Branding is an essential part of blogging and includes developing a recognizable product, service or blog.
Most good companies not only have a product that you can recognize as a customer but also a logo or icon. For instance, if I told you to tell me what the logo for Google was you could probably draw it. Same goes with Yahoo, Twitter, Facebook, and Digg logos. Their logos are easy to remember and are as important to their brand as the product itself.
An important and easy way to build a stronger brand around your blog is by creating a favicon.
Branding: Favicon to the Rescue
To learn about Branding be sure to start with SEOBook’s article two best articles on the subject [#1 and #2] and some of their suggested reading.
On Blogussion we have talked a lot about marketing but building a brand is a bit more than that. So far you can learn about ways to build your brand through WordPress back-end branding, brand building over instant messaging or through guest posting. This post is one more step to building a successful and long-term brand: the Favicon.
What is a Favicon?
So far the only time we have mentioned favicons at Blogussion is to discuss Google’s favicon. What a favicon is will be easiest to understand if you see it. For example here is Blogussion’s favicon:
It can be seen at the top of your browser’s screen or tab next to the title of your current open screen. Right now you should see our red and white favicon at the top of your screen.
To be clear then, a favicon is a small image or icon [16 pixels by 16 pixels] that automatically loads with each page or post on your blog or website. If you do not have a custom favicon for your site your web browser (Firefox [recommended], Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer [not recommended]) will create one.
In summary I am writing an entire post about a 16px by 16px image. Read why they matter though…
Why Do Favicons Matter?
Brands are built around awesome images no matter the size. Every time someone lands on a page or post of your blog they will see the favicon you have installed. Your brand is one more step clearer to them and they not only get the benefit of seeing it and connecting the image with your other products and pages but also never get confused about where they are.
Your job as a blogger is to make the reader of the best experience possible. I know for myself that I never have just one tab opened in my web browser but sometimes up to a dozen. The sites with favicons always are faster to locate, better bookmarked, and clicked on more. For example, in my bookmarks only the blogs with favicons are easily recognizable in my toolbars and drop down menus.
You see I am a visual person and I associate images instantly with everything I read or see. A favicon for me goes a long way and helping me remember your site. Many other people are just like me and having images associated with your blog really helps.
What Do Good Favicons Look Like?
I found a nice collage of favicons from many of the bigger blogs and websites. Some of these are not that special and others are very nice looking. To help you understand what is nice be sure to check out Remarkable Favicons [broken down into symbols and typography] and also a Favicon Review [includes commentary]. Which ones below do you like?
How Do I Make Favicons?
This part is less difficult than you may have ever realized. There are dozens of favicon generators where you can either draw the favicon yourself using their pixel art applications or turn an image into a 16px icon file. Here’s some quick resources to get started.
How to Create a Favicon
- Create a favicon (Use one of the generators listed below)
- Upload favicon.ico to root directory
- Copy and Paste the code to header (head) section:<link rel=”shortcut icon” href=”favicon.ico” type=”image/x-icon” />
- Reload your sites and finish! (note: it may take a few hours for the favicon to appear)
Favicon.cc [Recommended]
Favicon Tool
WebScriptLab – Favicon Generator
Once you have installed your favicon on your blog you are finished. Your brand is better and your blog is more recognizable. By the way, your favicon will look especially nice with Blogussion’s new Thesis Skin as its home. Check it out!
What do you think about favicons? Is there anything you would add? How about any other branding tools to improve your blogging?
The Discussion
Leave a Comment Read Again?← Previous Comments
Awesome post Seth. Thanks for the breakdown of favicons. They really are great at subtle branding.
.-= Brendan Wenzel´s last blog ..Are you keeping track of your money? =-.
Subtle branding is the best kind
.-= Seth´s last blog ..Branding Battle: Favicon to the Rescue =-.
Indeed a very good post! Especially liked the collage of good favicons for inspiration. What has struck me personally, is that I tend to like those with just a well-designed single letter best, or a very clear and simple symbol. Less is definitely more here.
