Are favicons important?

Are favicons important

Are favicons important? Google associates them with “Technical SEO”.

This blog isn’t going to cover much that you’ve already read about favicons. I’ve asked “are favicons important?” because it would appear that Google is cementing the view that they are, and even associating them with “Technical SEO“.

Google changed the favicon in SERPs

Google SERPs (Search Engine Ranking Pages) made a change in the way results are displayed some time ago. You might recall the days of them being square, whereas now they show as circle.

A favicon reminder to begin with

To remove any doubt, this is the favicon used on my website, and you see it in your browser tab next to the Title of the website or page you’re viewing:

SEO Consultant Newcastle
The favicon from this website

Typically, you’ll see it like this:

Favicon in desktop browser tab
Favicon in desktop browser tab

But you might also see it like this if you’d bookmarked it in a browser toolbar:

Favicon in browser toolbar
Favicon in browser toolbar

To date, most companies have used favicons as branding opportunities for precisely the two reasons shown above. However, they would also appear as a very small graphic next to Google Search results on SERPs.

It is in SERPs that the favicon has taken on a new lease of life.

Are favicons important?

Favicons are now much larger and circular

The chances are that you noticed the change when it happened, or you’ve noticed something has changed but haven’t quite figured out what it is.

Google increased the size of the favicon in search results, and it became circular in appearance. Here is what a desktop search result showing my site now looks like:

Shopify SEO Expert UK

It is difficult to get across how much more visible the favicon is in search now, if used correctly. However, you might also notice that, in my website’s case, the inner section of my favicon is deliberately circular.

I did this specifically to take advantage of the circular shape used by Google Search. I could have made the centre circle even larger, filling the black outer ring that I have used, but I didn’t want to do that as the coloured dot is part of my brand on black, and I wanted to retain it.

How do other brands appear in SERPs?

Here is what a larger selection of what different desktop search results look like, because I think this is where things get interesting:

Northumberland search results in Google
Northumberland Cottages search results in Google

Notice the difference in visibility?

Notice how the topmost listing, Simply Sea Views, has a square favicon? Contrast that to the additional clarity and visibility obtained by the favicons of the National Trust and Beacon Hill Farm.

The second listing is showing the default graphic that displays when Google can’t locate or display a website favicon. This might be my eye, but I think the default favicon gets greater visibility than the favicon above it? This is entirely down to the graphic used by the Simply Sea Views site and it not being circular and occupying the full space available to it.

What we’re talking about here isn’t the mechanics of ranking order, in respects of the position a listing appears in, but the fact that your brain draws the eye more to images than it does text.

Indeed, according to the International Forum of Visual Practitioners, the brain reacts 60,000 faster to images than it does text.

Given the above, you can see (pun intended) why the favicon is important. The visibility opportunity it gives you to draw the readers eye to your listing is an excellent one (granted it needs to be on-screen to begin with).

Now look at this set of results:

Enlarged favicon in Google search

To my eye, the Coquet Cottages favicon stands out. The second favicon (Independent Cottages) is somewhat lost, but not entirely without merit, whereas the lower favicon (Cottages.com) appears to be a completely black circle – when it is in fact a black circle with a logo in it.

How could you exploit the change?

I think there are several key points to take from Google’s change and what you could do to take advantage of it:

  1. 1. Circular favicons could be created for any brand
  2. 2. The circular shaped favicons are far more attractive to the eye
  3. 3. Clarity of icon is essential

Favicons in mobile SERPs

Mobile search results make the choice of favicon stand out even more. Here are a selection of cottage search results from my Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max (running Google Chrome as the default browser):

Mobile search results with favicons

I am immediately taken by how poor the top favicon now appears. It is an older style square and smaller sized favicon. It isn’t making use of the additional and circular space available to it, and you can see how lost it appears compared to the others on the page.

My own favicon in Chrome on an iPhone 14

This is how my SERPs listing appears in another search, but again this is on my Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max in Google Chrome for comparison to desktop searches:

The favicon is important for search visibility

It is no coincidence that three companies in the SEO sector are all using circular favicons, but it was this visibility in respect of the use of a small black outer ring that solidified my decision to retain it and not opt for a transparent background.

I could make the black background transparent, it’s just not a branding compromise I particularly want to take.

Furthermore, I experimented with the impact of the graphic some time ago (long before the favicon change in SERPs), and I felt that the black offered a contrast that drew the circle more to the eye.

You might disagree, please let me know if you do as I’m always open to feedback and other opinions.

Are favicons good for SEO

Is there a compromise with favicons?

There is a trade-off in respect of how the favicon appears in the browser bar (as a square) and in the browser tab.

Is it really a compromise? There will be brand marketing experts reading this and arguing that you shouldn’t be changing the brand structure under any circumstances.

I would counter by saying brand guidelines could easily account for favicon use when the visibility opportunity is this significant.

That said, I’d accept the difference in how the favicon appears between the browser tab, toolbar/bookmarks and the results pages might cause them to have one or two sleepless nights.

Ultimately, when we’re talking about new visitors to your site and the chance to grab their attention in search results, this is fantastic visibility opportunity.

Google’s John Mueller mentioned it

I have mentioned Google’s Search Advocate, John Mueller, recently. This was in reference to “How long should a blog be?“.

He has mentioned the favicon change and the appearance in SERPs just a few days ago, associating it with “technical SEO” (which it very clearly isn’t from a ranking perspective, but he’s eluding to the finer points of how you can prey on greater visibility and a higher chance of click-thru to your site).

He recommended the use of:

Round croppable favicons, for those who like technical SEO.

Finally, Google gives some very clear guidelines on favicon use, sizes, and their implementation including attributes. Interestingly, they also say this:

“To help people quickly identify your site when they scan through search results, make sure your favicon is visually representative of your website’s brand.”

Let me know your thoughts and any comment you have on this subtle, if not quite-so-subtle, change from Google.

Chris Shaw, leading independent SEO consultant in UK


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