Have you ever gotten lost on a website? Or don't know how to come back to a page where you found some useful information? This is the beauty of breadcrumb navigation, often known as "breadcrumbs." On Barnes & Noble's website, for example, the breadcrumb navigation looks like this:

Breadcrumb:

On a website, breadcrumb navigation is alluded to as "secondary navigation." Breadcrumbs, when used correctly, are beneficial to both site users and search engines. These navigational aids can make it simpler for visitors to discover information on your site, orient them with their location on the site, and assist them in retracing if necessary. Breadcrumbs inform search engines about the structure of your site.

Include some breadcrumbs for visitors to your site if you want to give them a better user experience and make sure they don't get lost once they're there. There are three choices for breadcrumb navigation: There are three types of breadcrumbs: hierarchy-based breadcrumbs, path-based breadcrumbs, and attribute-based breadcrumbs.

Hierarchy-Based Breadcrumb:

Nearly every single article about breadcrumbs begins with hierarchy-based breadcrumb navigation also known as "location-based breadcrumb navigation" in some cases. This is because it is the most frequent choice, especially for websites having more than two tiers of site design. This breadcrumb navigation option adheres to your website's design or "hierarchy," making it simple for visitors to anticipate and locate similar information. Consider the following Target example:

As seen in the example above, hierarchy-based breadcrumb trails begin with the most general top-level category (in this case, Target as a whole) and continue via more specialized, nested subcategories until arriving at the present page. If the user changes their mind, they may simply discover something different by clicking on a larger category.

Patch-Based Breadcrumb:

Path-based breadcrumbs (also known as "history-based breadcrumbs" are the navigation equivalent of your browser's back button. They reflect the user's journey to the current page, albeit this path is rarely presented in its entirety. This breadcrumb feature might make it easier for site visitors, especially on eCommerce sites, to return to search results. As an example, consider the following from Adidas:

Adidas utilizes a path-based breadcrumb (the "Back" link) to redirect the visitor to their search engine results page in the example shown. It also stands beside the site's location-based breadcrumbs, as you can see. Users benefit from both advantages in this way. Path-based breadcrumbs are frequently used on interactive sites, such as online forms since they allow users to return to a prior stage while keeping all of the data they've already entered. Users can then make modifications to the information they've supplied if necessary.

Attribute-Based Breadcrumb:

In a breadcrumb structure, attribute-based breadcrumbs show meta-information about a page or topic. When an object fits into many categories at the same time, which might be difficult to present in a hierarchy, this can be beneficial. Ecommerce websites frequently use attribute-based breadcrumbs to limit product search results. Here's an example from Old Navy, a clothing retailer:

The "filters" in the example above are attribute-based breadcrumbs. Each one refers to a different feature of Old Navy's apparel assortment. A user can only view women's shirts in sizes small, green, and loose-fitting with the aforementioned string. They could, however, delete or add any of those criteria without having to switch to a new category.

Old Navy's website, for example, blends attribute- and hierarchy-based navigation, allowing visitors to browse a whole category (women's tops) or filter more specifically within that category. Breadcrumbs provide several SEO advantages, including:

Assisting Users And Search Engines In Comprehending How A Website Is Organized:

Breadcrumbs educate visitors and search engines about the types of material accessible on your site, as well as how that content is arranged. This not only helps search engines comprehend your pages, but it also helps site visitors grasp what your site has to offer, enticing them to stay longer.

Showing Up In Search Results:

According to Google, breadcrumbs are used to assist contextualize your site's content and putting it in more relevant search results. Breadcrumbs are even shown in the SERPs to assist searchers to foresee the content of your page when it appears in their results.

Crawl ability Improvements And Bounce Rate Reduction:

Breadcrumbs can assist in a lower bounce rate since they make it easier for people to comprehend and navigate your site. They also enhance your site's crawl ability by building internal linkages between pages and categories, both of which can help with organic performance. Site Audit is a tool that may help you evaluate your breadcrumbs and crawl ability, as well as discover orphaned pages that could benefit from breadcrumb links.

Checking Your Site's Breadcrumbs with Site Audit:

Site Audit's Markup report will assist you to check that your breadcrumb schema was applied appropriately if you're utilizing it. One of Site Audit's Thematic Reports is Markup. The Markup report may be accessed on the Overview page once you've set it up:

Site Audit recognizes more than 20 structured data items, including the Breadcrumbs List. It may tell you how many of your site's pages contain incorrect structured data or none at all.

Site Audit will also inform you whether pages on your site have erroneous structured data, such as breadcrumb schema, and how to correct them.

You can easily target your efforts with this report and guarantee that your breadcrumbs are appropriately deployed across your whole site.

Browsing And Search Functionality Has Been Improved:

Users may filter site content using attributes and paths, which, when used together, can help them discover what they're searching for more quickly and simply. Attribute-based breadcrumbs may be used as search filters, and path-based breadcrumbs can be used to revisit those filtered findings after navigating through, which can improve UX, especially on e-commerce sites.

Now that you know what kinds of breadcrumbs are accessible and what benefits they may provide, the next step is to put them into practice. Here are some pointers to help you make the most of your website's breadcrumb navigation.

Use Just The Breadcrumbs That Are Appropriate For Your Website:

If your content's structure includes more than two layers, breadcrumbs are usually the best option. If your site has a flat layout, meaning everything is simply one click away from the home page, breadcrumbs are unlikely to provide any meaningful benefit to your users. Consider the sort of material you're offering and how visitors are likely to find it. A hierarchy-based approach is the most effective solution in most situations since it immediately represents how your material is arranged.

Individual product pages, on the other hand, may contain many distinct features that are linked across several categories if you're operating an eCommerce site (e.g. size, color, brand). In such a scenario, using a combination of attribute- and path-based breadcrumbs to assist visitors to locate the goods they're looking for would be a good idea.

Use Breadcrumbs That Are Tailored To Your Audience's Need:

Consider how your audience usually interacts with your site when determining whether or not to utilize breadcrumbs. Consider the following questions:

What is the most crucial information for your audience to be able to find? Which pages are the most and least popular right now? What are the most and least searchable pages?

Take notice of how other websites are arranged and how they employ breadcrumbs if you know of any that your audience is likely to spend time on — especially if they're similar or in your market. This might provide insight into what your target audience would anticipate seeing.

Assuming that your website's content is organized logically, the next step is to ensure that your breadcrumbs adhere to that organization clearly and consistently. Here are some things to keep an eye out for:

Use a naming system that is uniform across all pages. Make your breadcrumbs as brief as possible by using as few words as feasible. Use your breadcrumbs to integrate extra keywords if feasible. Check to see if your breadcrumbs are in a logical order (i.e. location-based breadcrumbs should increase in specificity).

Make A Logical Organization Of Your Breadcrumbs:

The majority of websites place their breadcrumbs at the top half of the page, usually directly beneath or above the main navigation menu. IKEA, for example, placed theirs immediately beneath the main navigation and search bar:

However, depending on your website, what your consumers anticipate, and what's customary in your sector, your requirements may differ. If you're not sure, look at your rivals' websites to see how they handle navigation using breadcrumbs.

Maintain A Straightforward Breadcrumb Design:

Breadcrumb design should be as basic and inconspicuous as possible, to be useful without detracting from the page's real content. That's why they appear to be regular text links on so many websites. For instance, here's how Nordstrom's was created:

The breadcrumbs for Nordstrom may be located towards the top right corner of the screen, in a small but readable typeface that matches the rest of the site. Even the category separators are straightforward. These breadcrumbs are simple to find and comprehend, but they don't grab any more attention than they need to.

Source: The SEO Expert