Google Ads character & account limits (2026)
Google Ads headlines are limited to 30 characters and descriptions to 90. Sitelink text, callouts, structured snippet values and the business name are 25 characters each, and each display path is 15.
Yehor Dementiev · Updated September 19, 2026
Google Ads character limits: a responsive search ad headline is 30 characters (3 to 15 per ad), a description is 90 characters (2 to 4 per ad), and each of the two display paths is 15. Sitelink text, callouts, structured snippet values and the business name are 25 characters each, and sitelink description lines are 35. On the account side, you get 10,000 campaigns per account and up to 85,000 accounts under one manager account.
Last verified: September 19, 2026 against Google Ads Help and the Google Ads API reference.
All Google Ads character limits in one table
Spaces and punctuation count toward every limit below.
| Asset | Field | Max characters | How many (min–max / shown) | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Responsive search ad | Headline | 30 | 3–15 per ad; 1–3 shown | RSA limits |
| Responsive search ad | Description | 90 | 2–4 per ad; 1–2 shown | RSA limits |
| Responsive search ad | Display path | 15 each | 2 paths; Path 2 needs Path 1 | Other assets |
| Sitelink | Link text | 25 (12 double-width) | up to 20 added per level; min 2 to show, up to 6 desktop / 8 mobile | Sitelink limits |
| Sitelink | Description lines 1 and 2 | 35 each | both or neither | Sitelink limits |
| Callout | Text | 25 (12 double-width) | up to 10 shown | Callouts & snippets |
| Structured snippet | Value | 25 | 3–10 values per header; 13 headers | Callouts & snippets |
| Business name | Name | 25 | — | Other assets |
| Price asset | Header / description | 25 / 25 | 3–8 items | Other assets |
| Performance Max | Headline | 30 | 3–15 (at least one of 15 or fewer characters) | Other assets |
| Performance Max | Long headline | 90 | 1–5 | Other assets |
| Performance Max | Description | 90 | 2–5 | Other assets |
| Demand Gen | Headline | 40 | at least 1, up to 30 | Other assets |
| Custom parameter | Name / value | 16 / 250 | up to 8 per level (not at account level) | ValueTrack parameters |
Source: Google Ads Help spec hubs for Search ads, Performance Max and Demand Gen, plus the per-asset help pages linked on each detail page.
One trap in the PMax row: Google's PMax setup guide mentions a description of 60 characters or fewer, but the spec table and the API enforce 90. The other assets page has the details.
How Google counts characters
- Double-width characters count as 2. Google states that each character in a double-width language such as Chinese, Japanese or Korean counts as 2. A 30-character headline therefore holds 15 of them, and sitelink text and callouts drop to 12.
- Spaces and punctuation count as 1. The ad editor's live counter counts every space, hyphen, slash and comma.
Same-Day Emergency Plumber NYCis exactly 30. Google's help pages don't state this rule in words; the editor's counter is the evidence, and it is what blocks the save. - Dynamic text falls back to default text. If an inserted keyword is too long, keyword insertion shows your default text instead. Ad customizers use their default value when the inserted text would exceed the limit. A countdown customizer inserts up to 8 characters. The RSA page covers the syntax.
Paste your copy into the free Google Ads character counter to see every field against its limit before you upload.
Tracking URLs follow their own rules. The ValueTrack parameters reference lists every parameter and where it works. Note that Google Ads has no {searchterm} parameter: {keyword} returns the keyword in your account, not what the user typed.
Account and manager account limits
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Campaigns per account (active + paused) | 10,000 |
| Ad groups per campaign | 20,000 (Local and App campaigns: 100) |
| Targeting items per ad group / per account | 20,000 / 5 million |
| Negative keywords per campaign | 10,000 |
| Negative keyword lists per account × keywords per list | 20 × 5,000 |
| Non-manager accounts per manager account (active, inactive, canceled) | 85,000 |
| Active accounts by highest monthly spend: under $10k / $10k to under $500k / $500k+ | 50 / 2,500 / not published |
| Direct managers per client account | 5 (only 1 per hierarchy) |
| Hierarchy depth | 6 levels |
Source: Google Ads Help — Limits for your Google Ads account, About manager account limits and About linking accounts.
