UtilibyWritten by the Utiliby editorial team · Last updated October 14, 2026 · Rules and formulas reviewed October 2026
What this free meta tag generator does
Before a visitor reads a single word of your page, they read its search result: a blue title, a green or gray web address and a few lines of description. Those come from the title tag and the meta description in the head of your page. Write them well and more people click. Write them badly and your page is skipped, even if it ranks well.
This free online meta tag generator lets you write both and see them as Google may show them, in a desktop view and a mobile view, with pixel measurements. It also builds the other head tags most pages need: canonical link, robots rules, viewport, language note, theme color, favicon, Open Graph for Facebook and LinkedIn, and X card tags. The page checks your text and gives plain tips, then you copy the code. It is free, private and needs no sign-up.
How to generate meta tags in four steps
- Write the title and description. Type them in. The counters show characters and pixels, and the preview shows where Google may cut them.
- Add the page details. Enter the canonical URL, site name and language. Choose the robots setting and which snippet permissions to allow.
- Add social tags. Keep Open Graph and X on, and add a social image URL of about 1200 by 630 pixels.
- Copy the code. Read the checks under the preview, then copy the tags into the head of your page.
How to write a good title tag
- Lead with the main keyword in a natural way, not a list of keywords.
- Describe the page in plain words. People should know what they will get.
- Stay near 50 to 60 characters and under about 600 pixels.
- Make each title unique. Do not use the same title for every page.
- Add your brand last if there is room, for example after a dash.
- Use words that win clicks, such as free, online, guide or checklist, when they are true.
Google may rewrite titles it thinks do not fit the page, so accuracy matters more than clever phrasing.
How to write a good meta description
A meta description is a short pitch. State what the page offers, add a detail that sets it apart and, when it fits, invite the reader to act. Aim for 120 to 160 characters. Keep the main phrase in the text, because Google bolds words that match the search. Do not copy the opening of the page, and do not repeat the title.
Descriptions do not directly affect ranking, but they affect clicks, and clicks matter to you. Google may also show its own snippet from the page when it fits the search better, so make sure the page itself starts with clear, useful text.
Robots, canonical and snippet controls
| Tag | What it does | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| index, follow | The default. Page can be shown and its links followed | Normal pages |
| noindex | Asks search engines not to show the page | Thank-you pages, internal search, staging |
| nofollow | Asks search engines not to follow links on the page | Rarely needed for a whole page |
| canonical | Names the preferred URL for the content | Pages reachable at several URLs |
| max-snippet | Sets the longest text snippet | Use -1 for no limit |
| max-image-preview | Sets the size of image previews | Use large for Discover |
Do not combine noindex with a robots.txt block for the same page. If robots.txt stops crawlers from loading the page, they cannot see the noindex tag.
Open Graph and X card tags
When someone pastes your link into a chat or a post, the app reads your Open Graph tags to build the preview card. Without them it guesses, often with the wrong image or no image at all. The core tags are og:title, og:description, og:url, og:type and og:image. X (Twitter) has its own twitter:card tags and falls back to Open Graph when they are missing.
Use a social image of about 1200 by 630 pixels, with a full https URL that stays online. Social networks cache previews, so after you change an image you may need to refresh the link in each network's debugger.
Pixel width, not just characters
Search results are laid out by pixels. A title full of wide letters can be cut at 50 characters, while a title of narrow letters can fit 65. This tool measures your text with a standard search font at the usual sizes and shows a bar for how much of the width you use. The limits it uses, about 600 pixels for titles and about 920 for a desktop description, are approximations, and Google changes its layout from time to time, so treat them as guides.
Troubleshooting
- Google shows a different title: Google rewrites titles that do not match the page. Make the title and the main heading agree.
- My description is not shown: Google may use text from the page. Check that the description matches the search topic.
- The social card shows no image: use a public https URL and refresh the preview in the network's debugger.
- The page is not indexed: check that the tool is not set to noindex and that robots.txt allows crawling.
- Changes do not show yet: search results update only when Google crawls the page again.
Privacy and how it works
Your browser measures the text with a hidden canvas, builds the preview and writes the tags as plain text. Nothing is uploaded, stored or logged. Print / save summary creates a short report from your entries, and the rest of the page is not included in the print.
Frequently asked questions
What is a meta tag generator?
A meta tag generator writes the HTML tags that go in the head of a web page: the title, description, canonical link, robots rules, and social sharing tags. You fill in a form and copy the finished code.
How long should a title tag be?
Aim for about 50 to 60 characters, or roughly 600 pixels wide. Google cuts titles by pixel width, not character count, so wide letters like W and M take more room than narrow ones like i and l.
How long should a meta description be?
A common target is 120 to 160 characters. Google often shows around 155 to 160 characters on desktop and less on mobile. It may also write its own snippet from the page.
Do meta descriptions affect rankings?
Google says the meta description is not a ranking factor. A good one can still raise the click-through rate, because it is often the text people read before they decide to visit.
Why does Google rewrite my title or description?
Google may replace your text if it thinks another part of the page better matches the search. Clear, accurate titles and descriptions that match the page content are less likely to be rewritten.
What is a canonical tag?
A canonical tag tells search engines which URL is the main version of a page. It helps when the same content can be reached at more than one address, for example with tracking parameters.
What does the robots meta tag do?
It tells search engines how to treat the page. Index and follow are the defaults. Noindex asks them not to show the page, and nofollow asks them not to follow its links.
What do max-snippet and max-image-preview mean?
They control how much of your content Google may show. max-snippet:-1 allows any length of text snippet and max-image-preview:large allows large image previews, which can help in Discover.
Is the keywords meta tag still used?
No. Google ignores the keywords meta tag and has for many years. This tool lets you add it only for systems that still read it.
What are Open Graph tags?
Open Graph tags tell Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp and other apps which title, description and image to show when someone shares your link. They use property names that start with og:.
What are the X (Twitter) card tags?
They control how your link looks on X. The summary_large_image card shows a wide picture. If no X tags are present, X often falls back to the Open Graph tags.
What size should my social image be?
Use about 1200 by 630 pixels, a ratio of roughly 1.91 to 1, and keep important content away from the edges. Use a full URL that starts with https and stays online.
Where do I put the generated tags?
Paste them inside the head element of your page, before the closing head tag. In WordPress and other CMS tools, use your SEO plugin's fields, or the theme's header code area.
What does the language code do?
It sets the language of the page, for example en for English or fr-CA for Canadian French. Put it in the lang attribute of your html tag. It helps browsers and screen readers.
Can I use the same title on every page?
You should not. Each page needs its own title and description that match its content. Duplicates make it harder for search engines and visitors to tell pages apart.
Is my text uploaded anywhere?
No. The generator runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to Utiliby or to any other server.
What can I print or save from the page?
Print / save summary gives a short report with your title, description, checks and code. Download file saves the tags as an HTML file. Copy code puts them on your clipboard.
Sources and further reading
- Google Search Central, Title links and Snippets documentation (developers.google.com), for how titles and descriptions are chosen.
- Google Search Central, Robots meta tag and X-Robots-Tag specifications, for noindex, nofollow and snippet controls.
- Google Search Central, Canonicalization guide, for the canonical link.
- The Open Graph protocol (ogp.me), for og: properties.
- X Developer Platform, Cards markup documentation, for twitter: tags.
- WHATWG HTML Standard, the meta element and the title element.
Sources were consulted in October 2026. Standards and rules can change, so always check the official page for your situation.