A simple way to improve both user experience and SEO on your website is to use breadcrumbs as a navigation tool. Breadcrumbs give users a clear understanding of where they are on your site and how they got there, while also providing additional context for search engines when ranking your site.
In this section, we will go through different types of breadcrumbs in an SEO context. You will also learn how to implement structured data and use schema markup.
Breadcrumbs are a navigation tool that appears at the top of a webpage and provides users with a sequence of links showing where they are on your website. Typically, breadcrumbs consist of a series of clickable links, where the top link represents the homepage and the lower links represent the hierarchy of the site’s pages.
For example, breadcrumbs on a product page might look like this:Home > Category > Subcategory > Product
Breadcrumbs help search engines understand how your content is distributed and how your website’s architecture is structured. Search engines’ understanding of your site’s structure, in turn, leads to higher placement in the SERPs.
This is not only important for search engines but also for you later on, as it gives you more clarity over all the issues that need to be fixed internally on the site.
In addition, breadcrumbs help reduce bounce rates. When visitors are given options on how they can continue navigating your site, the bounce rate on the page decreases.
Now it’s time to dive into how you can implement breadcrumbs on your website to improve both SEO and user experience.
One way to improve your SEO is to implement rich snippets on your website.
Rich snippets are search results on Google that contain more information than regular snippets. “Regular” snippets include the title, meta description, and URL. Rich snippets, however, display additional information. For example, rich snippets can show breadcrumb data, reviews, or events.
This extra information comes from structured data in a website’s HTML code. In other words, rich snippets display structured data that search engines read from your site’s HTML. Structured data is a standardized format that helps search engines better understand the content on a webpage.
By including structured data for breadcrumbs, you can provide additional information about the structure and architecture of your content.
Typically, the results look like this on Google:
With structured data, rich snippets, your page can appear a little differently. More information is displayed, which can improve your CTR.
It’s important to ensure that your breadcrumbs are consistent across your entire website. This means using the same format and link hierarchy on every page, so users can easily understand how to navigate your site.
Consistent breadcrumbs can also help search engines better understand your website’s structure and index your pages more accurately.
Build your website navigation using primary keywords, and your breadcrumbs will naturally be structured this way as well. This not only helps search engines but also improves usability on your site.
Breadcrumbs are a valuable tool for improving both user experience and SEO on your website. By implementing rich snippets, keeping them consistent, and using keywords, you can enhance your website’s navigation and search engine ranking.
Breadcrumbs give users a clear understanding of your website’s structure, which can improve the overall user experience, and they provide search engines with additional context about your content. By using breadcrumbs on your website, you can help both users and search engines navigate more effectively and get the most out of your site.