It is free and runs in your browser; nothing is fetched from your site, so it works for pages that are still drafts.
How to use the SERP Preview Tool
- Type or paste your title, page URL and meta description.
- Watch the three meters: the title against about 580 px, the snippet against roughly 920 px on desktop and 680 px on mobile. Amber means it will probably be cut.
- Add your site name and the search words to bold to see the result the way a searcher would.
- Open Date and rich result examples to see how a date prefix or rating line changes the space available.
- Edit until the important words sit inside the visible part, then press Copy title & description tags.
SERP Preview Tool features
Measured, not guessed
Uses the canvas measureText API to calculate the true width of your text, so “WWW” and “iii” are treated very differently — as they are in Google.
Desktop and mobile side by side
The desktop result shows the breadcrumb path; the mobile result shows only the domain, matching Google’s 2025 change to mobile URLs.
Query bolding
Words from your search phrase are bolded in the snippet, just as Google highlights matching terms.
Date and rich result examples
Toggle a date, rating stars and a price, clearly labelled as illustrations, to plan around them.
Private and instant
Nothing is uploaded or crawled. Results update as you type.
How Google truncates titles and descriptions
Google’s result area on desktop is about 600 px wide. Titles longer than that are cut at a word boundary and end in “...”, which typically happens somewhere around 55–65 characters. Snippets usually run to two lines on desktop — roughly 920 px or 150–160 characters — and are shorter on phones. These figures are averages rather than published rules: Google changes its layout, fonts and snippet length from time to time, and it can show longer snippets when they answer a query better.
A date shown before the snippet uses up part of the line, which is why the preview subtracts its width before trimming your description.
| Element | Desktop (approx.) | Mobile (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Title link | 580–600 px · ~55–65 characters | Wraps onto more lines, so usually shows more |
| Snippet | ~920 px · ~150–160 characters | ~680 px · ~110–120 characters |
| URL line | Domain › path › segments | Domain only (since 2025) |
Why your live result may look different
Google uses your <title> element for the title link most of the time, but it can rewrite it — for example when the title is very long, repeats keywords, is the same across many pages or doesn’t match the content. It may then use the main heading, anchor text or other prominent text instead. Snippets are even more flexible: Google picks the text that best matches each search, which may be your meta description or a passage from the page.
Rich features such as review stars, prices and dates appear only when Google finds suitable visible content or structured data, and are never guaranteed. Self-serving review stars for your own business or organisation are not shown at all. To add markup correctly, use the Schema Markup Generator.
Tips for snippets that earn the click
- Put the main topic in the first few words of the title, and your brand at the end if it fits.
- Write a unique description for every important page — duplicated descriptions are a common reason Google ignores them.
- Describe a benefit or answer, not a keyword list. Use the Keyword Density Checker to make sure the page itself covers the topic naturally.
- Keep the URL short and readable; the Slug Generator turns a title into a clean path.
SERP Preview Tool FAQ
What is a SERP preview?
A SERP (search engine results page) preview is a simulation of how a page could appear in search results. This SERP preview tool shows a Google-style result for desktop and mobile so you can fix titles and descriptions before they go live.
How many characters does Google show in a title?
There is no fixed character limit. Google shows as much as fits in roughly 600 px on desktop, which is about 55–65 characters for typical English text. Wide letters use more space than narrow ones, so measure in pixels.
How long should a meta description be?
Around 150–160 characters (about 920 px) is a good target for desktop, with the key message in the first 110–120 characters so it survives on mobile. Google has no strict limit and may show more or less.
Why does Google show only the domain on mobile?
In early 2025 Google simplified the URL shown in mobile results to display just the domain instead of the breadcrumb path. Desktop results still show breadcrumbs.
Will adding schema markup make stars appear?
Only possibly. Valid review or product markup makes a page eligible, but Google decides whether to show stars, and self-serving reviews for a business about itself are not displayed.
Is the preview exactly what Google will show?
No. It is an accurate approximation of fonts and widths, but Google tests layouts constantly and may rewrite titles or choose different snippet text for each search.