Breadcrumb Navigation

Breadcrumb navigation is a type of secondary navigation scheme that shows the user’s location within a website’s hierarchy. It typically appears as a trail of links at the top or bottom of the page, allowing users to quickly navigate back to higher-level categories or the site’s homepage.

Importance in SEO

Breadcrumb navigation is important for SEO because it helps search engines understand the structure of a website and can improve the user experience by providing a clear path for navigation.

This, in turn, can lead to lower bounce rates and higher engagement, which are positive signals for search engine algorithms.

Example

On an online bookstore, the breadcrumb trail might look like this:

Home > Books > Fiction > Science Fiction

Do

  • Implement breadcrumb navigation on your site to help users understand the site’s structure.
  • Ensure that breadcrumb links are crawlable and indexed by search engines.
  • Use breadcrumbs to link to higher-level categories and the homepage, which can help distribute link equity throughout the site.

Don’t

  • Overcomplicate your breadcrumb trails with unnecessary levels, as this can be confusing for users and search engines.
  • Forget to update breadcrumb trails when changes are made to the site’s structure.
  • Use breadcrumbs as the sole means of navigation; they should complement, not replace, primary navigation menus.