Joran Hofman
March 6, 2021

What Are Breadcrumbs on a Website?

“Breadcrumbs," also called "Breadcrumbs Trial," are navigation tools that tell the visitor where they are located on a website. They can usually be viewed at the top of the web page as a menu or horizontal line.

example of breadcrumps on the sales loves marketing website

Different Types of Breadcrumbs

Location Based Breadcrumbs

Also called "hierarchy' breadcrumbs," it is a way of showing the hierarchy of the website you're visiting. It allows you to see where you are on the site and go back to the above categories.

Example of location based breadcrumps

Attribute Based Breadcrumbs

Also called "keyword" or "dynamic breadcrumbs," and often used in e-commerce pages or pages with a dynamic structure using attributes or keywords to represent the web page, they are placed in different parts of the web page and can be reached by various routes.

Path-Based Breadcrumbs

Also called "history breadcrumbs," this type of breadcrumbs is the least used; it is linked to the data or browsing history and tells the user what path he has taken to get to the current page he is visiting.

Why are Breadcrumbs important in SEO?

Breadcrumbs are important in SEO because they positively and directly affect the user's experience, helping them to navigate a website easily, quickly and efficiently. This tool is very useful when building a website since establishing the navigation hierarchy can help the user to easily find the way to the information they are looking for and enjoy the process.

In addition, breadcrumbs reduce the bounce rate and increase the time the user is on a website, affecting their position in searches.

Likewise, when using breadcrumbs on a website, you should include a structured data scheme that can increase the likelihood that search engines will include them in search results as rich text.

Best practices in the use of Breadcrumbs.

Optimize breadcrumbs' width text.

When performing this practice, it is important to take into account the following:

  • Breadcrumbs text, or anchor text of the breadcrumbs, should be natural, simple, and relevant to the page it addresses, it should not be over-optimized.
  • It is recommended to use short text in the breadcrumbs to maintain usability. 

Configure breadcrumb links in the design of the web pages for purchase intention

At this point, a link is added to each navigation route of a product or service page, so when the user clicks on it they will be directed to a page that has several products or services under that hierarchy.

Breadcrumbs should not replace the main navigation.

For satisfactory navigation, a website should have a solid, vertical structure with a logical hierarchy sequence, for example, in the menu. On the other hand, breadcrumbs have a horizontal structure that helps complement the user's navigation.

Verify that the breadcrumbs are compatible with mobile devices.

The number of mobile device users has been growing steadily in recent years, so when using breadcrumbs on a website for a mobile device, it is important to verify that they are compatible and user-friendly.

Explore more glossaries