I’m encountering an issue where my website’s favicon isn’t updating on Google search results despite making changes. I’ve tried clearing Google’s cache through the URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console, ensured correct implementation in my website’s HTML, and verified the favicon details (16×16 pixels, PNG format). I’ve also cleared my browser cache, yet the old favicon persists. If anyone has faced a similar problem or has suggestions on resolving this issue, I would greatly appreciate your insights!
Thank you for your assistance!
Responses may include technical details on how Google caches content and suggestions on further optimizing your implementation, such as ensuring proper HTTP headers are set or checking for any redirects affecting the favicon URL.Tool Recommendations: Community members might recommend additional tools or methods for clearing cache effectively, such as using Google’s cache removal tool or testing with different browsers to ensure consistency.
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Had similar issues getting the favicon to display in the past and once changed it also. here is a brief overview of my steps and fumbling’s to get icons on the browser. referencing my own web so you can compare.
If by favicon you mean the image I have highlighted in below.
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Dev tools seems to indicate that the favicon.png is being used as per defined in the header tag. It is reachable and returns a 200.
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Correct metatag to tag of pages i.e.
- 16 x 16 px seems to small to me. I also have multiple favicon files in my root directory.
favicon-192.png (192 x 192px)
favicon-512.png (512 x 512px)
favicon.ico (32 x 32px)
favicon.png (512 x 512px)
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/favicon-in-search#:~:text=Your%20favicon%20must%20be%20a,t%20change%20the%20URL%20frequently).
- plus I also have maskable images that I have added to my webmanifest file as per https://web.dev/articles/maskable-icon using the third party tool to generate the maskable images in 192 and 512.
icon512_maskable.png
icon512_rounded.png
{
"theme_color": "#2EC6FE",
"background_color": "#ffffff",
"icons": [
{ "purpose": "maskable", "sizes": "512x512", "src": "icon512_maskable.png", "type": "image/png" },
{ "purpose": "any", "sizes": "512x512", "src": "icon512_rounded.png", "type": "image/png" }
],
"orientation": "landscape",
"display": "standalone",
"dir": "left",
"lang": "en-GB",
"name": "BarcelonaTravelHacks",
"short_name": "BarcelonaTravelHacks",
"start_url": "/",
"scope": "/",
"description": "Showcasing the popular and unknown attractions in and around Barcelona to enable you to explore like a local"
}
This is all based on me running lighthouse tests and running through all the help centre articles clearing all the bugs. All these icons are the same image but in different sizes and formats.
one thing it does say is that “The favicon URL must be stable (don’t change the URL frequently).”. Are you hosting it in the root directory or using a CDN?
- Check the cache setting in your htaccess file also and see if the ico or png could be affected. if you have settings to cache ico or png then you could try temporarily disabling it until google picks up the new image.