Google listing preview tool

What makes a good page title

Your title is the blue link people click in Google. It's the single most important line of text for your search ranking, and it decides whether someone clicks you or the business above you.

• Lead with what you do and where: “Blocked Drains in Miranda” beats “Home” or “Welcome”.
• Add a reason to click: same-day service, free quotes, 24/7, licensed.
• Put your business name last, after a | or a dash.
• Give every page its own title. Duplicate titles make Google guess which page to show.
• Write for people, not robots. Repeating a keyword three times doesn't help and looks spammy.

Writing the meta description

The description is the grey text under your title. It doesn't directly change your ranking, but a clear one gets more clicks, and clicks are what you want.

• Say who it's for and what you do in the first sentence.
• Include something specific: an area, a guarantee, a price guide or how fast you respond.
• End with a clear next step: “Call for a free quote” or “Book online today”.
• Make it match the page. If the page doesn't deliver what the description promises, people bounce straight back.

How long can they be?

Google cuts titles by width, not by a set number of characters. On desktop, titles are roughly 600 pixels wide, which is usually 50 to 60 characters. Descriptions usually show about 150 to 160 characters before being cut, sometimes less on mobile. Google doesn't publish exact limits, so this tool measures the width the same way a browser does and warns you when you're close.

Why Google sometimes changes your title

Google can rewrite a title or description if it thinks something else on the page better matches what the person searched. It happens most when titles are vague, stuffed with keywords or identical across pages. Clear, specific, honest titles are the ones Google leaves alone.