Why Pixel Width Beats Character Count
Google truncates SERP titles and descriptions by rendered pixel width on the user's device. A title of "WWWWWWWWWW" at 20px is far wider than "iiiiiiiiii" at the same size. Character-count tools miss this entirely — they will tell you a 60-character title is "safe" when it might already be truncated.
This tool draws your text onto a real HTML5 <canvas> using the same font stack Google uses in desktop SERPs (Arial at 20px for titles, 14px for descriptions), then reads the exact pixel width with measureText().
Google's Truncation Thresholds
| Element | Desktop | Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Title | ~580 px | ~600 px |
| Description | ~920 px | ~680 px |
Aim for 500–580 px on titles and 820–900 px on descriptions to stay safe across viewports.
What to Do When You Exceed the Limit
- Move the primary keyword to the front. Even when truncated, the first 40–50 characters are what users see.
- Cut brand suffixes. " | YourBrand" is often appended automatically by templates and eats 60–100px.
- Rewrite descriptions as benefit-first. Lead with the differentiator, then supporting detail.
- Never let Google auto-generate the description. If your description is under ~500px, Google may replace it with a snippet from the page body — often a bad CTA or cookie banner text.
Common Mistakes
Using emoji wildly varies pixel width. All-caps titles inflate width by 15–25%. A title that is exactly 580px on your monitor may truncate at 570px on an OS with a slightly wider font rendering — the safe zone is under 560px. All measurements here use Arial at the specified size, which matches Google's default rendering on most platforms.