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On my google sites webpage, the favicon doesn't show up on search results (just shows the generic globe image) but it DOES show up on the tabs. I've made sure the image is a multiple of 48. I've submitted a recrawl request. I've cleared my cache, it's still not on there. The image file is a png, which is supported. I know the favicon is recognized and is in the proper format because again, it shows up in my tabs. But when I type my website in Google search, it displays a generic globe image which looks unprofessional.

The google sites community wasn't much help. I've tried to find the answer on google but couldn't find any help there either. Anything involving code doesn't apply to my situation because google sites is pretty much drag and drop with limited options. Other people have had this issue on other forums but from everything I've seen, it remains unresolved.

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  • How long has your the favicon been on your site?
    – Stephen Ostermiller ♦
    Commented Apr 20, 2023 at 17:15
  • Stephen- It's been at least a couple months.
    – Jon Del
    Commented Apr 21, 2023 at 14:08
  • Do you have multiple icons ? Can you post the portion of your html that has favicons
    – Rohit Gupta
    Commented Apr 23, 2023 at 12:45
  • Rohit- There is no html code that I can find. Google sites is template based... I didn't use code to build the site. In the settings, it just said "upload favicon."
    – Jon Del
    Commented Apr 25, 2023 at 15:01
  • Yes, but you can grab the html from the browser by inspecting the source. And you can change the domain name to example.com. I realise that you say you cant change anything. But you need to establish the problem first, then look for solutions.
    – Rohit Gupta
    Commented Aug 13, 2023 at 11:33

2 Answers 2

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There are several headers that can help you to show your favicon.

You can try an online checker to validate yours, and generate any missing headers: https://realfavicongenerator.net/favicon_checker

Or you can add them manually. The most basic header would be:

<link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="32x32" href="/favicon-32x32.png">

However,it's not the only one. Here's a sample from one of my sites:

<link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="76x76" href="/apple-touch-icon.png"/>
<link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="32x32" href="/favicon-32x32.png"/>
<link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="16x16" href="/favicon-16x16.png"/>
<link rel="manifest" href="/site.webmanifest"/>
<link rel="mask-icon" href="/safari-pinned-tab.svg" color="#5bbad5"/>
<meta name="msapplication-TileColor" content="#da532c"/>
<meta name="theme-color" content="#ffffff"/>
<meta name="msapplication-TileImage" content="/logo-270x270.png" />

Use the generator. It will help you configure and customize all those settings, and validate that everything is in order.

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  • Luis: There is no way for me to input this code. Google sites is template based. I don't see where I could have access to alter any code. There is only a menu in "settings" to upload the favicon image. I checked and my dimensions are correct. To be clear, it DOES show up in tabs, just not in the google search results (just shows the generic globe icon). I included all the information about the problem in my original post.
    – Jon Del
    Commented May 2, 2023 at 14:44
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    I'm sure you've already done this, but I'm leaving it here for others that may help them. Official instructions to add a favicon to Google Sites: support.google.com/sites/answer/…
    – Luis Alberto Barandiaran
    Commented May 3, 2023 at 15:45
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    Official docs on how to have your favicon displayed on Google Search Results: developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/favicon-in-search
    – Luis Alberto Barandiaran
    Commented May 3, 2023 at 15:45
  • Luis- On the second link you sent, it mentions how Google could just straight up choose to not display your favicon... Even if all the requirements are met. If that's the case with me, that kinda sucks. I've noticed some reputable websites and companies just get the "globe." It's just weird how it shows up in my tabs at the top of the screen but not in search results.
    – Jon Del
    Commented May 4, 2023 at 18:20
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I was able to fix this issue in Google Sites by redirecting the url path www.example.com/favicon.ico to an ico (48x48) hosted in another domain using Cloudflare as proxy

Strange that Google can't get the favicon from their own meta tags in Google Sites, but it doesn't. They seem to search for the traditional /favicon.ico path and they ignore the Google Sites meta icon tag:

<head>
(...)
<link rel="icon" href="https://xxx.googleusercontent.com/(huge-temporary-hash-for-png-image)">

My settings in Cloudflare are:
DNS -> www - proxy active
SSL/TLS (overview) -> full
SSL/TLS (Edge) -> Always Use HTTPS - off (avoid the infite redirect loop)
Rules (Page Rules) -> Create a new rule:
URL: https://www.example.com/favicon.ico
Setting: Forwarding URL 301
Destination URL: https://anotherDomainOrAtLeastNotTheSameGoogleSitesSubdomain.com/yourFavicon.ico

I can confirm that my favico was correctly configured before (inside Google Sites) and it wasn't showing in Google Search Results, and after this redirect configured, it began showing in Google Search Results...

If Google Sites meta icon url was static, I guess you could use that, but since it's dynamic, don't even try to use it. Also, regarding format, I've used the ico format (48x48), Google Sites Icon it's a png, not sure if it would work. I created my Ico with https://realfavicongenerator.net/ and hosted in another host. If you don't have your own host for the ico, not sure how to proceed.
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  • ZLT. I don't see an option for any of this on Google Sites. The only option I see that is favicon related is a simple upload menu in settings. If there's a way to dig deeper in order to try your method, please point me in the right direction. Screenshot: i.sstatic.net/KriNO.jpg
    – Jon Del
    Commented Nov 1, 2023 at 16:50
  • @Jon Del When you setup Google Sites, Google manages the subdomain, so you can't upload an icon to www.example.com/favicon.ico. My cloudflare proposed solution, intercepts the request if the path is /favicon.ico and redirects that to a icon hosted somewhere else. There is no solution in Google Sites solely with the current status quo. Google Sites could fix this easily if they redirected the /favicon.ico requests for the uploaded favicon in Google Sites,or Google Search team could read the meta tag that already exists. My solution uses Cloudflare to override Google Sites and fool Google Search
    – ZLT
    Commented Nov 2, 2023 at 18:48
  • ZLT. Your solution is starting to make sense to me but I admit, it's still above my head (I'm not a programmer, which is why I used a template based platform like Google Sites). I'll give it a shot. Just to be clear, I need two domains? One will be my website and one will be the redirect trick for my favicon.ico? Is that what you meant by "anotherDomainOrAtLeastNotTheSameGoogleSitesSubdomain.com/…"?
    – Jon Del
    Commented Nov 2, 2023 at 20:20

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