SERP Snippet Preview

How do you preview a Google search snippet?

Enter your page title, meta description, and URL to preview the wording in a desktop or mobile search card. This SERP simulator updates while you edit and measures text width in the browser. Add an optional site name, date, or search query to inspect a more detailed draft before publishing.

Start with wording that describes the actual page, then switch devices and read the visible result. Put the main subject early enough to survive truncation. The preview shows the text you supply; Google sometimes rewrites titles and snippets, so this card does not guarantee the wording or appearance of a live result.

How do the pixel counters and cutoff warnings work?

The counters measure text with the browser's canvas in Arial, using a 600 px title reference and different description references for each device. Title measurements use 20 px Arial on desktop and 18 px Arial on mobile. Description measurements use 14 px Arial, with references of 920 px on desktop and 680 px on mobile.

Counter text is green within the selected reference, amber when the measured width is over it by up to 10%, and red beyond that. These colours report measured width rather than a fixed number of letters. A title with wide letters can occupy more pixels than another title with the same character count.

The desktop card is 600 px wide, with a single title line cut at 600 px and an ellipsis when needed. Its description has up to two lines. The mobile card is 360 px wide, with up to two title lines and three description lines. Cards also fit within their available container. A Cut off badge appears beside the relevant counter when the rendered preview truncates that text.

What do the site name, URL, date, and query change?

The optional fields change the snippet's identity, date prefix, and description emphasis. The preview displays a letter icon and uses your site name, or the URL's hostname when that field is empty. For a valid URL, the breadcrumb shows the host followed by up to three path segments, separated by the › symbol.

A valid selected date is placed before the description in the format Mon D, YYYY — . That prefix consumes description space, while the description counter measures the entered description itself. Add the date before making a final length decision, and inspect the resulting lines and cutoff warning rather than assuming the counter includes the prefix.

The search query highlights matching whole words in the description without regard to case. Query words need at least two letters to qualify. Matching words become bold, which can affect their rendered width. This field simulates emphasis within the supplied snippet; it does not run a search or report a ranking.

What does the Snippet check cover below the preview?

The Snippet check scores only nonempty title, description, and URL fields. It compares title and description widths with the desktop pixel references and checks whether the URL uses HTTP or HTTPS. Optional identity, date, and query fields affect the preview without adding score penalties.

Missing canonical, Open Graph, and structured data fields do not affect this check. The score describes the entered snippet fields, not an audit of the website.

How can you paste existing HTML metadata?

Paste HTML meta tags reads clipboard text and extracts a title, meta description, and canonical URL locally with DOMParser. HTML entities are decoded, and an error appears if no supported metadata is found. Check the imported values and optional fields; clipboard permission is required. Entering a URL changes the preview address without downloading that page.