Meta Description Checker
Check a meta description for length, truncation and whether Google is likely to rewrite it.
- 100% free
- No sign-up
What is Meta Description Checker?
A meta description is not a ranking factor and has not been one for years.
It is the sales copy underneath your link, and that is a better reason to get it right than any ranking myth. Google will replace it whenever it thinks a snippet from the page answers the query better, and the descriptions most likely to be replaced are the ones that are missing, boilerplate, or too short to say anything. This checker measures the rendered width against the point where the results page cuts it off, and tells you when a description is so short it is inviting a rewrite.
How to use Meta Description Checker
- 1
Fetch or paste
Enter a URL to read the live tag, or paste HTML to check a draft.
- 2
Aim for the width, not a magic number
Roughly 155 characters is the usual advice; the tool measures the width that number approximates.
- 3
Answer "why click this"
A description that restates the title wastes the one piece of free copy you get in the results.
- 4
Accept that Google may rewrite it
It often will. A specific, accurate description is rewritten less often than a generic one.
Everything this tool
does for you
- Pixel-width estimate calibrated to the ~155-character cutoff
- Truncation warning
- Too-short warning, with the reason
- Detects a present-but-empty tag
- Reads a live URL or pasted HTML
- Free, no signup, no daily limit
Further reading
Related free tools
Frequently asked questions
Beyond this tool
See the full picture for your website.
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- Pixel-width estimate for the real cutoff
- Flags descriptions Google will truncate
- Flags ones too short to earn the click
- Works on a live URL or pasted HTML
- Free, no account, no daily limit