Favicons should not be taken lightly. They are an excellent way to help create brand awareness of your website, bring visitors to your website, and to keep bringing them back again. If you do not know what a favicon (favorites icon) is, it is the little 16×16 icon that shows up next to the websites title on the tab bar or bookmarks. Currently BlueJar.com features a little flask full of some liquid blue stuff.
Next week I will be posting a guide on how to create your own favicon and how to setup a favicon for your website. Also, I will be featuring many of the free websites that offer you free favicons that you can use on your website too. Lets go over the 7 reason favicons increase your traffic and will help create overall brand awareness to your visitors.
1. Brand Awareness
Just as big corporations create ‘brand awareness’, you can do the same thing too with your websites. Your logo and the favicon will help create a visual representation to your visitors. Since your logo is too big to fit everywhere, the favicon is the next best thing to represent your website in those small spots.
2. Bookmarks
Browsers and bookmarking websites now feature your favicon in your bookmarked listings. This is a good way to help your visitors who bookmarked your website, to see your favicon and come back to your website again. Sometimes we have so many bookmarks in one folder that it is hard to figure out which website may have the information we need, having your favicon next to your listing will help them find you quickly and not ignore your website.
2. Tab Bar and Search Bar
Most web browsers will list your favicon not only on the tabs, but also on the search bar as well. So there are 2 more places your website brand is shown to your visitor. Also keep in mind that when your visitors change websites, the favicon might change to a new one and this may clue them into the fact that they’ve left your website even if they did not intend to. It is excellent way to remind them to go back and open up a new window.
4. Search Engines and Websites
Firefox has an extension called Google Icon, that places the websites favicon in Google search results. You can certainly attract more eyes to your listing if you have your favicon next to it. We may see more extensions made and search engines picking up on adding favicons to their results in the future.
5. Comments Sections
Some blogs will fetch your favicon and place it next to your comments. I am currently doing that with my blog now too and have seen this on other blogs as well. It makes the comments look very unique. Just as avatars can attract visitors, so can an interesting favicon attract other visitors to clicking on your website link.
6. RSS Feeds
If you feature an RSS feed on your website, you will certainly want to have a favicon. When your readers are viewing your feed through their RSS feed readers, they will see your favicon listed next to your feed. This is another way to help create brand awareness for your website and get them to read your feed.
7. Because I love them!
The last reason you should have an favicon, is because I love them! I enjoy seeing what creative favicons other webmasters can come up with in a small 16×16 pixel space. Also because it really does help me identify with your website.
Favicons are defiantly a great way to create brand awareness for your website, that goes beyond just visiting your website. Once they leave your website, you want to take as many steps as you can to bring them back to your site. Your favicon is a clever way to get your visitors attention and promote your website through several different mediums.
Comprehensive Guide to Favicons Series
- 7 Reasons Favicons Increase Your Website Traffic
- How to Create Your Own Favicon
- 20 Free Favicon Icon Sets
- Quick Favicon Tip to Insure its Visibility
- Adding a Favicon on Blogger
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Crap. I’ve been sitting on the favorite icon thing for a while now…It seems like I can’t sit on it any longer. Thanks for reminding me to get moving!
No problem. It really is a very important aspect these days for your website brand. Get moving! :c)
Hmm, have to get one for Lizzies Travels…I am picturing something between the simpsons meets Carol Burnett.
I must admit I think they are cool as well.
Hmm, I gotta see that Favicon your thinking of Adam, sounds interesting. :c)
Oh my goodness never ever i thought that favicons can play such a big role in increasing traffic. In fact this is the first time ever i’m getting such an information.Thanks a lot. But i think when you are selling products related to particular niche then targeted traffic can be more important. Do checkout my product traffic-scorpion anyway.
Favicons are rather exciting! And SO underrated!
They are very underrated aren’t they? 16×16 icons are being used more and more these days. I just saw on Digg that they are using that size for avatars on the listing pages.
Nothing without favicons!You are right!Here you can host your .ico file for free.
http://www.atlantis.12droit.com/english/index.php
Bye
Hi. I’m a new subscriber to your site. Liking it very much so far.
Some really good points there. I think people often forget about favicons or simply don’t know how to install them. I agree though - very effective branding tool.
Sarah, let me suggest the reason number eight
There are some sites that accept favicons as a little banner ads. I have placed mine on logopond.com. I was rather surprised when I’ve noticed that such a small picture link started to bring some amount of traffic to my site.
And by the way, russian search engine Yandex (yandex.ru) is allready placing favicons next to the search results. So I hope Google will add this feature too.
Hi,
I am a new subscriber to your blog also. You have some great tips here. Thanks for sharing this Favicon information with us. I didn’t know how to do that. I just added one to my blog. I will be a regular reader!
[...] understand why you don’t like them, you should really read this: 7 Reasons Favicons Increase Your Website Traffic | bluejar.com - the webmasters guide to the galaxy But anyway, up to [...]
I noticed that having a favicon and not having; it’s a huge difference!