Digital marketing is full of character limits. While some may call these limitations, it’s one of a marketer’s primary jobs to make sure the message matches the medium.
Whether you’re working on social media marketing, digital advertising campaigns, or search engine optimization, every platform and medium you’re working with has character limits of which you must be aware. Seasoned professionals and newbies alike must keep up-to-date with the ever-evolving digital marketing landscape, including character limits.
Social media marketing character limits
The length of social media posts varies widely across platforms. While keeping it short and sweet works for one platform, others demand longer explanations.
And remember, just because you can write a long post doesn’t mean you should, but that’s a post for another day. The tried and true of knowing who your target audience is and the messages that resonate with them never goes out of style.
| Social Media Marketing Character Limits | ||
|---|---|---|
| Status Update | 63,206 | |
| Caption | 2,200 | |
| Hashtags | 30 | |
| Company Page Update | 700 | |
| Personal Profile Status Update | 3,000 | |
| Publisher Post Headline | 100 | |
| Publisher Post Body Text | 110,000 | |
| Tweet | 280 | |
| YouTube | Video Title | 100 |
| YouTube | Video Description | 5,000 |
| Caption | 2,200 | |
| Hashtags | 30 |
Sample LinkedIn post with accurate character counts:
Digital advertising character limits
When continuously optimized, digital advertising can be a cost-effective way to drive relevant traffic to your website and generate leads.
| Digital Advertising Character Limits | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Facebook Ads - Carousel | Headline | 40 | |
| Facebook Ads - Carousel | Text | 125 | |
| Facebook Ads - Carousel | Link Description | 25 | |
| Facebook Ads - Instant Experience (formerly known as Canvas) | Headline | 40 | |
| Facebook Ads - Instant Experience (formerly known as Canvas) | Text | 125 | |
| Facebook Ads - Instant Experience (formerly known as Canvas) | Image Description | 30 | |
| Facebook Ads - Newsfeed | Headline | 40 | |
| Facebook Ads - Newsfeed | Text | 125 | |
| Facebook Ads - Newsfeed | Link Description | 30 | |
| Instagram Ads - Carousel | Text | 125 | |
| Instagram Ads - Carousel | Hashtags | 30 | 30 hashtags |
| Google Ads - Expanded Text Ad | Text Headline | 30 | 3 headlines per ad |
| Google Ads - Expanded Text Ad | Text Description | 90 | 2 descriptions per ad |
| Google Ads - Expanded Text Ad | URL Path | 15 | 2 paths per ad |
| Google Ads - Responsive Text Ad | Text Headline | 30 | Two 15 character path fields |
| Google Ads - Responsive Text Ad | Text Description | 90 | 4 descriptions per ad |
| Google Ads - Responsive Text Ad | Display URL Path | 15 | 2 paths per ad |
| LinkedIn Ads - Single Image | Headline | 200 | Copy truncates after 70 |
| LinkedIn Ads - Single Image | Description | 300 | Copy truncates after 100 |
| LinkedIn Ads - Carousel Image | Introductory Text | 255 | Copy truncates after 150 |
| LinkedIn Ads - Carousel Image | Headline Text (ads linking to a URL) | 45 | |
| LinkedIn Ads - Carousel Image | Headline Text (ads linking to Lead Gen form) | 30 | |
| LinkedIn Ads - Video | Introductory Text | 600 | |
| LinkedIn Ads - Video | Headline | 200 | |
| LinkedIn Ads - Text | Headline | 25 | |
| LinkedIn Ads - Text | Description | 75 | |
| Microsoft Search Advertising (formerly known as Bing Ads) | Title | 30 | 3 headlines per ad |
| Microsoft Search Advertising (formerly known as Bing Ads) | Ad Text | 90 | 2 descriptions per ad |
| Microsoft Search Advertising (formerly known as Bing Ads) | URL Path | 15 | 2 paths per ad |
| Microsoft Search Advertising (formerly known as Bing Ads) - Responsive Ad | Title | 30 | Two 15 character path fields |
| Microsoft Search Advertising (formerly known as Bing Ads) - Responsive Ad | Ad Text | 90 | 4 descriptions per ad |
| Microsoft Search Advertising (formerly known as Bing Ads) - Responsive Ad | URL Path | 67 |
Sample LinkedIn Ad with accurate character counts:
SEO character limits
Optimizing your title tags and meta descriptions is another way to improve your website’s SEO footprint while also helping users understand what your company is about.
| SEO Character Limits | |
|---|---|
| Title Tag | 50-60 (600 pixels) |
| Meta Description | 160 or less |
Example of Search Engine Results Page (SERP) with visible title tag and meta description:
Need help with your digital marketing presence?
Getting to know character limits is just the tip of the iceberg. You must also understand image sizes, video production, and so much more.
If your organization needs help to develop a comprehensive digital marketing strategy, partner with a health tech marketing agency that understands how to connect with your target audience.
Note: This post was originally published in 2020 and has been updated to reflect new character counts.
