Google Site names now support subdomains on mobile devices

Google now supports Site names for subdomains on mobile devices, the search company just announced. Google wrote, “Site names are now supported for subdomains on mobile devices.”

Google updated its help documentation to specify subdomains on mobile.

Site names. Site names is the title and name of the site Google shows in the search results listings. “When Google lists a page in search results, it shows the name of the site the page comes from,” Google explained.

What it looks like. Here is where the site name shows in the search result snippet:

Site names timeline. Here is the timeline Google posted of the evolution of site names since it launched in October:

• October 2022: Site names for the domain level were introduced for mobile search results for English, French, German and Japanese.
• April 2023 (I have this as March): Site names were added for desktop for the same set of languages.
• May 2023: Site names are now supported on the subdomain level for the same set of languages and on mobile search results only.

Need support. Having issues with your site name? Google posted a support thread in the Google support forums over here, including more FAQs.

We recently saw some issues with site names, some of which Google resolved.

Controlling site names. Google back in October explained that Google Search uses a number of ways to identify the site name for the search result. But if you want, you can use structured data on your home page to communicate to Google what the site name should be for your site. Google has specific documentation on this new Site name structured data available over here.

Upgrading the favicon. Google also recommended revisiting the documentation for favicons for the latest best practices. Google is now also suggesting you provide an icon that’s at least 48 pixels and follows the existing favicon guidelines.

Ads. This is also rolled out to the Google search ads on desktop, so the size of the site name, favicons, and also the ad label will be more prominent in mobile search. In fact, Google rolled out the “Sponsored” label in mobile search last October and today on desktop, officially replacing the “Ads” label from January 2020.

Why we care. Now the site names will potentially show a different name for subdomains on mobile devices. So make sure to test to see how Google shows your site name for your subdomains on mobile, for multiple queries.