Google is trying to resolve a few inappropriate or unexpected site name selections that were displayed in its search results. This was in response to a web form that Google posted earlier this week asking for feedback from the users about inaccurate, inappropriate or wrong site names.
Google added site names on desktop a month ago and on mobile search last year.
Stated Issue
Google for some sites have disregarded the brand name and have the specified site name and replaced it with what it thinks the site name should be. For example, when [salesforce] was searched, Google was showing a space between “sales” and “force,” and thus, the CMO of Salesforce called it “extremely damaging to our brand.”
The solution
An update was posted in the Google support forms by Google’s Search Liaison,Danny Sullivan,saying a fix was pushed out that will resolve few issues and stated “We recently rolled out a change that seems to be helping with some of the cases reported here and through our form (and likely some others that weren’t reported),” he wrote. “This change may take time to populate so that internal pages also reflect updated sitenames,” Sullivan added.
Though the Salesforce issue was resolved.
The issue is yet to be fixed:
Though the issue was not resolved for all the users and Glenn Gabe shared a few names for which the work is in progress through twitter https://twitter.com/glenngabe/status/1651189899834400772?s=20
The worst among them was for DNN software that was named as “Weight loss Forum”. Though few names are wrong, one is causing legal issues.
Site name control
In October Google explained that the search uses various ways to identify the site names for the search result. But if the user wants they can use structured data on their homepage to inform Google about the required site name. Google has specific documentation for the same over Site name structured data.
Favicon upgrade
Google recommended to revisit the favicon documents for the latest best practices. It suggested providing an icon that is of 48 pixels and follows the stated favicon guidelines.
Google Ads
Google search ads are rolled out on desktop, therefore, the size of the site name, favicons, and also the ad label will be more prominent in mobile search. In fact, Google rolled out the “Sponsored” label in mobile search last October and today on desktop, officially replacing the “Ads” label from January 2020.
The wrong site name from Google is absolutely wrong and unprofessional and can cause legal issues for some businesses. Currently, Google is working on to address the issue and the resolution is awaited.