The typographical favicon is a great one! They are simple and very memorable. Is there one in particular that you like from the collage?
.-= Seth´s last blog ..Branding Battle: Favicon to the Rescue =-.
I just added a favicon to Cogroll the other day and it feels a lot more professional now, at least to me. Having the image in the browser bar certainly fortifies the branding.
.-= James | Cogroll.com´s last blog ..Some Nexus One Domain Names =-.
Professionalism is all about the details. Favicon’s are one of those.
.-= Seth´s last blog ..Branding Battle: Favicon to the Rescue =-.
I’m with you, Seth. I always have multiple tabs open and I find the one I want based on the Favicon, not the title. It’s a simple way to contribute to your blog’s brand and I know a lot of bloggers have never heard of a favicon. Way to raise awareness!
.-= Nick Tart | JuniorBiz´s last blog ..Giveaway: Kidpreneurs Book and a Review =-.
Thanks! Raising awareness about something simple as favicons is important. A lot of times the best tips are the simple ones everyone overlooks.
.-= Seth´s last blog ..Branding Battle: Favicon to the Rescue =-.
Favicons make you stand out in search results too.
Something so smll yet so powerful.
It’s funny when I see a site with no favicon, I think they are lacking.. I’m so used to seeign top ites with a fav when I don’t see one,, it turns me off
.-= John Paul Aguiar´s last blog ..How I Built My Twitter Marketing Monster From 1 to 36,000 =-.
I feel the same way about favicon-less blogs… they seem to be lacking the details that make the difference. But at least its an easy fix.
.-= Seth´s last blog ..Branding Battle: Favicon to the Rescue =-.
Yeah, this was one of the very first things I did for my blog. It just came naturally; they are the types of things I notice.
Also, good post, not enough blogs on blogging cover basic topics like this.
.-= Eric C´s last blog ..Anthony Swofford’s Jarhead: A Review =-.
“not enough blogs on blogging cover basic topics like this.” – Eric that is what it is all about.. covering the unique things that everyone needs but no one talks about.
.-= Seth´s last blog ..Branding Battle: Favicon to the Rescue =-.
I was just about to make one for my site (with my own software) so I am headed over to favicon.cc to work on one this evening.
.-= Keith´s last blog ..4 Tips to Promote Your Article =-.
Great to know I had a timely post. Let me know how it works.
.-= Seth´s last blog ..Branding Battle: Favicon to the Rescue =-.
Great tips and how-to, Seth. I’ve been wondering how to include the code for the favicon into new my theme since my tnew heme didn’t come with the favicon coding by default, and you just provided the how-to for including the favicon into your coding. Thanks, Seth, it’s just great
.
Great article
.
Glad to help! You can use it for any time you need to add a favicon to a site.
.-= Seth´s last blog ..Branding Battle: Favicon to the Rescue =-.
Good info on favicons. I realized my blog was showing it’s favicon as twitter. So I opened GIMP and got to work correcting it.
.-= iMark´s last blog ..I am Tiger Woods =-.
iMark nice to know that it helped you fix something on your blog and create something useful.
.-= Seth´s last blog ..Branding Battle: Favicon to the Rescue =-.
favicon.cc currently down.
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..I’m Unsubscribing From Your Blog…..Again =-.
Sorry.. its working now though!
.-= Seth´s last blog ..Branding Battle: Favicon to the Rescue =-.
Yep and I got mine!
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..I’m Unsubscribing From Your Blog…..Again =-.
Finding your brand and favicon is huge – it’s what makes your website stand out from the crowd and how people can remember you!
.-= Inside the Webb´s last blog ..New Digg-Themed Social News and Media Website Thuhm =-.
Honestly, most of the generator suck.
A partner of mine and I wrote a very nice little ebook on this topic. He’s an absolute wizard at graphics, and I learned a lot about making very small images. Turns out it’s really hard.
The ebook is really just the first chapter of an ebook on WordPress graphics which we never finished. It’s available for free download, no strings attached, no affiliation, etc.
