Site name and favicon in Google: what you control and what you don't

The site name in Google and the icon next to it are not chosen by your CMS: the search engine generates them automatically. You can state your preference with WebSite structured data and meet the technical requirements; what you cannot do is request the change through a form.

What attribution is: the site name in Google and the page icon

Attribution is, according to the visual elements gallery, "the source of a search result" and it "can include various aspects of the source, such as the site name, page icon, and a URL to the web page". The domain and the breadcrumb already have their own article: breadcrumbs and SEO-friendly URLs. Here we cover the other two pieces: the site name and the page icon ("the small icon associated with the site").

A site name is not a title link

"The site name is different from title links... title links are specific to each web page, while the site name is for the whole site". One title per URL, as we saw in SEO titles, and a single name for the whole site, which "can appear for domain-level and subdomain-level sites".

How the site name is generated (and why you cannot change it by hand)

The point that dismantles most tutorials: "Google's generation of site names on the Google Search results page is completely automated" and it takes into account "the content of a site's home page" and "references to that home page that appear on the web".

The system reads several sources (og:site_name, title, headings and other home page text), but "WebSite structured data is most important if you want to specify a preference". And it settles the question: "we cannot manually change automatically selected site names".

The guidelines ask for a name that is "unique and accurately reflects the identity of your site", "concise and commonly known" and used consistently on the home page, complying with the Search content policies. And they warn: "it's unlikely that our system will select a generic name like 'Best Dentists in Madrid' to be the site name".

WebSite structured data: name, url and alternateName

The block belongs on the home page only: "the WebSite structured data must be on the home page of the site". The required properties are name ("the name of the website") and url ("the canonical home page of your domain or subdomain").

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "WebSite",
  "name": "Example Company",
  "alternateName": "EC",
  "url": "https://example.com/"
}

alternateName is optional: "you can include more than one alternate name. List them in order of preference. The most important one is first". If it is still not selected, the documentation suggests the domain in "lowercase (for example, example.com, not Example.com)".

Do not duplicate the WebSite block

If your template already outputs a WebSite node, "make sure to nest the site name properties into the same node". Many CMSs carry a node with SearchAction for the sitelinks search box, retired on November 21, 2024, and there is no need to delete it: "unsupported structured data, like this, doesn't cause problems in Search". Starting from zero? See structured data and rich snippets and schema.

The technical rules that decide whether it works

One name per site. "Google Search only supports one site name per site, where site is defined by the domain or subdomain... Google Search doesn't support site names at the subdirectory level." Supported: https://example.com, not https://example.com/news.
Crawlable home page. "If we can't access the content of your home page because it's blocked, we may not be able to generate a site name." With robots.txt, noindex or a login, it breaks.
Duplicates need the same data. "If you have duplicate home pages... make sure to use the same structured data on all duplicates, not just the canonical page." See www and HTTPS.
Redirects. "If your page redirects to a page that is visible to Googlebot, the site name will reflect the redirect target." See 301 redirects.

One name per domain: the bilingual site case

A site with /es/ and /en/ versions has a single site name, because subdirectory-level names are not supported. The documentation only addresses language availability: they exist "in all languages where Google Search is available", and adds that if a subdomain has no structured data, the domain-level "site name may be used as a fallback". There is no documented way to declare a name per path: see subdomains or subdirectories.

The favicon: current requirements

It is declared in the home page head: <link rel="icon" href="/path/to/favicon.ico">. The accepted rel values are icon, shortcut icon ("for historical reasons") and apple-touch-icon; the href can be relative or absolute, although "the URL doesn't need to be hosted on your site".

"Google doesn't guarantee that favicons will show in search results, even if you follow all the guidelines."
There is only "one favicon per site, where site is defined by the hostname": www.example.com and code.example.com can each have one; example.com/sub-site cannot.
"Googlebot-Image must be able to crawl the favicon file, and Googlebot must be able to crawl the home page." See Google Images.

Format and size: mind the SVG

"Your favicon must be a square (1:1 aspect ratio) and at least 8x8 pixels... we recommend using a favicon that's 48x48 pixels or larger". The supported formats are seven: "BMP, GIF, ICO, PNG, JPEG, PPM and TIFF". SVG is not on that list: it is valid HTML and browsers accept it, but Google does not document it among the supported favicon formats, so also declare an ICO or square PNG.

Why Google shows a different name (or no icon)

"Usually, our system will try to use the preferred site name that's specified in the WebSite structured data. However, if the system isn't as confident about the name you provided, it will sometimes generate site names using other sources, or show a domain or subdomain name."

Official troubleshooting checklist:

The name on the home page is the one you prefer.
No structured data errors: use the Schema Markup Validator.
"Check that other sources on your home page also use the name you prefer for your site".
"Confirm that you're not trying to set a site name for a subdirectory."
That redirects work and Googlebot can follow them; then request a recrawl.
Time: "crawling can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks"; internal pages take longer.

The least obvious causes: a generic name, a name already used by another global site, setting it per subdirectory, a blocked home page or malformed JSON-LD.

How to check it and how long it takes

The documentation asks you to "validate the tags with a schema testing tool" and adds that "site names aren't supported in the Rich Results Test": use the Schema Markup Validator, not the Rich Results Test.

For crawl status there is the URL Inspection tool: "make sure that Google can access your home page and that it's not blocked by a robots.txt file, a noindex directive, or login requirements". If the page looks right, "you can ask Google to recrawl your URL". Context: how to use Google Search Console.

Honest timelines: "a few days to a few weeks", and for the icon, "wait for a while for Google to recrawl and reprocess the new information on your home page". There is no button and no instant change. If nothing works: alternateName, the lowercase domain and the help community.

Checklist: site name and favicon in 10 steps

Pick a unique, concise and non-generic name; use it consistently across the home page.
Add WebSite to the home page with name and url (the canonical one).
Add alternateName in order: acronym, short name, lowercase domain.
Do not create another WebSite block: nest the properties in the existing one.
Confirm the home page is crawlable and that redirects work.
Replicate the same data on duplicate home pages (http and https, with and without www).
Declare the favicon with <link rel="icon">: square 1:1, 48x48 px or larger, format from the official list.
Check that Googlebot-Image can crawl the icon and Googlebot the home page; keep the icon URL stable.
Assume you cannot set it per subdirectory or per language: one name per hostname.
Validate with the Schema Markup Validator, review with the URL Inspection tool and allow days or weeks.

The site name and the icon are not rankings or traffic: they are how Google identifies you. You control the concrete part, stating the preference and meeting the requirements; the rest is up to the system, so get it right once and revisit it when you change brand, domain or template.