Google Ads Character Limits

Google Ads character limits at a glance

Every limit that matters, in one table. Maximum counts are per ad or per asset group.

Two conventions before you count anything: spaces and punctuation consume characters (“Free Shipping” is 13, not 12), and double-width scripts — Chinese, Japanese, Korean — count each character as two.

Responsive search ads: 30 and 90

RSA is the default Search format, and it is built from assets rather than a single fixed ad. Google mixes them and learns which combination wins for each query.

Thirty characters holds one idea. A headline that tries to carry a benefit, a qualifier and a call to action at 30 characters usually ends up carrying none of them clearly. Write all fifteen where you can: ads built from three to five headlines tend to be rated low on ad strength, which limits how often they serve.

Ninety characters is enough for a benefit plus one action. Keep description one for the value proposition and description two for the objection or the call to action, rather than treating both as extra headline space.

Display paths do not need to match real directories on your site — their job is to signal relevance in the green URL line. If the landing page is about pricing, yourdomain.com/Pricing is a legitimate path even when no such folder exists.

Sitelinks, callouts and snippets: the short fields

These are where most character-limit mistakes happen, because the numbers are smaller than people assume.

• Sitelink text: 25 characters. Description lines are 35 characters each, and both lines should be filled if you want the detail to show. Sitelinks are not shown for every query — at least two must exist before the set appears.
• Callout: 25 characters. A phrase, not a sentence, and not clickable. “Free setup in 24 hours” fits; “We will set your account up for free within 24 hours” does not.
• Structured snippet values: 25 characters. You pick a header from Google’s predefined list and supply at least three values; values of twelve characters or fewer read better on mobile.
• Promotion text: 20 characters, with the rest of the offer carried by the structured fields rather than by the label.

Display, Performance Max and Demand Gen

The wider formats give you more room, but they also add fields that do not exist on Search.

Image and logo specifications

Assets have size limits as well as text limits, and mismatched ratios are a common cause of rejected uploads.

• Square (1:1): 1200 × 1200 px recommended, 300 × 300 px minimum. Required for image assets.
• Landscape (1.91:1): 1200 × 628 px recommended, 600 × 314 px minimum.
• File: PNG or JPG, 5,120 KB maximum. No text, logos or graphic overlays baked into the image.
• Logo: 1:1, 1200 × 1200 px recommended, 128 × 128 px minimum; keep the mark centred because logos often render as circles.

Why a headline that fits still gets cut off

Fitting the limit is a validation rule. Displaying in full is a separate question that depends on device, placement and letter widths. Mobile typically shows two headlines instead of three and one description instead of two, so the first headline and first description carry the message on their own.

Three habits prevent the surprise:

• Put the strongest claim in headline one and description one, and assume nothing after them is read.
• Preview on mobile before publishing, not after.
• Never start a headline with your brand name — the display URL already shows it, and you have just spent a third of your space repeating yourself.

Counting mistakes that cost budget

• Forgetting spaces and punctuation. They count. A 30-character headline with three commas has 27 characters of message.
• Ignoring dynamic keyword insertion. The fallback text is what gets measured against the limit, so a 28-character fallback leaves you two characters of room.
• Repeating the same phrase across assets. Five near-identical headlines are treated as one, so the testing you paid for does not happen.
• Treating double-width scripts as single characters. Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters count as two, which halves the usable room.
• Writing to the limit as a target. A headline that exactly fills 30 characters frequently truncates mid-phrase on a narrow screen.

Frequently asked questions

What is the character limit for Google Ads headlines?

30 characters per headline, with up to 15 headlines in a responsive search ad and a minimum of three. Performance Max headlines are also 30 characters, with up to five.

How many characters are Google Ads descriptions?

90 characters each, with a maximum of four in a responsive search ad and a minimum of two. Performance Max allows up to five descriptions at 90 characters, plus one short description of 60.

Do ad extensions count toward the limit?

No — sitelinks, callouts and structured snippets are separate assets with their own limits, and they do not consume headline or description space. They still have caps: 25 characters for sitelink text and callouts, 35 for sitelink description lines.

Why will Google Ads not let me save my ad?

Because a field exceeded its limit, and Google validates at entry rather than truncating. Check for a stray space at the end, a double-width character in a CJK headline, or a description that drifted past 90 characters.

Do characters count differently in other languages?

Yes. Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters count as two characters each, and sitelink text drops from 25 to 12 characters in double-width languages.

Related guides

• Google ads agency account — the account layer that lets search campaigns scale past a starter cap.
• Free Google Ads agency account — how the no-VAT, no-setup-fee model works.
• Agency ad account cost breakdown — separating real costs from markup.
• Collecting GCLID in GA4 via GTM — what to do once the ad is live and you need attribution.