Content
What Does Breadcrumbs Mean in SEO?
July 26, 2024
20 mins
Would you like to know more about breadcrumbs and why they are important for SEO optimization? Still, you may not fully comprehend the meaning of breadcrumbs.
These are interface pointers that enhance your site's visibility on search engines like Google.
Most importantly, breadcrumbs help users easily navigate through your site.
Today, Promodo’s digital marketers will cover what marketers need to know about breadcrumbs and their implementation.
Breadcrumbs are interface navigational elements that enhance user experience and improve the search engine crawlability of your site.
Technically put, breadcrumbs meaning stands for a small text path pointer at the top of a page that indicates where a user currently is on a site. Breadcrumbs help users see where they are on a website. By pointing at the user’s current location, breadcrumbs enhance user experience on websites and mobile applications.
Inside a website architecture, higher-level parent pages precede a page a user is currently on. A breadcrumb trail shows the page where your user is compared to the pages they visited before.
Owing to breadcrumbs, users may spot where the page is on your site. Say, a user’s path is from your homepage to the page named: “SEO promotion.”
Throughout this path, breadcrumbs help users spot their current location. A user may click on any page to get back to a homepage.
You may naturally ask: “Are breadcrumbs good for SEO?” Since 2018, breadcrumbs have been an integral part of Google search engine results pages, SERPs:
🟠 Google uses breadcrumbs to crawl sites
🟠 Google uses breadcrumbs to get rich results
🟠 Breadcrumbs let Google know more about site structure
🟠 Breadcrumbs help Google understand, categorize, and contextualize site content
🟠 Breadcrumbs show a user’s path for a particular page in Google search results.
While users may take various paths to what they browse for, there are several types of breadcrumbs. Exploring SEO breadcrumbs in layman’s terms, we will now dive deeper into the major types of breadcrumbs.
Hierarchy-based breadcrumbs, aka. location-based breadcrumbs, follow your site hierarchy from a homepage through the nested subcategories to a particular page URL. That’s how breadcrumbs show users where they are on your site, and the steps they should take to get back to the homepage.
Home > Blog > Category > Article name
Hierarchy-based breadcrumb path to the blog post
Home > Gear > Car > Seat Covers
Hierarchy-based breadcrumb path to a product
Hierarchy-based breadcrumbs are super helpful for users who get onto your website from Google search results. That’s because users may get back to any subcategory throughout your site hierarchy or navigate more options.
Location breadcrumbs are also vital for crawlers once they need to explore your site structure:
Attribute-based breadcrumbs are based on the same formula as hierarchy-based (location) breadcrumbs. These breadcrumbs use keywords rather than attributes like page titles or other identifiers to describe the page.
Attribute-based breadcrumb navigation is beneficial for eCommerce sites when users want to view the products with the same attributes.
On eCommerce sites, attribute-based breadcrumbs generate a user trail based on multiple filters like product attributes:
Home > Product category > Gender > Size > Color
Attribute-based breadcrumbs indicate the most popular attributes clicked by users:
Home > Shoes > Hiking > Women’s > 7,5 > Black
Top Tip: Never duplicate hierarchy-based (location-based) breadcrumbs with attribute-based breadcrumbs. That's because search engines disapprove of duplicate breadcrumbs. In case of duplication, Google or Bing may feature your website as “thin” or the one that’s lacking original content. Once you spot a duplication issue, we recommend pursuing your SEO strategy with location-based breadcrumbs. Oksana Babenko, SEO Expert at Promodo.
Path-based breadcrumbs are back buttons that help users return to their last visited page. Path-based breadcrumbs best display a user path to their current page:
Back > Home > Women > Tennis > Racket
Path breadcrumbs show the actual path a user undergoes on a website to their current page. That shows how a user reaches a particular item page, like a Sony camera on Amazon, for example.
The functionality of path-based breadcrumb navigation is limited though; a breadcrumb meaning in website here is that it serves just as the “back” button in a user’s browser.
History-based breadcrumbs show what a user has been doing on your site. That type of navigation replicates the internet history bar:
Home > Previous page > Previous page > Current page
Just like browser history, leverage history-based breadcrumbs to show users the pages they have visited on your site. Say, a user might have read a few SEO articles:
Home > SEO blog post 1 > SEO blog post 2 > Current page
Top Tip: The most commonly used types of breadcrumbs on websites are hierarchy-based, attribute-based and path-based breadcrumbs. They improve navigation on a website in the best way by giving users a clear idea of their location and options to return to previous pages.If your site lacks a nested structure of category pages, history-based breadcrumbs will suit you better than location breadcrumbs. Oksana Babenko, SEO Expert at Promodo.
