Every part of a Google Ads ad has a character limit, and each part has a different one.
A headline gets 30 characters, a sitelink gets 25, and a description gets 90. Writing 15 headlines means checking 15 counts, and 1 extra word can push a headline over.
Fill in the Google Ads character counter above with every line at once. Each line gets its own count, and anything past the limit turns red, so you can see which words to cut.
Our counter also handles keyword insertion. A code like {KeyWord:Roof Repair} counts as its default text, since that’s the text that has to fit.
AI chat tools are a poor fit for this job. They read text in chunks of several letters, so they often miscount by a character or 2.
Google Ads character limits
Each text field in Google Ads has its own character limit, from 15 for a URL path to 90 for a description. The counter checks each of these:
| Field | Limit | Where it’s used | How many |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headline | 30 | Search ads, Performance Max, display ads (as the short headline) | 3 to 15 in search ads and Performance Max, 1 to 5 in display ads |
| Long headline | 90 | Performance Max, display ads | 1 to 5 in Performance Max, 1 in display ads |
| Description | 90 | Search ads, Performance Max, display ads | 2 to 4 in search ads, 2 to 5 in Performance Max, 1 to 5 in display ads |
| Path | 15 | The display URL in search ads and Performance Max | 2 |
| Business name | 25 | Search ads, Performance Max, display ads | 1 |
| Sitelink | 25 for the link, 35 for each description line | Search ads and Performance Max | 2 description lines, both or neither |
| Callout | 25 | Search ads and Performance Max | Up to 10 can show |
| Structured snippet | 25 per value | Under your ad text, as a header and a list | 3 to 10 values per header |
| Keyword | 80 characters and 10 words | Search campaigns | Many per ad group |
| Final URL | 2,048 | Search ads | 1 |
The sources are Google Ads Help on responsive search ads, Google Ads Help on text ads, Google Ads Help on Performance Max text assets, Google Ads Help on search campaign specs, and the Google Ads API reference for display ads, sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, and keywords.
Some guides list Performance Max headlines at 40 characters. Google’s Performance Max spec says 30, and it asks for at least 1 headline of 15 characters or fewer.
How Google Ads counts characters
Google Ads counts every punctuation mark as 1 character, including the period at the end of a description. Our counter counts spaces as 1 too, so Roof Repair Near You is 20 characters, and 3 of them are spaces.
Keyword insertion is where most counts go wrong. A code like {KeyWord:Roof Repair} swaps in the keyword someone searched for, and Google shows the default text, Roof Repair, whenever that keyword is too long to fit (Google Ads Help on keyword insertion).
The default text is what has to fit, so that’s what the counter counts. The Try example headlines button shows how:
| Line | Counts as | Why |
|---|---|---|
{KeyWord:Roof Repair} Experts | 19 | Only the default text, Roof Repair Experts, is counted |
Same Day Emergency Roof Repairs Available | 41 | 11 over, so “s Available” turns red |
Keywords work a little differently. The counter leaves out match type symbols, so [roof repair] counts as 11. Our keyword wrapper adds those symbols for you.
If you write your ad copy in a spreadsheet, the LEN formula gives the same count in Google Sheets and Excel:
=LEN(A2)A conditional formatting rule of =LEN(A2)>30 turns long headlines red. The formula counts a keyword insertion code as written, brackets and all, so those lines need the counter.
What to do when a line runs over
A line that’s over the limit usually has 1 word too many.
| What we see | What we’d do |
|---|---|
| A filler word like Today or Now | Cut it. The headline says the same thing without it |
| A number written out, like Three | Write it as a numeral, 3 |
| A detail that doesn’t fit, like a warranty or a list of cities | Move it to a description, which gets 90 characters |
| A keyword longer than 30 characters | Put it in a description, since it can’t fit whole in a headline |
| The same idea in 2 headlines | Keep 1, and use the other slot for a new selling point |
Once your lines fit, our Google Ads preview tool shows how they look together in a real search ad.
How the character counter works
| Step | How |
|---|---|
| Counts each line | 1 per character, spaces and punctuation included. Chinese, Japanese, and Korean characters count as 2, the way Google counts them |
| Handles keyword insertion | Counts the default text inside {KeyWord:...} |
| Handles keywords | Leaves out a leading dash, quotes, and brackets, and counts words up to the 10-word limit |
| Marks the overflow | Turns everything past the limit red |
| Checks the list | Points out extra spaces, repeated lines, and emojis, with a button to fix the first 2 |
Don’t want to deal with any of this? Take a look at our Google Ads management service, and we’ll write the ads and run them for you.
Questions we get
Can I use emojis in Google Ads?
Google Ads doesn't allow emojis in ads. Google's punctuation and symbols policy lists emoji as unsupported characters, along with bullet points and asterisks used for decoration (Google Ads policy on punctuation and symbols). The character counter points out any emoji it finds, so you can take it out before the ad goes in for review.
What happens when a keyword is too long for keyword insertion?
Google Ads shows your default text when the keyword is too long to fit. In {KeyWord:Roof Repair} Experts, a long search like roof repair for flat commercial roofs gets swapped for Roof Repair, so the headline reads Roof Repair Experts (Google Ads Help on keyword insertion).
Is my ad text saved or sent anywhere?
Your ad text isn't saved or sent anywhere, because the character counter runs in your browser. The text is gone when you close the page. Use Copy or Copy results to keep it.