SEO and user experience best practices are constantly changing and updating. As recommendations change, website owners need to be ready to implement these changes. Google recently updated documentation around favicons, and today we’ll be diving into exactly what you need to know.
What Is a Favicon?
A favicon is a small icon that is associated with a website. You’ll notice them as the tiny images in the corner of each of your browser tabs. They are also visible in your favourites bar, your browser history, and in search results.
Your favicon should be recognizable and associated with your brand, as it helps web users identify your brand among the many tabs they have open in their browser.
Google's 2024 Favicon Best Practices
A favicon must be in a square aspect ratio and publishers should aim to use a favicon that’s at least a 48×48 pixel size. Eight by eight pixels is still the minimum acceptable size for a favicon, but publishers will probably miss out on the opportunity for a better presentation in the search results with this smaller size.
How Do You Create a Favicon?
Favicon images are often a brand’s logo, but they don’t have to be. Given how small they will be on a screen, think about making something simplistic with just a couple eye catching colours. If there’s too much going on in your favicon, users won’t be able to tell what they’re looking at.
You can use Photoshop, Canva, online Favicon generators, or hire a designer to create your favicon. Or, just create a square version of your logo if it already fits the bill.
How Do You Change a Favicon's Size?
If your current favicon file doesn’t fit the new size recommendations from Google, you can change its size using an image editor (your computer’s photo program might have an edit option) or an online tool.
Our tool recommendations for changing favicon sizes are:
- Canva
- Trimmy (to trim excess space in an image)
- Snipping Tool on your computer
- The screenshot button on your Mac (and then edit the image)
Do Favicons Impact Your Website's SEO?
Favicons don’t directly impact your website’s ranking on Google search results pages, but once your website is ranked, your favicon could impact clicks.
Web pages with a favicon are more likely to be clicked than pages without one (as they make your site look more professional), and an eye catching, simple favicon could lead to more clicks in a sea of messy ones.
A great favicon will also improve your brand’s recognition, leading to more trust from your customers.
- About the Author
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Darlene is a search marketer, analyst, speaker, trainer, and owner of DriveTraffic Digital Marketing. She has been working in the digital marketing industry since the mid 90s and has narrowed her specialty to SEO, Google Ads and Google Analytics. She is especially interested in Google’s new Search Generative Experience and how businesses will need to adapt to remain visible. Want to see how DriveTraffic can help? Let’s chat!
