SEO Title & Meta Description Checker
Short answer
Check your page title and meta description: length in characters and pixels, truncation risk, a front-loaded title and a call to action.
What it does not do: It reads the raw HTML, so a title or description set by JavaScript is not seen, and it cannot tell whether Google will show your text or rewrite it.
What It Does
Checks a page's `<title>` tag and meta description together. For each one it measures the length in characters and in rendered pixel width and flags text likely to be cut off in Google's results. It also checks that the title leads with its topic and that the description contains an action word. Each part gets its own score, and the report shows the text it found.
Why It Matters
The title is usually the clickable headline of your search result, and the meta description often becomes the text under it. Google may replace a title that is too long, repetitive or unhelpful, and it writes its own snippet when the description does not fit the search. A clear title and a description that sums up the page give you the best chance of choosing what searchers see. The description is not a ranking factor; its value is in the click.
How It Works
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Enter a page URL or paste its HTML
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We read the `<title>` tag and the meta description from the raw HTML
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Measure each one in characters and pixels against the width Google shows before cutting text off
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Return a score for each part, the text we found and what to change
Sample input + output
url: https://rankproof.eu/guides
Title tag 100/100 "SEO & Compliance Guides | RankProof" 35 characters · 344px (estimate) within 30–60 characters OK under 580px — no truncation OK primary keyword near the front OK Meta description 92/100 123 characters · 779px (estimate) within 120–160 characters OK under 990px — no truncation OK contains an action word WARN 2 of 2 areas look good · Score: 96/100
How to read the result
- Title score (100/100 in the sample)
- The score for the <title> tag alone. It drops when the title is shorter than 30 or longer than 60 characters, wider than about 580px, or when it opens with a lone brand name instead of its topic. The text the tool found is shown under it, so you can confirm it is the title you expected.
- Characters and pixels (35 characters · 344px)
- Google shortens titles by width, not by letter count, so a title of wide letters such as W and M is cut sooner than one of narrow letters. The pixel figure is an estimate from typical letter widths, close to how results are drawn but not an exact measurement of Google's font.
- Keyword near the front
- The tool reads the part of the title before the first separator, such as |, — or a colon. Two or more words there means the title starts with what the page is about; a title that starts with only the brand name gets a warning.
- Description score (92/100)
- The same checks for the meta description: 120–160 characters, under about 990px, and an action word such as "learn", "compare" or "free". In the sample the description has the right length but no action word, so it loses a few points and shows a warning.
- Overall (2 of 2 areas look good · 96/100)
- The average of the two scores. The summary turns green only when both parts are green, so a strong title cannot hide a missing or weak description.
- A missing tag
- If the page has no title or no meta description, that part scores 0 and says the tag was not found. When a page has several <title> tags, the first one is measured, as browsers do.
Who Uses This
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SEO Freelancer
Check each key page before a site migration and fix titles and descriptions that would be cut off in the results.
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E-commerce Manager
Check product page titles and descriptions for truncation, starting with the pages that get the most impressions.
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Content Writer
Before publishing, confirm the title leads with its topic and the description fits without being cut off.
Common problems and how to fix them
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The title is too long and gets cut off
Put the topic first and trim from the end: brand names, repeated keywords and words like "Home" or "Welcome" go first. Keep the brand once, after a separator, if there is room.
<title>Running Shoes and Trail Shoes | Example Shop</title> -
Every page has nearly the same title
Templates often print the site name or a category on every page. Build each title from that page's own subject — the product, article or tool name — so each result in Google says something different.
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Google shows a different title from yours
Google rewrites titles that are too long, stuffed with keywords or that do not match the page. Make the <title> and the page's main heading say the same thing in similar words; Google's documentation names that as the signal it looks at.
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The description is missing or the same everywhere
Write one or two sentences per page that say what the reader will get, with a verb near the start. If you cannot write a unique one for a page, leave it out rather than repeat one text on many pages — Google then builds the snippet from the page itself.
<meta name="description" content="Compare 40 running and trail shoes by weight, drop and grip, with sizes in stock and free returns within 30 days."> -
The title is set by JavaScript
The checker reads the HTML your server sends, as many crawlers and link previews do. If your framework sets the title in the browser, render it on the server or at build time so every reader gets it.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the ideal title length?
- Google cuts titles by pixel width, not by a fixed number of characters. This checker passes titles of 30–60 characters that render under about 580px, which keeps most titles whole.
- What is the ideal meta description length?
- Snippets are cut by width too, so there is no exact limit. The checker passes descriptions of 120–160 characters that render under about 990px.
- Does Google always use my title and description?
- No. Google may rewrite a title that is too long, stuffed with keywords or does not describe the page, and it often builds the snippet from page text that better matches the search. Clear, accurate text is the best way to keep yours.
- Is the meta description a ranking factor?
- No. Google has said it does not use the meta description for ranking. It matters because it can become the text under your result, which affects whether people click.
- How does the "keyword near the front" check work?
- It looks at the part of the title before the first separator, such as | or —. If that part has at least two words, the title leads with its topic rather than a lone brand name.
- How often should I review titles and descriptions?
- Before a migration or redesign, and whenever Search Console shows a page with many impressions but few clicks.
Sources
The documentation this tool and the explanations on this page are based on.
- Influencing Title Links in Google Search — Google Search Central
- How to Write Meta Descriptions — Google Search Central
- <title>: HTML document title element — MDN Web Docs
- Understanding Success Criterion 2.4.2: Page Titled — W3C Web Accessibility Initiative