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:
