I’ll check Google’s title link guidance first. Titles are one place where Google often shows something different from what you wrote, and the post doesn’t mention that.
The main idea of this post is right, and it matches Google’s guidance: Google has no title length limit, and the displayed title is cut to fit the device width. But my measurements found two errors in the examples, and the post leaves out a thing Google says about titles.
- The “after” title is 49 characters, not 54. I counted it two ways. The “before” title is 68, as stated.
- The travel example doesn’t show truncation. “10 Budget Travel Tips for Backpackers Visiting Southeast Asia” is 61 characters and measures about 551 pixels in an Arial-metric font at 20 px. That fits under the commonly cited 600 px estimate, so “…Visiting South…” wouldn’t be cut where the post says. The tomato “before” title is a better example. It would be cut after “Small”, hiding the word “Gardens”, which is the main subject.
- Google often displays something other than your title tag. Its documentation says it builds title links from the
<title>element, the main visible heading on the page, other headings and more, and may replace your title if it doesn’t describe the page well. The post doesn’t mention that.
The 600 px width and 20 px font size are community estimates, not Google specifications.
Here is the rewritten post, about 850 words.
Title: SEO Title Length in 2026: How Long Should a Title Tag Be?
Meta description: Google has no title length limit, but it shortens titles to fit the screen. Here’s what 50–60 characters really means, with measured examples and how to avoid being cut off.
Google doesn’t publish a character limit for title tags. Its documentation says there’s no limit on how long a <title> element can be, but the title link is truncated as needed, typically to fit the device width. In practice, people use 50 to 60 characters as a rule of thumb, because that is roughly what fits.
Why a title gets cut off
Google measures width, not characters. Common SEO tools estimate the desktop limit at around 600 pixels, with titles shown in a font about 20 px in size. Those numbers are community estimates, not Google’s, and they change when Google redesigns its results.
Letters take different amounts of space, so character counts are only a rough guide. In Arial-style fonts, a capital W is about four times as wide as a lowercase i. A title full of narrow letters fits more characters, and one full of wide letters or capitals fits fewer.
Why it matters
The title tag is often the first thing a visitor reads about your page. It appears in:
- Google search results, as the blue clickable link
- Browser tabs
- Social shares, when no other title is set
- Bookmarks
If the key part is cut off, you lose control over your pitch.
A measured example
Using an Arial-metric font at 20 px against a 600 px budget (estimates, as above):
Before: 68 characters, about 655 px. “The Complete and Ultimate Guide to Growing Tomatoes in Small Gardens”
This would be cut after “Small”, so “Gardens”, the main subject, would be hidden.
After: 49 characters, about 481 px. “Growing Tomatoes in Small Gardens: Complete Guide”
Same promise, no filler, and it has room to spare. If you add a short brand name, “Growing Tomatoes in Small Gardens: Complete Guide | GardenNotes” is 63 characters and about 616 px, slightly over the estimate. So branding has a cost, and long site names cost even more.
Google may show a different title
Google builds the title link automatically from several sources, including your <title> element and the main visible heading on the page. It may replace your title if the tag is empty, is stuffed with keywords, is the same on every page, or doesn’t describe what the page is about. Google has also said the text in your <title> element is still used for ranking, whether or not it shows your wording.
To keep control:
- Make each title unique and accurate. It should match the page’s visible main heading.
- Don’t stuff keywords or repeat the same phrase.
- Add your site name briefly, at the start or end, separated by a hyphen, colon or pipe.
- Make the page’s main heading clear, because Google uses it too.
How to write titles that don’t get cut off
- Front-load the main keyword. Put the key phrase in the first few words so it survives any cut.
- Cut filler. Words like “the”, “really”, “ultimate” and “amazing” rarely add anything.
- Use numbers and brackets sparingly. “7 Tips” or “(2026 Guide)” add context in few characters.
- Write the title last. After the piece is done, you know what is most compelling about it.
- Check the length before you publish. Use a counter for characters and, ideally, a tool that previews pixel width.
Quick reference
| Element | Rule of thumb | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Title tag | About 50–60 characters (around 600 px) | Estimate; Google has no official limit |
| Meta description | About 150–160 characters on desktop, around 120 on mobile | Estimates; see our meta description guide |
| URL slug | Keep it short and readable | Not a Google limit; a convention |
| H1 | No fixed limit | Keep it clear; Google may use it for the title link |
Final tip
Don’t optimize for length alone. A clear, accurate title at 65 characters beats a vague one that happens to fit in 55. But when two options are equally good, the shorter one avoids being cut off and keeps the message intact.
Last updated: October 30, 2026. Based on Google Search Central’s title link guidance. Pixel figures are community estimates.
About the author
Kent Williams is the founder and developer of Open Character Counter, a free browser-based tool for tracking character counts, word counts, and readability. He writes about writing constraints, platform limits, and SEO. Read more about Open Character Counter →
Before you publish
- Fix the count. If you keep any of your original wording, change “54 characters” to 49.
- Link to Google’s “Influencing your title links in search results” page in the first paragraph.
- Keep your numbers consistent across posts. This one and the meta description post both label their figures as estimates, which is the safer approach.
- Consider a title preview feature. My measurements show that character counts can be off by a wide margin, so a pixel-width preview for titles and descriptions would make your tool stand out, and I can help you build it.
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