.-= Dave Doolin | Website In A Weekend´s last blog ..Website In A Weekend: Friday Evening – Off to the Races =-.
Can you provide a link for it?
That’s what I was thinking!
Me too please.
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..I’m Unsubscribing From Your Blog…..Again =-.
Seth, what an awesome article. For a while, I’ve been thinking hard about implementing a favicon for my blog. However, I personally believe that it is better not to promote an unfinalized logo as changing icons in the future can have huge detrimental effects. Hence, I’m still a little undecided on which way to go: Go with a simple favicon or go and hire a logo designer and get a logo up first?
.-= Static | ahnternet´s last blog ..5 Tips to Quickly Writing A Quality Post Part I =-.
I use my photo as my favicon. How do you think about it?
.-= Dana´s last blog ..Atahualpa 3.4.4 Configuration Part 4 =-.
Too unclear for me.
So, i thing i need to create some logo for my favicon then.
.-= Dana´s last blog ..Atahualpa 3.4.4 Configuration Part 4 =-.
I am having an unique favicon.
.-= Dinesh´s last blog ..Now Play Piano On Youtube =-.
Looks great imo. Distinctive. Like your whole blog design btw. using Woo Themes.
I am considering making one with my 3 initials. Just need to make sure 3 letters looks distinctive enough. For me, that is the biggest problem with favicons, – making them stand out, possible to see.
That was a good post, pretty much colorful and images in between this time..
Enjoyed reading !
Great post! I use MBP Favicon wordpress plugin in my blog. I love my own Favicon very much! Thanks for sharing!
.-= Kok Siong Chen´s last blog ..Prader-Willi Syndrome – Genetic Disorder That Cause Obesity =-.
Although I knew about the favicons, I was not aware what impact they make; so I never really bothered too much about it.
A picture is worth a thousand words they say and these tiny images sure make a difference! So I better start creating a favicon.
Thanks!
Do you want to keep your blog alive and thriving?
I wonder if avatars play a key role too.
http://www.blogussion.com/marketing/branding-battle-favicon/
Yes, in my case, it does. I often link my comments to different sites of mine, but by using always the same avatar / gravatar I kind of “brand” myself and show my face
SY
.-= hospitalera @gummi crib rail´s last blog ..Comment by =-.
Personal branding through avatars are a great way for people to get to know you and your site. The more they see an avatar they recognize the more authority they give to you.
.-= Seth´s last blog ..Branding Battle: Favicon to the Rescue =-.
Excellent post! I think favicons are excellent for standing out from the rest.If you have a lot of links on your bookmark list a bright favicon will stand out nicely.
.-= Tom – marketing tips´s last blog ..How To Use Twitter As An Education Tool =-.
Bright and unique work best!
.-= Seth´s last blog ..Branding Battle: Favicon to the Rescue =-.
I think favicons are a great way to help your website stand out in an often crowded browser and to extend the areas that you add your personal touch of branding.
We recently changed our favicon to match our new theme and I really like how it looks. I used our site logo and adapted it in Photoshop before uploading it to one of the free favicon creators that are availiable on the net.
Nice article Seth.
.-= Karl Foxley´s last blog ..Have You Seen The Brand New OnTheGo Theme? =-.
Great job! Nice work at putting everything into action. Way to get the job done.
.-= Seth´s last blog ..How I Leaped from Pagerank 0 to 4 in 21 Days Without any Connections =-.
Looking forward to make Favicon for my blog and favicon.cc is my favorite..
.-= Rajesh Kanuri @ TechCats´s last blog ..How To Check The Subscription box Checked Permanently in Subscribe To Comments Plugin =-.
Favicon.cc is my favorite too. Its easy to customize and very smooth.
.-= Seth´s last blog ..How I Leaped from Pagerank 0 to 4 in 21 Days Without any Connections =-.
