It seems Google isn’t fond of emoji, at least where search is concerned. Over the weekend, Google quietly removed emoji from search results for the desktop and mobile.
Pages that use emoji won’t be penalized — Google just won’t show the symbols when it returns their page in search results. Emoji will still show as headers in search when accompanied by text.
Emoji has been in use on mobile search for quite some time, and found its way to the desktop a few months ago. According to Search Engine Land, Google called this shot a few weeks back, so it’s not surprising.
Emoji was being used by some brands in an attempt to find a new way to the top of search results. If you were to use a pizza emoji in Google search, you might have been met with pizza restaurants near you.
Others, like Yelp, still allow for emoji to be used in search. Your quest for pizza is not totally lost after all.
➤ Google Finally Drops Emojis From Search Results Listings Page [Search Engine Land]
Read next: Emoji, the new language of the internet, is improving the way we communicate online
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.