# Site names in Search

Category: [Structured Data & SERP Features](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/structured-data-serp-features/) › [Rich results & snippets](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/structured-data-serp-features/rich-results-snippets/) · Also known as: site name

A **site name** is the name Google shows for a whole website in search results, separate from the title link of each page.

## How does Google choose it?

Google's system is automated and considers the home page content and references to the site on the web. It prioritizes `WebSite` structured data with `name`, `url` and optionally `alternateName`, and also looks at `og:site_name`, title tags and headings. The markup belongs on the home page of a domain or subdomain. Pages in a subdirectory cannot have their own site name.

The home page must be crawlable, not blocked by robots.txt and not set to noindex. If Google does not pick the preferred name, it may show an alternative or the domain name. Google notes that crawling can take several days to several weeks before changes show.

## Example

```html
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "WebSite",
  "name": "Example Corp",
  "alternateName": ["Example"],
  "url": "https://example.com/"
}
</script>
```

## Related terms

- [Favicon in search results](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/favicon-in-search-results/index.md)
- [Title links](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/title-links/index.md)
- [Brand SERP](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/brand-serp/index.md)
- [Organization schema](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/organization-schema/index.md)
- [JSON-LD](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/json-ld/index.md)
- [Schema.org](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/schema-org/index.md)
- [Sitelinks search box](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/sitelinks-search-box/index.md)

## Sources

- [Site names in Google Search – Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/site-names)
- [WebSite – schema.org](https://schema.org/WebSite)
- [Search Central documentation updates (July 2023)](https://developers.google.com/search/updates)

---

Last updated: October 8, 2026
URL: https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/site-names-in-search/