Great tips! A favicon is actually one of the first things that I do / create / implement when setting up a new (niche) site. It takes only a few minutes, but it really does make a difference. One more point to consider, replacing a generic favicon with a unique one, like for example the joomla one, removes a clue to hackers which platform your site runs on. It is just a little step to increase your sites security, but as they say “every little helps”, SY
PS Your “Notify me of followup comments via e-mail” checkbox is easily overlooked, perhaps it would be an idea to move it to the left of the text?
.-= hospitalera @gummi crib rail´s last blog ..Comment by =-.
Thanks for the excellent comment and also the suggestion. We will look into the notify me of follow-up comments move as you suggested.
.-= Seth´s last blog ..Branding Battle: Favicon to the Rescue =-.
Having a favicon makes the difference between an amateur and a professional blog. They are really easy to put in, and they are great way to expand your blog. Don’t use just the more popular sites, try expanding to all different types so you get a wide range of people.
I have been wondering how to do this for a long time but have never bothered to research how to do it or for that matter why to do it. Here, you have answered both of these questions and, hopefully, I will make the time to do it this week!
Tim let me know how it goes and if you need any help! I would love to evaluate some of the favicons and give any help I can.
.-= Seth´s last blog ..How I Leaped from Pagerank 0 to 4 in 21 Days Without any Connections =-.
I really need to get around to making a favicon for my blog! Thanks for the reminder.
.-= Tom | Build That List´s last blog ..Squeeze Page Tips For Better Conversion =-.
It does not take long, just sit down and in 20 minutes you can have something up!
.-= Seth´s last blog ..Branding Battle: Favicon to the Rescue =-.
Yes favicons are an important part of branding but there is so much more people should worry about than the bookmarking icon itself. Most people today use RSS readers or email subscription anyway and never even notice your favicon. Good post though!
.-= Gordon´s last blog ..Branding Websites And Blogs =-.
Its not something to spend hours on.. you are right. But its also not something to forget either. People need a complete branding package and a favicon makes a difference.
.-= Seth´s last blog ..Branding Battle: Favicon to the Rescue =-.
I was underestimating the importance of the favicon for particular groups of visitors. After seeing all the ones posted above though, I realized I recognized several. That convinces me its actually pretty good branding.
Thanks for the sites to create them as well.
.-= Chad @ Tech201´s last blog ..3 New Years Resolutions You And Your Computer Will Be Thankful For =-.
It worked for you right! So it is a great idea. Be sure to use these resources and put together a favicon today!
Few days I used favicon for my blog. Now I am getting good response. By using favicon, my site was able to stand out from crowd.
Standing out from the crowd is what it is all about. There are millions of other blogs out there, but being different is what matters.
.-= Seth´s last blog ..Branding Battle: Favicon to the Rescue =-.
That’s interesting. How do we know that the favicon is not used by someone else? Is there legal complication? I doubt we can use the one designated for Google
.-= scheng1´s last blog ..Renewable Alternative Energy Sources: Solar energy =-.
The favicon would have few if any legal complications unless it was the exact favicon of someone else. I would suggest trying to be original as much as possible.
.-= Seth´s last blog ..Branding Battle: Favicon to the Rescue =-.
After reading this article, I made a new favicon for my blog. Thanks.
.-= Agent Deepak´s last blog ..Blog with a Sex Appeal =-.
Great. It looks very nice.
.-= Seth´s last blog ..Branding Battle: Favicon to the Rescue =-.
Favicons are undoubtedly a must these days. Part of the branding includes placing your logo everywhere you have control (and is appropriate).
That reminds me, after I redesigned my site several weeks ago, I need a new logo and favicon!
.-= Gabe | freebloghelp.com´s last blog ..Be a rockstar blogger, almost literally =-.
Gabe you better get on that~! I’m sure you’ll get a great one.
.-= Seth´s last blog ..Branding Battle: Favicon to the Rescue =-.
That is an amazing share. It’s so, so commonly overlooked, the favicon. I’ve been blogging and building sites for years and still only just realised that even existed a couple of months back!1
The next question… how do you pronounce it? Is it ‘fave-icon’ or favv-icon’?
