A description that is too short wastes space in the results page; one that is too long gets truncated mid-sentence. Aim for 120 to 160 characters that summarise the page and give a reason to click.
How TallyWords counts
Words are runs of letters or numbers; contractions and hyphenated words count once. Characters are counted as you see them, so an emoji or an accented letter is one character. Sentences end at a full stop, question mark, exclamation mark or ellipsis, and paragraphs are separated by blank lines.
Readability uses the Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level and Gunning Fog formulas. Reading time assumes 238 words per minute and speaking time 150 words per minute. Platform meters use each network's own counting rules where they differ from a plain character count.
Private by design
TallyWords has no server-side processing. Your text stays in this browser tab and in an autosave on this device only. Clear it at any time with the Clear button.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a meta description be?
Between roughly 120 and 160 characters. Google measures in pixels rather than characters, so wide letters can trigger truncation slightly earlier.
Does meta description length affect rankings?
Not directly. It affects how your result looks and therefore how often people click, which matters for traffic.
Will Google always use my description?
No. Google rewrites descriptions when it thinks another passage matches the search better, but a good description is used much more often.
Does TallyWords work offline?
Once the page has loaded, all counting and cleanup works without a connection, because nothing depends on a server.
Is TallyWords free?
Yes. Every tool is free with no sign-up and no limits on text length.