Google site names and WebSite structured data
Google site names,
as documented
How Google picks the site name shown in results and how WebSite structured data states a preference, in Google's own words. Verified from Google's page on 2026-10-07.
Google says it shows the name of the site a page comes from in search results, and that this site name is generated automatically. This page lists what Google documents about indicating a preference with WebSite structured data, with the wording taken from Google's page.
What Google documents
| Topic | What Google says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| What a site name is | “When Google lists a page in search results, it shows the name of the site the page comes from. This is called the site name.” | Google docs Verified 2026-10-07 |
| Not a title link | “Note that the site name is different from the per-page title links (title links are specific to each web page, whereas the site name is for the entire site).” | Google docs Verified 2026-10-07 |
| Automated | “Google's generation of site names on the Google Search results page is completely automated and takes into account content from a site's home page and references to it that appear on the web.” | Google docs Verified 2026-10-07 |
| Stating a preference | “To indicate your site name preference, add WebSite structured data to your home page.” | Google docs Verified 2026-10-07 |
| Other signals | “Our site name system will also consider content in og:site_name, <title>, heading elements, and other text on a home page. However, WebSite structured data is most important, if you want to specify a preference.” | Google docs Verified 2026-10-07 |
| No manual changes | “While we can't manually change automatically selected site names, you can indicate alternatives for our automated system to consider if your primary preference isn't selected.” | Google docs Verified 2026-10-07 |
| Concise name | “Use a concise, commonly-recognized name for your site (for example, "Google" instead of "Google, Inc").” | Google docs Verified 2026-10-07 |
| Length | “While there's no limit to how long a site name can be, long site names may be truncated on some devices.” | Google docs Verified 2026-10-07 |
| Generic names | “A generic name like "Best Dentists In Iowa" is unlikely to be selected by our system as a site name, unless that's an extremely well-recognized brand name.” | Google docs Verified 2026-10-07 |
| Consistency | “Make sure whatever you use as the site name in structured data is consistent with how you refer to your site in other sources on your home page that our system considers.” | Google docs Verified 2026-10-07 |
| Alternative name | “Providing an alternative name using the alternateName property allows Google to consider other options if your preferred choice isn't selected.” | Google docs Verified 2026-10-07 |
| One name per site | “Currently, Google Search only supports one site name per site, where a site is defined by the domain or subdomain.” | Google docs Verified 2026-10-07 |
| No subdirectories | “Google Search does not support site names at the subdirectory level.” | Google docs Verified 2026-10-07 |
| On the home page | “The WebSite structured data must be on the home page of the site.” | Google docs Verified 2026-10-07 |
| Crawlable home page | “If we don't have access to the content on your home page because it is blocked, we may not be able to generate a site name.” | Google docs Verified 2026-10-07 |
| Duplicate home pages | “make sure that you're using the same structured data on all page duplicates, not just on the canonical page.” | Google docs Verified 2026-10-07 |
| Existing WebSite markup | “make sure that you nest the site name properties in the same node.” | Google docs Verified 2026-10-07 |
| Required: name | “The name of the website.” | Google docs Verified 2026-10-07 |
| Required: url | “The URL of the home page of the site.” | Google docs Verified 2026-10-07 |
| Recommended: alternateName | “You can list more than one alternative name. Specify them in order of your preference, with the most important one listed first.” | Google docs Verified 2026-10-07 |
| Testing | “Site names aren't supported in the Rich Results Test.” | Google docs Verified 2026-10-07 |
| Waiting | “Allow time for re-crawling and re-indexing.” | Google docs Verified 2026-10-07 |
| Domain as a backup | “Your domain or subdomain needs to be in all lowercase (for example, example.com not Example.com) for our system to detect this as a site name preference.” | Google docs Verified 2026-10-07 |
| Subdirectories again | “Confirm that you're not trying to set up a site name for a subdirectory.” | Google docs Verified 2026-10-07 |
Examples
Google's own example of WebSite structured data with the required properties, name and url.
{
"@context" : "https://schema.org",
"@type" : "WebSite",
"name" : "Example",
"url" : "https://example.com/"
}Google's own example with an alternative name and a domain as a backup preference.
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "WebSite",
"name": "Burnt Toast",
"alternateName": ["BT", "B-T", "Burnt Toast Shop", "example.com"],
"url": "https://www.example.com/"
}Rules to remember
- Google says WebSite structured data must be on the home page, and it supports one site name per domain or subdomain.
- Google says site names are not supported at the subdirectory level.
- Google says it cannot manually change automatically selected site names.
Questions
Where does Google get my site name?
Google says site name generation is completely automated and takes into account content from a site's home page and references to it on the web. You can state a preference by adding WebSite structured data to your home page.
Which properties are required?
Google lists name, the name of the website, and url, the URL of the home page of the site. alternateName is optional.
Can I set a site name for a subdirectory?
No. Google says it only supports one site name per site, where a site is defined by the domain or subdomain, and does not support site names at the subdirectory level.
Where must the structured data go?
Google says the WebSite structured data must be on the home page of the site.
What if Google does not use my preferred name?
Google says to check your markup and home page for consistency, and to try an alternative name with alternateName, then your domain or subdomain as an alternative name, written in all lowercase. It says it cannot manually change automatically selected site names.
Does the Rich Results Test check site names?
No. Google says site names aren't supported in the Rich Results Test and points to a schema testing tool such as the Schema Markup Validator.
How current is this page?
Every row was read from Google's site names page on 2026-10-07, which showed a last-updated date of 2025-12-10 UTC. Google can change its documentation, so treat the linked page as the final word.
Sources
- Provide a site name to Google Search (Google Search Central), read on 2026-10-07
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