Title Tag and Meta Description Length: What Google Says
“Keep titles under 60 characters” is advice, not a rule. Google’s documentation says there is no limit — but long titles and descriptions are cut to fit the device, and Google may rewrite them. Write for that reality.
What Google’s documentation says
- Titles: no length limit for the
titleelement, but title links are truncated in results as needed, typically to fit the device width. Google may generate a different title link from headings, anchors or other text when the title is missing, repetitive or misleading. - Meta descriptions: no length limit either; snippets are truncated as needed. Google uses the meta description when it describes the page better than on-page text — otherwise it builds the snippet from the content.
- Both should be unique per page and descriptive, without keyword stuffing.
Practical targets
| Element | Aim for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Title | about 50–60 characters, key words first | Usually shown in full on desktop; the start survives truncation on phones |
| Meta description | about 120–160 characters | Enough for a complete sentence or two; the end may be cut |
How to write them
- Start the title with what the page is (“Merge PDF Files”), then what makes it different (“Free, in Your Browser”). Brand last.
- Make the description a promise the page keeps: what the visitor can do and one concrete detail.
- Don’t repeat the same title or description across pages — duplicated text is more likely to be replaced by Google’s own choice.
- Preview both with Meta Tag Generator before publishing.
Does the meta description affect rankings?
Google stated in 2009 that it does not use the keywords meta tag or the description meta tag for ranking. The description’s value is earning the click.
Why did Google change my title?
Common reasons: very long titles, boilerplate repeated across pages, or titles that don’t match the main heading. Make the title and the page’s main heading agree.