Google’s John Mueller responded to a LinkedIn post about the visual impact of favicons in search results, sharing a tip that isn’t officially documented but could improve their visibility.
Favicons
Favicons are small icons that represent a website’s brand that are displayed in browser tabs, bookmarks, browser history and in search engine results pages (SERPs). They improve brand recognition, draws attention to itself and makes it easier to identify a brand when it’s in the search results.
Discussion On LinkedIn
A post in LinkedIn by Mark Williams-Cook (LinkedIn profile) highlighted the value of a good favicon in the search results, speculating that they might make a difference in search results interactions.
A discussion followed in which others observed the value of a favicon that draws attention to itself in the search results and that an eye-catching favicon is useful for SearchGPT.
The following screenshot shows how some favicons blend into the search results while two of them stand out, especially the one with the bold color scheme.
Screenshot Of Favicons In The SERPs
A distinctive favicon won’t help a site rank better but as can be seen above it can help the page stand out in the search results.
A Good Tip For Favicons
John Mueller’s observation about favicons mentions something really obvious but is also not mentioned in any of the official documentation about favicons. Mueller simply said that it’s not a bad idea if the favicon looks attractive when cropped into a circle.
This is what Mueller said:
“Round-croppable favicons, for those who like technical SEO.”
Designing a favicon that looks attractive when cropped into a circle something that is obvious in retrospect but easily overlooked. Considering a favicon by how well it appears cropped in a circle suggests the usefulness of testing a favicon to see what it looks like when cropped into a circle or even designing a favicon that is already in a circle so that it fills the entire available space when it’s displayed in the search results (or anywhere else).
None of Google’s documentation on favicons mentions that they are cropped into a circle nor does Google advise that it might be a good idea to design them in a round configuration.
This tip is a small and seemingly obvious one but it can make a big difference.
Read the LinkedIn discussion here:
I imagine custom favicons make an actual difference with SERP interaction…
Read Google’s Favicon documentation
Define a favicon to show in search results
Landing page guidelines – Favicons
Visual Elements gallery of Google Search – Attribution
Featured Image by Shutterstock/Cast Of Thousands