max-snippet and preview directives explained
max-snippet, max-image-preview, and max-video-preview are Google robots directives that cap how much of your content appears in result-page previews. This page explains the values each accepts, where to set them, and how they differ from blocking indexing.
The three directives
Google supports three preview-limiting robots directives. max-snippet:[number] caps the number of characters Google may show as a text snippet; a value of 0 means no snippet, and -1 means no limit. max-image-preview:[setting] accepts none, standard, or large to bound image-preview size. max-video-preview:[number] caps video-preview seconds, with 0 meaning a static image only and -1 meaning no limit.
These are indexing directives, not crawl directives: the page is still crawled and indexed, but the preview shown is constrained.
- max-snippet:[number] — characters; 0 = none, -1 = unlimited
- max-image-preview:[none|standard|large]
- max-video-preview:[number] — seconds; 0 = static, -1 = unlimited
Where to set them
Set these in a meta robots tag for an HTML page:
<meta name="robots" content="max-snippet:160, max-image-preview:large">
Or in the X-Robots-Tag HTTP header, which also works for non-HTML files:
X-Robots-Tag: max-snippet:160, max-image-preview:large
You can target a specific crawler by replacing robots with the crawler's token (for example googlebot). Because these are Google directives, do not assume other search engines interpret them identically — check each engine's documentation.
How it appears in analytics and logs
These directives do not appear in server logs; they are instructions Google reads from your meta robots tag or X-Robots-Tag header. Their effect shows up as shorter or larger previews in search results, not as changed crawl behavior.
Diagnostic use case
Limit how much text, image, or video preview Google shows for your pages — for example capping snippet length on paywalled or sensitive content — without removing the page from the index.
What WebmasterID can help detect
WebmasterID focuses on crawl and bot activity rather than rendering these directives, but understanding them helps you separate indexing-policy questions from the crawler-traffic questions WebmasterID answers.
Common mistakes
- Expecting max-snippet to remove a page from the index — it only limits the preview.
- Assuming non-Google engines honour these directives identically.
- Setting conflicting values in both the meta tag and the X-Robots-Tag header.
Privacy and accuracy notes
Preview directives are publishing-policy instructions about your own content. They involve no visitor data and are not access control.
Related pages
- The nosnippet robots directive explained
nosnippet is a Google robots directive that tells Google not to show any text snippet or video preview for a page in search results. This page explains where to set it, what it affects, and how it relates to the finer-grained max-snippet and data-nosnippet controls.
- The max-image-preview robots directive explained
max-image-preview is a Google robots directive that bounds how large an image preview may appear for your pages in search results. This page explains its three values, where to set it, and why it matters for visual content and Discover-style surfaces.
- Meta robots directives reference
The robots meta tag and X-Robots-Tag header share a vocabulary of indexing directives. This page is a reference for the common ones — noindex, nofollow, noarchive, nosnippet, and the max-snippet family — explaining what each does and how to combine them.
- WebmasterID docs
How WebmasterID records crawler activity separate from indexing policy.
Sources and verification notes
- Google — Robots meta tag and X-Robots-Tag directivesDocuments max-snippet, max-image-preview, and max-video-preview.
Last reviewed 2026-06-24. Facts are checked against primary/official sources where available; uncertain specifics are marked “Data not yet verified” rather than guessed.