While bounce rate is not a direct ranking factor, the right use of breadcrumbs will help you enhance the user experience by:
🟠 Improving user experience owing to easier site navigation
🟠 Encouraging users to browse through more pages
🟠 Keeping users longer on your site
🟠 Navigating back to any other page on your site
🟠 Helping users find what they are browsing for
🟠 Improving site ranking
🟠 Helping users see where the current page is on your site.
🟠 Benefiting service sites with several local or state-level pages
🟠 Helping crack top 10 results in Google
Beyond the formal meaning of breadcrumbs, there are more win-win SEO benefits to using these navigational elements. Let’s now look at what is breadcrumbs in SEO!
Pivotal to breadcrumb meaning is that these are navigational elements designed to ensure a seamless user experience and improve the site’s crawlability.
Here’s more to breadcrumb navigation definition:
Say, you landed on a site category with an item like shoes that does not perfectly suit your choice. On many websites, breadcrumbs help users easily navigate to the category and look for another item that best suits a user's demand. This means users won’t return to Google and land on a competitor’s website. And, as breadcrumbs prompt users to visit other pages on your site, you’ll potentially sell more.
Happier customers are always about higher conversions!
Not to make users get lost on your website, breadcrumbs will help you keep visitors focused on the content without worrying about where to click next. When they need to go to another page, breadcrumbs will help them get there faster.
Breadcrumbs:
🟠 Mitigate friction
🟠 Show users an instant way out
🟠 Save users from clicking the back button
Top Tip: We suggest deploying breadcrumbs navigation once you operate a deep site architecture. That’s when users should navigate through multiple layers on your website. In case you own a small or flat website, integrating breadcrumbs is not crucial while users will browse through it a click away from the homepage.
Breadcrumbs let Google figure out what your website is all about. Along with crawling on-site content, Google also uses breadcrumbs for your website’s search results enhancement. In this pursuit, the search engine uses proper markup within the body of your page. That’s how more users spot your brand and offers on the SERPs.
In terms of SEO, easy-to-navigate websites are foremost about lower bounce rates and longer time on the page.
Essentially, breadcrumbs lower bounce rates on your site by helping you direct users to other pages. In the best-case breadcrumbs for SEO scenario, this happens when users are eager to explore your website more. Owing to breadcrumbs, people will stay more on your site without hitting the back button.
While users get to your site through organic search or paid search rather than a homepage, you should provide them with an entry point. This means that on every page, users should easily get to other parts of your site once the current page fails to match their search intent.
Breadcrumbs lower bounce rates by offering alternative ways to browse through your site. Wherever they may go, it is still better than getting back to Google and visiting a competitor’s website.
Breadcrumbs in SEO are also about getting higher click-through rates in search results.
While breadcrumbs appear in Google search results, make the best use of rich snippets which are attractive bits of information that get the most clicks.
Google will display breadcrumbs from your website if you utilize a breadcrumb schema in your page’s code as follows:
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "http://schema.org",
"@type": "BreadcrumbList",
"itemListElement": [
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 1,
"item": {
"@id": "https://example.com/home",
"name": "Home"
}
},
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 2,
"item": {
"@id": "https://example.com/category",
"name": "Category"
}
}
]
}
</script>
Breadcrumbs displayed in the snippet improve the visibility of the page, increasing clickability, and help users to better understand the context for more confidence in committing to the URL. Oksana Babenko, SEO Expert at Promodo.
You may check for schema markup and its proper functioning with our technical SEO audit.
There are multiple ways to add breadcrumb navigation to your site to mitigate repetition and appear more natural. Everything depends on the content management system (CMS) you are using. There are also manual ways of adding breadcrumbs to your code.
Most importantly, there’s a great sense of making breadcrumbs appear in search engine ranking. For this purpose, we suggest deploying structured data in line with Google’s developer documentation.
Because WordPress is the most used CMS, we primarily suggest using this platform. Many themes, like Ocean WP, include built-in breadcrumb options.