Paused items count, so pausing old campaigns frees no room. The account limits page explains what happens at the cap and includes a script to check usage. For agency hierarchies, the MCC limits page covers spend tiers, account creation caps and ownership, and the Google Ads MCC guide covers how to structure one.
Limits Google doesn't publish
These came up while verifying the pages in this guide. Third-party sites often state numbers for them, but Google's own docs do not:
- The "spaces count" rule in words. The editor counts spaces; no help page says so explicitly.
- Error message text. Messages like "At least 3 headlines are required" appear in Community threads, not in Google's documentation.
- Promotion asset item and promo code lengths. The widely quoted 20 and 15 characters come from third parties only.
- Whether removed items count toward account limits. Google says "active and paused"; it says nothing explicit about removed items.
- Double-width limits for structured snippet values and for sitelink description lines.
- Maximum length of a tracking template or final URL suffix. Google sets limits for custom parameters but none for these fields.
Where a number is missing, test it in the Google Ads interface before you rely on it.
Check your ads before they go live
The character counter checks one ad at a time. With AdsCockpit Templates, you build a campaign once as a template, fill in each client's values, and AdsCockpit checks the result against these limits before it launches the campaign for every client.
Changelog
- September 19, 2026 — page published; all limits re-verified against Google Ads Help and API docs.
FAQ
Do spaces count in Google Ads character limits?
Yes. The character counter in the Google Ads ad editor counts every space and punctuation mark as one character, so Same-Day Emergency Plumber NYC uses the full 30 characters of a headline. Google's help pages don't say this in words, but the editor enforces it.
What is the character limit for Google Ads headlines?
30 characters per responsive search ad headline, with at least 3 and up to 15 headlines per ad. Performance Max headlines are also 30 characters, PMax long headlines are 90, and Demand Gen headlines are 40.
How many characters is a Google Ads description?
90 characters. A responsive search ad needs at least 2 descriptions and accepts up to 4. Performance Max and Demand Gen descriptions are also 90 characters.
Do Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters count double?
Yes. Google counts every character in a double-width language like Chinese, Japanese or Korean as 2 characters, so a 30-character headline holds 15 of them. Sitelink text and callouts are capped at 12 double-width characters.
How many accounts can a Google Ads manager account have?
Up to 85,000 non-manager accounts, counting active, inactive and canceled ones. Only 50 can be active while the hierarchy's highest monthly spend is under $10,000, and 2,500 from $10,000 up to $500,000.
In this guide
- Google Ads account limitsA Google Ads account allows 10,000 campaigns (active and paused), 20,000 ad groups per campaign, 20,000 keywords and other targeting items per ad group, 5 million per account, and 10,000 negative keywords per campaign.
- Callout & Structured Snippet LimitsCallout text is limited to 25 characters (12 in Chinese, Japanese and Korean). Structured snippets need 3 to 10 values per header, each value up to 25 characters, under one of 13 predefined headers.
- MCC limitsA manager account can link up to 85,000 non-manager accounts, but only 50 of them can be active until the hierarchy has spent $10,000 in a month. One client account can have up to 5 direct managers, and a hierarchy can be 6 levels deep.
- Business name, display path, price & promotion limitsThe Google Ads business name is capped at 25 characters, each display path at 15, price asset headers and descriptions at 25 each (3 to 8 items), and Performance Max long headlines and descriptions at 90.
- Responsive search ad character limitsGoogle Ads headlines are limited to 30 characters (3 to 15 per ad), descriptions to 90 characters (2 to 4 per ad), and each of the two display paths to 15 characters. Spaces and punctuation count.
- Sitelink character limitsSitelink text is limited to 25 characters (12 in Chinese, Japanese and Korean). Description line 1 and description line 2 are 35 characters each, and you have to fill both or neither.
- ValueTrack parameters listGoogle Ads has about 60 ValueTrack parameters, from {campaignid}, {keyword} and {matchtype} to Shopping and hotel parameters. There is no {searchterm}: {keyword} returns your keyword, not the user's query.
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