How Long Should Your Meta Description Be? Best Practices and Tools for SEO

Meta descriptions are a crucial element of on-page SEO. They provide a brief summary of your web page's content (snippet) that appears beneath the title in search engine results pages (SERPs).

Read more about what a meta description is in our article.

Meta description length significantly affects how effectively it conveys your message and influences users to click through to your site. However, determining the optimal length can be challenging, as search engines may truncate descriptions based on device type or search layout.

Technically, search engines do not enforce a fixed meta description character limit. However, to optimize for both desktop and mobile search results, it is advisable to keep meta descriptions within the 150-160 character range, including spaces. Exceeding this range increases the risk of truncation, leading to incomplete or unclear messages being displayed to users.

This range ensures that your description is concise enough to be fully visible in most search results while providing sufficient detail to attract user interest. However, there is no strict limit, and the best length can vary depending on the context and the page's specific content.

While the standard recommendation is to aim for 150-160 characters, some SEO experts suggest that descriptions shorter than 70 characters may still be effective, depending on the search intent and the information provided. However, anything below 70 characters might be too brief to convey meaningful information, and descriptions exceeding 160 characters will likely be truncated in search results, potentially cutting off important details.

The number of characters displayed in a snippet can vary based on several factors, including:

• The user’s device (e.g., desktops offer more space than mobile devices)
• The width of individual characters (e.g., an "m" occupies more pixels than an "i")
• The user's search query (e.g., bolded words take up more pixel space)

Therefore, ensure that the most critical information is placed at the beginning of the description so it remains visible even if truncated.

In Google's SERPs, a listing has a maximum width of 600 pixels. The meta description typically spans four lines, giving you approximately 2,400 pixels of space. However, due to factors like bolded keywords and Google's limitations, aiming for a meta description length of 920 pixels, usually around 155 characters, is recommended.

It's also important to avoid making your meta descriptions too short. If they are, Google may generate a description that does not align with your content. To minimize this risk, ensure your meta description is at least 70 characters or roughly 430 pixels.

Remember that Google's tablet and mobile search results can accommodate a wider meta description. However, since it's impossible to set different descriptions for different devices, it's advisable to adhere to the maximum width of the desktop to ensure your meta description is fully displayed across all platforms.


Several free meta description preview tools, such as the one from To the Web, allow you to simulate how your meta description might appear in mobile and desktop SERP results. These tools can be helpful for experimentation, but it's important to recognize that they may not always be completely accurate.

Sometimes, Google cuts the result shorter than preview tools suggest. You can check the actual search results on different devices directly in the SERP.

However, remember that even this approach may not guarantee consistency, as Google's results can vary based on factors like the user's location or search history. As a result, even after checking, the display might differ for others. Therefore, it's advisable to craft meta descriptions that are the correct length from the outset and follow the guidelines outlined in Google's documentation.

To ensure your meta descriptions are within the recommended length, several tools can help you measure and preview them:

• Yoast SEO (WordPress Plugin): This popular tool provides real-time feedback on meta description length as you edit your page content.

• SEMrush or Ahrefs: Offers a meta description length checker as part of its broader SEO toolkit, helping you optimize for search engine visibility.

• Google Search Console: While not a direct meta description checker, Google Search Console allows you to monitor how your descriptions appear in search results and provides insights on click-through rates.

• Atomseo Broken Links Checker: In addition to identifying broken links, this tool can also help you verify that your meta descriptions are within the optimal character range.

Atomseo Broken Links Checker is a tool that scans your website and produces a detailed report on the server response codes for each page it detects. The report also includes information about the presence and content of each page's title tag, H1 tag, and meta description.

All data is neatly organized in a single table format, making spotting issues such as long meta descriptions simple.

To generate the report, go to https://error404.atomseo.com, enter your website’s URL, and click "Check site."

As a result, you'll get a detailed report that includes all the data, with specific information about the meta description.

Here’s how to download the report:

Here’s what the report includes:

This is especially beneficial for large websites.

If you require meta description data for specific pages, you can upload them as a list using the form at https://error404.atomseo.com/SeoListCheck.

In an Atomseo report (in Excel format), you can add a column alongside the data with a formula to count characters using =LEN().

As a result, you'll receive a report identical to the one previously described.

An effective meta description is essential for improving your website's SEO performance and click-through rates. By adhering to the recommended character length of 150-160 characters, you can maximize the visibility and impact of your meta descriptions in search results.

Using tools like Atomseo Broken Links Checker to review and optimize your meta descriptions ensures they adhere to best practices, enhancing your content’s visibility in a competitive search landscape. Additionally, Atomseo allows you to check up to 1,500 links daily at no cost.