Alternatively, we suggest making the best use of various plugins like Breadcrumb NavXT. The plugin generates locational breadcrumbs and allows for individual customization.
You may also benefit from Yoast SEO or WooCommerce Breadcrumb plugins which will let you restyle built-in breadcrumbs.
🟠 Click on Plugins
🟠 Add new
🟠 Select the plugin you want, i.e. Yoast SEO
🟠 Install now
🟠 Activate
🟠 Copy a code to the header.php file section of your theme:
<?php
if ( function_exists('yoast_breadcrumb') ) {
yoast_breadcrumb( '</p><p id="breadcrumbs">','</p><p>' );
}
?>
🟠 Go to Appearance
🟠 Select Theme file editor
🟠 Paste the code under the “header.php” section
🟠 Update file
Adding breadcrumbs to your web pages using JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data) helps search engines understand the structure of your website. Here's how you can do it:
JSON-LD Script:
Add the JSON-LD script in the <head> section of your HTML or right before the closing </body> tag.
JSON-LD for Breadcrumbs:
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "BreadcrumbList",
"itemListElement": [
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 1,
"name": "Home",
"item": "https://www.example.com/"
},
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 2,
"name": "Category",
"item": "https://www.example.com/category"
},
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 3,
"name": "Subcategory",
"item": "https://www.example.com/category/subcategory"
},
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 4,
"name": "Current Page",
"item": "https://www.example.com/category/subcategory/current-page"
}
]
}
</script>
Explanation
@context: specifies the context, which is always https://schema.org for schema markup.
@type: indicates the type of data structure, in this case, BreadcrumbList.
itemListElement: contains an array of ListItem objects.
@type: each item is of type ListItem.
position: the position of the breadcrumb in the list.
name: the name of the breadcrumb (visible text to users).
item: the URL of the breadcrumb.
Integration:
🟠 Add the JSON-LD script to each page where breadcrumbs are applicable
🟠 Ensure the URLs (item values) are correct and match the actual page URLs
🟠 Use Google's Structured Data Testing Tool or the Rich Results Test to validate your JSON-LD markup and ensure it's correctly implemented.
By following these steps, you can successfully add breadcrumbs to your website using JSON-LD, which can enhance your site's SEO and improve visitor navigation.
Installing breadcrumbs on your site will primarily depend on:
🟠 Site type
🟠 Site structure
🟠 CMS
🟠 Breadcrumb type
Each CMS has its unique way of handling themes and templates. By following the general approach of installing breadcrumb modules/plugins and inserting JSON-LD scripts dynamically, you can customize breadcrumbs for any content management system (CMS). Always validate the JSON-LD output using Google's Rich Results Test to ensure proper implementation.
Customizing breadcrumbs using JSON-LD for different content management systems involves integrating the JSON-LD script into the templates or plugins of each CMS.
The installation process will depend on the complexity of your CMS and whether you’ll need additional customization.
Analyzing user behavior is essential for improving the effectiveness of breadcrumbs on your website. Here are time-proven ways of analyzing user behavior and optimizing your breadcrumb navigation:
1. Use Web Analytics Tools
🟠 Set up and monitor key SEO metrics with Google Analytics
🟠 Navigate to Behavior > Behavior Flow to see how users move through your site
🟠 Check exit rates on pages where breadcrumbs are used to identify drop-off points
🟠 Set up events to track breadcrumb clicks and goals to measure their impact on the user journey.
2. Heatmaps and Session Recordings
🟠 Use Hotjar, Crazy Egg, or Mouseflow among other feasible tools
🟠 Identify where users are clicking on the page and how far they scroll.
🟠 Watch recordings of user sessions to see how they interact with breadcrumbs.
3. A/B Testing
🟠 Use tools like Google Optimize, Optimizely, or VWO
🟠 A/B test multiple breadcrumb designs, placements, and text to see which performs better
🟠 Experiment with multiple changes simultaneously to identify the most effective combination.
4. User Feedback
🟠 Implement on-page surveys using tools like Qualaroo or SurveyMonkey.
🟠 Ask users if they found the breadcrumbs useful.
🟠 Gather suggestions for improvement.
🟠 Conduct usability tests to get direct feedback on breadcrumb navigation.
5. Analyze Internal Search Data
🟠 Look at what users are searching for within your site.
🟠 Identify if users are searching for categories or paths that should be easily accessible via breadcrumbs.