.-= Josue Habana´s last blog ..The Super-Duper Habana Pixel Muscle Plan!! =-.
I pronounce it “fav-icon” but I would imagine there are lots of differences. I have even seen it Flavicon.
.-= Seth´s last blog ..Branding Battle: Favicon to the Rescue =-.
Is it a big clock? lol
(If you didn’t get that, keep it to yourself as it means I’m old.)
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..I’m Unsubscribing From Your Blog…..Again =-.
Seems you hit a highly interesting subject with this! Congratulations! SY
.-= hospitalera @gummi crib rail´s last blog ..Comment by =-.
pretty good post
thanks mate
.-= S Ahsan´s last blog ..Upgrade to WordPress 2.9.1 to Fix Couple of Bugs =-.
Your welcome. Good to see you here!
.-= Seth´s last blog ..How I Leaped from Pagerank 0 to 4 in 21 Days Without any Connections =-.
Thanks for sharing how to create favicon. It’s really an advantage having a favicon, it builds your brand well and people may easily remember you or your site through a favicon
.-= Pinoyblogtips´s last blog ..Top 5 Reasons Why People Started to Blog =-.
Cool! favicons! Thanks for this recommended favicon makers.
.-= Anup´s last blog ..Some Thoughts and Voice Of Blogger =-.
Now there is some new thing I have learned for the day. My own site don’t have a ‘favicon” (yet). Typically because I am still a newbie around here (on the internet) . . . But thanks for telling me so very clearly about what this is and that browsers like firefox can quickly make one for me. You are right! It seems as if branding is quite important these days and it also gives (well at least to me) a touch of professionalism to your blog. Just to show that you have gone one bit extra from ‘not-just-another-blog”.
Thanks so much (I really thought a “favicon” is just another name for a gravatar).
I have cleared many exams to be expert in website designing such as 640-863 and 642-062 also the 642-067 as well as the 642-072 but at first we design a Web page and start with a blank page and also place elements on that page. Placement of the elements can be critical to whether the design works or is a dismal failure.
I am student of testkings and testking a+ and also love to reading blogs , because there are many new information and updates like ccda and ccent your article have good information I like it thanks for sharing. I visit this site interesting blogs ever much viewed, after a long time.
It is my first time to hear about favicon. Our memories rely on images or logos so favicon can be a great help for someone who want to be recognized easily by his/her followers. Great stuff here!
This is the kind of stuff I am allways over looking. It’s so true that the instinct is to go with and trust the brands that you are familiar with.
plazzzzzzzzz can u help me with Favicon i am tring save the plugin in to my photoshop file format but Unfortunately im not Succeeding what can i do plzzz can u help me asap. Many thanks
Regard
Eeman
I really like this little pictures , they make the website look better and professional , but i wonder these pictures are easy to make in photoshop if anyone do exact design they will get acused of anything ?
Branding is not about getting your target market to pick you over your competition, but it surely is about getting your prospects to discover you as the only one that provides a solution to their problem. The outward expression of a brand, comprises its name, trademark, communications, and visual appearance. Your brand resides within the hearts and minds of customers, clients, and prospects.
Branding is a lot more than a marketing desire. For me truly branding is an outcome of just good plain business common sense. Yet still, it is regularly seen as a driver rather than an outcome. The act of associating a product or service with a brand is part of pop culture. Most products have some sort of brand identity, from common table salt to designer jeans.
There is also Attitude branding which is the choice to represent a larger feeling, which is not necessarily connected with the product or consumption of the product at all.
It’s vital that you spend time investing in researching, defining, and building your brand. In spite of everything your brand is the source of a assurance to your customer.
i have checked this cool site a few times now and i have to say that i find it quite nice actually. it’ll be nice to read more in the future! =p
Nice post. When you put it that way theirs really a lot of logo’s that come to mind when you think of a name of a company. Makes you think
Zoey
Comments on this entry are closed.