Google Search Central has updated its favicon documentation to recommend using higher-resolution images, exceeding the previous minimum standard. It is important to be aware of these changes, as they may affect how your site appears in search results.
Favicon
A favicon is a custom icon shown in browser tabs, bookmarks, favorites and occasionally in search results. The term “favicon” is short for Favorites Icon.
An attractive favicon can help users easily find links to your site from their bookmarks, folders, and tabs, potentially increasing clicks from search results. Therefore, it’s important to ensure your favicon adheres to Google’s requirements to maximize popularity, user interactions, and visits from search engine results pages (SERPs).
What Changed?
Google’s updated documentation clarifies that a favicon must be in a square aspect ratio. Another significant change is the strong recommendation for publishers to use a favicon that is at least 48×48 pixels in size. Eight by eight pixels is still the minimum size, but opting for a larger favicon could improve its presentation in search results.
This is the part of the documentation that changed:
Previous version:
“Your favicon must be a multiple of 48px square, for example: 48x48px, 96x96px, 144x144px, and so on (or SVG with a 1:1 (square) aspect ratio).”
New version:
“Your favicon must be a square (1:1 aspect ratio) that’s at least 8x8px. While the minimum size requirement is 8x8px, we recommend using a favicon that’s larger than 48x48px to ensure it looks good on various surfaces.”
Comparison Of Favicon Sizes
Reason For Documentation Changes
Google’s changelog indicates that the documentation was updated to clarify the requirements. This exemplifies Google’s efforts to improve its documentation. All publishers, including ecommerce merchants, should undertake a content review at least once a year to identify opportunities for clearer communication. This can be beneficial, as changes or customer feedback may highlight gaps in necessary information.
This is Google’s official explanation for the change:
“Updated the favicon guidelines to state that favicons must have a 1:1 aspect ratio and be at least 8x8px in size, with a strong recommendation for using a higher resolution favicon of at least 48x48px.
What: Updated the favicon guidelines to state that favicons must have a 1:1 aspect ratio and be at least 8x8px in size, with a strong recommendation for using a higher resolution favicon of at least 48x48px.
Why: To reflect the actual requirements for favicons.”
Read the newly updated favicon guidelines at:
Guidelines
Featured Image by Shutterstock/Elnur
