Your site name and favicon in Google results: getting them right

Short answer: Google picks your site name automatically, but it gives most weight to WebSite structured data on your home page, so add a name (and an alternateName as a fallback) there and use the same name in your title, headings and og:site_name. For the favicon, link a square icon (Google recommends larger than 48×48px) from your home page with <link rel="icon"> and make sure neither the home page nor the icon file is blocked from crawling. Then allow days to weeks for Google to recrawl.

The site name and favicon sit at the top of every search result from your site. When they show "example.co.uk" instead of your business name, or a grey globe instead of your logo, it costs you recognition on every single result. Both are fixable, and both are decided almost entirely by your home page.

Site name: symptom, cause, fix

Symptom: Google shows your domain instead of your name

Likely cause: Google isn't confident in the name, or found none. Its documentation says that when it is less confident, it may generate a name from other sources or show the domain or subdomain.

Fix: Add WebSite structured data to the home page with your preferred name:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "WebSite",
  "name": "Harbour Bakery",
  "alternateName": ["Harbour Bakery Cork", "harbourbakery.ie"],
  "url": "https://harbourbakery.ie/"
}

(Hypothetical business.) Google's guidance asks for a concise, commonly recognized name, so "Harbour Bakery" rather than "Harbour Bakery Ltd".

Symptom: Google shows an old or different name

Likely cause: Your home page sends mixed signals. Google says it also considers og:site_name, the <title>, headings and other text on the home page.

Fix: Make every one of those use the same name. Check the theme's header, the SEO plugin's site name setting and the social preview settings, which often still hold the name from launch day.

Symptom: Your preferred name never gets picked

Likely causes:

It's generic. Google gives "Best Dentists In Iowa" as an example of a name unlikely to be selected unless it's an extremely well-known brand.
Another site already uses it. Google says its system generally won't give the same name to two global sites.
People know you by an acronym.

Fix: Provide alternateName values so Google has other acceptable options. As a last resort, Google's troubleshooting section says you can give your domain name in lowercase as the preferred name, which its system will generally select.

Symptom: A section of your site shows the main site's name

Likely cause: You're trying to set a name for a subdirectory such as example.com/shop. Google supports one site name per domain or subdomain; subdirectories can't have their own. A subdomain without its own WebSite markup may fall back to the domain-level name.

Fix: Accept one name for the domain, or use a subdomain (shop.example.com) with its own home-page markup if the section really is a separate site.

Symptom: It works on some URLs but not others

Likely causes: Duplicate home pages (http and https, www and non-www) with different markup, or a broken redirect. Google says to use the same structured data on all home page duplicates, keep the site name properties in one WebSite node rather than adding a second block, and make sure Googlebot can reach the redirect target.

Fix: Redirect all variants to one canonical home page and keep identical markup. Inner pages also need time to be recrawled before they show the new name.

How to test

The Rich Results Test doesn't support site names, according to Google. Use a schema validator for syntax, then the URL Inspection tool to check that Google can access the home page, that nothing blocks it (robots.txt, noindex, a login), and request a recrawl.

Favicon: symptom, cause, fix

Symptom: No favicon, or a generic globe

Likely causes (from Google's favicon guidelines):

No <link rel="icon"> (or shortcut icon, apple-touch-icon) in the home page's head.
Googlebot can't crawl the home page, or Googlebot-Image can't crawl the icon file, often because of robots.txt rules on an assets folder.
The icon isn't square. Google requires a 1:1 ratio and at least 8×8px, and recommends larger than 48×48px.
The format isn't supported. Google lists BMP, GIF, ICO, PNG, JPEG, PPM and TIFF; an SVG-only setup isn't on that list, so add a PNG or ICO alongside it.

Fix: Add a line like <link rel="icon" href="/favicon-96.png"> to the home page, check both URLs aren't blocked, and request indexing of the home page.

Symptom: The old logo is still showing

Likely cause: Google hasn't recrawled, or the icon URL keeps changing. Google asks for a stable favicon URL and says crawling can take several days to several weeks.

Fix: Keep a fixed URL for the icon, replace the file behind it, and request indexing of the home page.

Symptom: A subfolder site shows the main site's icon

Likely cause: Google supports one favicon per hostname. example.com/blog shares example.com's icon; blog.example.com can have its own.

Symptom: The favicon was replaced with a default icon

Likely cause: Google won't show icons it deems inappropriate and swaps in a default. Also check the icon is visually representative of your brand, which Google asks for.

Checklist

WebSite structured data on the home page, with name, url and optional alternateName.
Same name in <title>, main heading and og:site_name.
One canonical home page, consistent across http/https and www.
Square favicon, larger than 48×48px, in a supported format, at a stable URL.
Home page and icon crawlable; nothing blocked in robots.txt.
Recrawl requested, then patience.

FAQ

Does a favicon always appear if I follow the rules?

No. Google says a favicon isn't guaranteed even when all guidelines are met.

Do I need the markup on every page?

No. Google says the WebSite structured data only needs to be on the home page.

Can I show a different site name in each country?

Only per domain or subdomain. A ccTLD or subdomain can carry its own name; a subfolder can't.

How long until changes appear?

Google mentions anything from a few days to several weeks for recrawling.

Google still showing a name or icon you retired years ago? Send us the domain and we'll find which signal still points at it.