Check how your SEO title, meta description and H1 will look on the search engine results page on both mobile and desktop with our free pixel and character length checker tool.
SEO Title Length Tips
Aim for 50 to 60 characters
Google cuts titles off by pixel width rather than character count. On desktop, the limit is around 600px, which works out at roughly 50 to 60 characters depending on the letters you use. Wide letters like W and M take up far more room than i or l. Two titles of the same length can end up truncated in very different places, which is why the checker above measures pixels.
Mobile gives you a bit more space because titles can wrap onto a second line. If your title fits on desktop, it will fit on mobile too.
Put your main keyword at the start
People scan search results. They read the first few words and decide almost instantly whether to click. Lead with the phrase you want to rank for, and move your brand name to the end, where losing it to truncation does the least damage.
"Digital PR for Casinos | BylineCoverage" gets the point across straight away. "BylineCoverage | Our Services | Digital PR for Casinos" makes the searcher wade through two sections before they find out what the page is about. Our own pages at BylineCoverage follow the same pattern, with the brand saved for the end.
Character limits are a guideline
No rule says a title has to stop at 60 characters. Google will index a 90-character title without complaint, and it can still use words past the cut-off to understand the page. What you give up is control over what searchers see. Anything over the limit is replaced with an ellipsis. A title that trails off mid-sentence usually gets fewer clicks than one that reads as complete.
Long titles are also the ones Google is most likely to rewrite, often swapping in your H1 instead. If a longer title suits the page, go ahead and use it. Just make sure the first 60 characters work on their own.
Meta Description Length Tips
Keep it to around 150 characters
Descriptions are measured in pixels too. Desktop shows about 920px of text, which is roughly 150 characters. Mobile cuts off sooner, at around 680px or 105 to 120 characters. Put the most important information in the first 110 characters so it shows on every device.
Use it to win the click
Your meta description, contrary to some SEO 'expert' opinions, has no direct effect on rankings. Its job is to persuade someone to choose your result over the ones around it. Tell the reader what they'll get from the page in the opening line. Include your keyword where it reads naturally, because Google bolds words that match the search, and that helps your result stand out.
Google may rewrite it
Google often replaces meta descriptions with text from the page when it thinks that matches the search better. Write one for every page anyway. For your main keyword, it will often appear as written, and a page with no description leaves the choice entirely to Google. Make each description unique, because copied descriptions are the first ones to be replaced.
Recommended H1
Make the H1 a fuller version of your title
Your title tag is written to fit the results page, so it has to be short. The H1 is the first thing a visitor reads when they land on the page, and it has more room. A good H1 covers the same topic as the title but says it in a more natural, descriptive way.
Keeping the two close also protects you if Google uses your H1 in the results. The rewritten title will still match what the searcher was looking for.
Write for people first
Compare these two:
Keyword-stuffed: SEO Title Checker Tool | SEO Title Length Checker Free | Title Tag Checker
Reader-friendly: Free SEO Title Checker: See Exactly How Your Page Looks in Google
The first repeats the same phrase three times and tells the reader nothing new. It looks spammy and makes people doubt the page. The second uses the keyword once and gives the reader a reason to keep going.
Include your main keyword, ideally near the start, and use one H1 per page. After that, write it the way you'd describe the page to someone in person. Once your title, description and H1 are sorted, have a look at our other free SEO tools.