Quick answer
A meta tag checker reads the head of a page the way a search engine does and reports the title, meta description, robots rules, canonical, viewport and social tags. Enter a URL above to see each tag, whether it fits in search results, and what to change. The title and robots tags matter most.
Enter any page address above. The checker loads the page, reads every tag in its <head>, and gives each one a verdict: fine, worth a look, or a problem. It measures the title and description in pixels, because that is how Google decides where to cut them, and it shows the social preview tags that decide how a link looks when someone shares it. It is free, needs no account and allows 30 checks an hour.
What the meta tag checker looks at
Meta tags are short pieces of text in a page's head that visitors never see on the page itself. Search engines and social networks read them to decide how to show the page. The checker reports these, in rough order of importance:
- Title. The clickable headline in search results. It should name the page's main topic early and fit in about 580 pixels on desktop, which is roughly 55 to 60 characters of average text.
- Robots. A
noindexhere, or in theX-Robots-Tagresponse header, keeps the page out of Google entirely. The checker flags it in red, because it outweighs every other tag on this list. - Canonical. Tells search engines which URL is the main version of the page. A canonical that points somewhere else asks Google to index that other URL instead.
- Meta description. The suggested snippet under the title. It doesn't affect rankings, but a clear one can earn more clicks. Google often rewrites it when it thinks other text on the page matches the search better.
- H1. Not a meta tag, but checked here because it should agree with the title about what the page is.
- Viewport and language. The viewport tag makes the page usable on phones; the
langattribute tells browsers and screen readers which language the text is in. - Open Graph and Twitter cards.
og:title,og:descriptionandog:imagecontrol the preview on LinkedIn, Facebook, Slack and most messaging apps.twitter:cardcontrols the larger preview on X.
How to read the results
Each row has a status. Green means nothing to do. Amber means the tag works but could be better: a title that will be cut off, a description that is missing, a canonical pointing at another URL. Red means the tag is actively hurting the page: a noindex on a page you want found, or a missing viewport on a site people visit on phones.
Fix in this order. First, anything that removes the page from search: noindex and a canonical pointing at a different page. Second, the title: it is the strongest on-page signal of what the page is about, and the first thing searchers read. Third, everything else. Our guide to which SEO errors matter most explains the reasoning behind that order in more detail.
Common problems and how to fix them
The title is cut off. Search results show about 580 pixels of title on desktop. Wide letters such as M and W use more of that than narrow ones such as i and l, so character counts are only a guide. Put the words people search for at the start and move the brand name to the end, where losing it costs least. The title tag pixel width checker previews the exact cut.
The meta description is missing or too long. A missing description isn't an error: Google writes a snippet from the page. But writing one gives you a say in what appears. Keep the important part in the first 120 characters; anything after about 155 characters is usually hidden. See what happens when a meta description is too long.
There is no canonical. Add <link rel="canonical" href="..."> pointing at the page's own preferred URL. It protects the page when the same content is reachable through tracking parameters, www and non-www versions, or print views.
Several H1 tags. This isn't a ranking problem in itself, and Google has said so. One clear main heading is still the better default for readers and screen readers. More on that in multiple H1 tags.
No social image. Without og:image, a shared link shows no picture, or whatever image the network picks from the page. Use an image of at least 1200 by 630 pixels.
What this tool doesn't check
The meta tag checker reads one page's head. It doesn't judge whether the title matches the keyword you want the page to rank for, whether the content supports it, or how the page compares with the pages that already rank. Those are the checks that usually decide rankings. Seotific's full audit runs 65 of them against the keyword you choose and puts the fixes in order of impact.
Check your own page
Seotific audits a URL against the keyword it should rank for and lists the fixes in order of impact. Free plan, no card.
Run a free auditFrequently asked questions
What is a meta tag checker?
A meta tag checker is a tool that reads the hidden tags in a web page's head, such as the title, meta description, robots and canonical tags, and tells you whether each is present, correctly formed and likely to display well in search results and social previews.
Do meta tags affect SEO rankings?
The title tag does: it is one of the clearest signals of what a page is about. The robots and canonical tags decide whether and which version of a page is indexed. The meta description and social tags don't affect rankings, but they change how many people click.
How long should a title tag be?
Short enough to fit in about 580 pixels on desktop, which is usually 55 to 60 characters. What matters more is that the page's main topic comes first, so the important words survive if Google cuts the end.
Why does the checker say the page answered an error?
Some sites block automated requests or require a login. If the page loads normally in your browser, the site is probably refusing our checker; the tags themselves may be fine.