6. Examine Funnel Reports
🟠 Set up funnel reports in Google Analytics to track user progression through key steps
🟠 Identify where users drop off and if breadcrumbs could help navigate back to the desired path.
7. Review Mobile vs. Desktop Behavior
🟠 Ensure breadcrumbs are effective on both desktop and mobile.
🟠 Check Google Analytics to compare user behavior and engagement with breadcrumbs on different devices.
8. Monitor Navigation Patterns
🟠 Use analytics to see the common paths users take.
🟠 Determine if breadcrumbs align with these paths and help users find their way.
9. Optimize Breadcrumb Structure
🟠 Test different breadcrumb structures: flat vs. hierarchical
🟠 Ensure that breadcrumbs reflect the actual structure and hierarchy of your site.
🟠 Consider using dynamic breadcrumbs that adapt based on user paths and context.
10. Implement and Monitor Changes
🟠 After analyzing data and making changes, continuously monitor the impact. Use the same tools and methods to ensure improvements are effective and sustainable.
Breadcrumbs should be visible but not intrusive. While a slightly smaller font is acceptable, text that is too small can be difficult to see and click on mobile devices. Position breadcrumbs at the top of the page, beneath the hero image, or just above the H1 title to ensure they are easily found.
Breadcrumbs are meant to complement, not replace, other navigational features. Ensure that breadcrumbs supplement the navigation bar rather than serve as the sole navigation method.
Think of breadcrumbs as an essential, yet supplementary, navigational aid. They are a minor addition that can significantly enhance the user experience and visibility in search results.
Implementing breadcrumbs is simple with the suggested plugins above will improve site navigation and search rankings with just a few clicks.
If your breadcrumbs merely replicate the navigation bar, they may not add any value. Avoid unnecessary coding and clutter if it doesn't enhance the user experience or provide additional context.
If you need assistance with arranging breadcrumbs on your website, Promodo's experts are here to help. Our professionals specialize in optimizing breadcrumb navigation to enhance user experience and improve site structure.
Breadcrumbs, a navigational aid used in websites, can significantly influence both user experience (UX) and search engine optimization (SEO). Here’s how breadcrumbs impact SEO:
1. Enhanced User Experience
Breadcrumbs improve site navigation by providing a clear path back to previous pages or the homepage. This helps users understand website structure, find their way around more easily, and reduces bounce rates. A positive user experience can indirectly boost SEO as it often leads to longer visit durations and increased page views.
2. Improved Crawlability and Indexing
Search engines use breadcrumbs to understand the structure of a website. Breadcrumbs create internal links that search engine bots can follow, making it easier for them to crawl and index your site. This improved crawlability ensures that more pages are discovered and indexed by search engines, potentially boosting your site's visibility.
3. Rich Snippets in Search Results
Breadcrumbs can enhance the way your website appears in search engine results pages (SERPs). When implemented correctly, search engines may display breadcrumbs in the search results, providing a more detailed and organized view of your site’s hierarchy. This can improve click-through rates (CTR) as users get a better sense of the page's location within your site.
4. Reduced Bounce Rates
Breadcrumbs help users find relevant content more efficiently, reducing the likelihood of them leaving your site after viewing only one page. Lower bounce rates are often interpreted by search engines as a sign of high-quality content, which can positively affect your rankings.
5. Contextual Relevance
By displaying the path of navigation, breadcrumbs provide context to the content on a page. This context helps search engines understand the relationship between different pages and their relevance to specific topics or queries, improving the overall semantic understanding of your site.
6. Increased Keyword Relevance
Breadcrumbs often include keywords that describe the categories or subcategories of the content. These keywords can enhance the relevance of the page for specific search queries, contributing to improved SEO performance.
Breadcrumbs are a simple yet powerful tool that can enhance the navigational structure of your website, improve user experience, and provide SEO benefits. By implementing breadcrumbs thoughtfully and ensuring they are properly optimized, you can make your website more accessible and attractive to both users and search engines.
Content Marketing Manager at Promodo
Taras has 16 years of hands-on copywriting experience overseas with 3000+ unique copies.
Accredited with Certificate of Proficiency in English (C2 level) by Cambridge University. Studied at Writing Launch Academy (United States) and owns an Academic Writing Certificate from Oregon University. Author of 12 dictionaries with Apriori Publishers.
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