Start Monitoring Free
✦ Free SEO tool

Favicon Checker

See every icon a page declares, preview each one, and find out whether Google Search can show your favicon next to your result.

Fetching and analysing the page…

5 of 5 free checks left today. Create a free account for unlimited checks.

Favicon Checker - results and guide

What the Favicon Checker checks

  • Icon link tags in the HTML and the default /favicon.ico
  • Whether each icon file loads and is a real image
  • Format and pixel size of every icon, including all sizes inside an .ico file
  • Google's rule: square, and a multiple of 48 pixels or an SVG
  • Apple touch icon for iPhone and iPad home screens
  • Web app manifest for Android
  • Icons that are not square or are too heavy

What is a favicon?

A favicon is the small icon that represents a site in browser tabs, bookmarks, history and, on mobile and desktop, next to your result in Google Search. You declare it with <link rel="icon" href="..."> in the head of the page. Browsers also look for /favicon.ico at the root of the site when no tag is present.

One icon is rarely enough. Phones use a larger Apple touch icon when a site is added to the home screen, and Android reads icons from a web app manifest.

Google's favicon requirements

Google shows a favicon in results only if the home page links to it with a rel="icon" tag, the file is square, and its size is a multiple of 48 pixels (48 x 48, 96 x 96, 144 x 144) or it is an SVG. The icon and the home page must be crawlable, and the image should represent your brand.

A practical set is a 48 or 96 pixel PNG, an SVG for sharp display at any size, a 180 x 180 Apple touch icon, and 192 and 512 pixel icons in the manifest. The link card on social networks uses a different image: check it with the Open Graph Checker.

How to use the Favicon Checker

  1. Enter the address of the page you want to check. You can leave out https://.
  2. Press Check favicon. The page is fetched from our servers, the way a search engine crawler would fetch it.
  3. Read the findings from top to bottom: problems first, then warnings. Each one says what to change.

Common problems and how to fix them

Google shows a generic globe instead of my icon

Add a rel="icon" tag to the home page that points to a square PNG of 48, 96 or 144 pixels, make sure robots.txt does not block it, and allow a few days for Google to recrawl.

The icon looks blurry

The file is too small and is being scaled up. Provide at least 96 x 96 pixels, or an SVG.

A declared icon returns 404

The path in the link tag is wrong or the file was not deployed. Fix the href or upload the file.

Frequently asked questions

What size should a favicon be?
For Google Search, a square image whose side is a multiple of 48 pixels, such as 48 x 48 or 96 x 96. Add a 180 x 180 Apple touch icon for iOS.
Is favicon.ico still needed?
It remains a useful fallback, because browsers request it automatically. Declare modern PNG or SVG icons with link tags as well.
Can a favicon be an SVG?
Yes. Current browsers and Google accept SVG favicons. Keep a PNG alongside it for older browsers and for iOS.
How long until Google updates my favicon?
It can take from a few days to a few weeks after Google recrawls your home page. Requesting indexing in Search Console can speed it up.

See all 27 free SEO tools →

Monitor Today. Stay Ahead.

SEO gets visitors to your site. Uptime keeps them there.

Monitor 5 websites free forever and get alerted the moment one goes down. No credit card required.

Start Monitoring Free Run a free AI check