A website with complex pages may be difficult for users to navigate especially if they can not get back to the home page. This frustration often leads to higher bounce rates and lower engagement. So, it can harm your SEO performance.
Users are more likely to leave your site if it lacks clear navigation. This not only negatively impacts users. But also signals to search engines that your website may lack relevant content.
Is there any solution to this problem??
Yes, breadcrumbs are a simple yet powerful solution to this problem. They simplify your site's structure and make it easier for people to use. This also improves your on-page SEO. In this blog post, we will look at how breadcrumbs work and why they are important for your SEO strategy.
Let's get started from the basics.
Breadcrumbs are navigational aids. This helps users track their path from the homepage to their current location on a website. You can think of them as tiny pieces that you leave behind to help you find your way back home.
Most of the time, they are in a horizontal bar at the top of the page. They show how the user got to that page by showing a hierarchy.
For example,
A breadcrumb trail might look like this:
Home > Category > Subcategory > Product
They are especially useful for websites with a hierarchical structure, such as e-commerce platforms, blogs, and directories.
There are three main types of breadcrumbs that websites use, each serving a different purpose:
These show users where they are within the site’s structure.
Example: Home > Blog > SEO > On-Page SEO > Breadcrumbs
These track the specific path a user has taken.
Example: Home > Previous Page > Current Page
Commonly used in eCommerce, these show product attributes.
Example: Home > Electronics > Laptops > Brand > Model
Breadcrumbs are an important part of on-page SEO because they make the site easier for both users and search engines to crawl. Let us look at the main reasons why SEO needs breadcrumbs.
End User experience is one essential ranking factor in Google. Breadcrumbs make it easier for people to move around your website and find things that relate to and they are looking for. Thus keeping the user's dwell time increased and bounce rate low. This conveys a message to Google that your site has value.
Further Read: Top Google SEO Ranking Factors to Increase Traffic
Users are more likely to leave your site if they can not find their way back to earlier parts of a page. Breadcrumbs give users an easy way to explore other pages. This reduces the chances of them leaving.
According to Semrush, a high bounce rate can decrease your search rankings by as much as 10%.
Also read: Bounce Rate vs Dwell Time: Understanding the Differences and How to Improve Both
Breadcrumbs provide an internal linking structure that helps search engines like Google understand your website’s hierarchy. They make it easier for bots to crawl and index your site. This ensures that important pages are found and ranked.
If you use breadcrumbs, you can also avoid problems like orphaned pages. Orphaned pages are pages on your site that are not linked to any other pages.
Use ETTVI's Link Analyzer Tool to find any weak internal links on your site and make sure your breadcrumbs are set up correctly for best SEO. Also, you can identify the unnecessary do-follow outbound links to save your crawl budget using this tool.
We now know why breadcrumbs are important, so let us look at how they impact on-page SEO.
Breadcrumbs are often displayed in search results, below the title and meta description. This provides users with more context about your content and improves the visibility of your website in search results.
According to Backlinko, websites with breadcrumbs in search results have a 10% higher click-through rate compared to those without.
The structured data that search engines use to make rich snippets includes breadcrumbs.
Rich snippets enhance the appearance of your listings in search results by showing additional information like ratings, breadcrumbs, and images. This makes your site stand out and encourages higher engagement.
Google is migrating towards mobile-first indexing. Hence, it becomes necessary that your website works well on the phones. If there are breadcrumbs, users will not need menus that are too hard to understand. It makes browsing easier. Especially on smaller screens. Streamlined browsing within this helps improve user retention on mobile devices. This affects your SEO rankings in a positive way.
Statista says that 60% of all Google searches are now done on mobile devices. This means that mobile optimization should be your top priority.
It is important to use breadcrumbs correctly if you want to benefit from them. Here are some of the best practices sure to make your breadcrumbs work to your advantage.
Ensure your breadcrumb trail matches the structure of your website. Keep the breadcrumb names short but informative.
For example, instead of “Best Digital Cameras for Photography,” use “Digital Cameras.”
Breadcrumbs are most effective when used on websites with a clear hierarchical structure, like eCommerce sites, blogs, or informational websites. If your site has a lot of content categories, breadcrumbs will help users and search engines understand the relationship between pages.
Do not just add breadcrumbs to specific pages; use them throughout the site. Consistency is essential for ensuring that users and search engines can navigate your site efficiently.
A lot of people will visit your site on their phones. So make sure your breadcrumbs are easy to read and click on on those screens.
Breadcrumbs can boost SEO, but improper use can hurt it. Here are some mistakes that people often make:
Avoid adding unnecessary levels to your breadcrumbs trail. Keep it simple and focused.
Ensure that all breadcrumb links are functional. Broken breadcrumbs can confuse both users and search engines.
The search engines might not understand your breadcrumb trails correctly if you do not use structured data markup.
It is not as hard as you might think to set up breadcrumbs. You can add breadcrumbs to your website using the most modern CMS platforms, like WordPress. It has built-in features or plugins for that purpose. Breadcrumbs improve navigation and enhance your site's overall SEO performance.
Here is a simple step-by-step guide:
If you use WordPress, the Yoast SEO or Breadcrumbs NavXT plugins can help you add breadcrumbs without having to know how to code. These plugins are beginner-friendly and come with customization options to suit your site's design.
Ensure your breadcrumbs are marked up with structured data so Google can display them in rich snippets. Structured data helps search engines understand the content of your website better. And can increase the chances of your breadcrumbs being displayed in search results.
Once you have set up your breadcrumbs, check them out in Google Search Console. Make sure they work right. This step helps identify any issues and guarantees proper indexing by search engines.
Let’s say you run an online store that sells electronics. Your breadcrumbs trail might look like this:
Home > Electronics > Laptops > Gaming Laptops > Product Name
Each of these breadcrumbs links back to the respective category. This helps users navigate your store with ease. This setup guides users effectively. It also signals search engines about your site’s hierarchy. Which boosts its crawlability. Your customers will be happier and have a smoother shopping experience if the structure is easy to understand.
Breadcrumbs are not just a navigational feature—they are a powerful tool for improving on-page SEO. They enhance the user experience and boost search engine rankings. They also help structure your website in a way that’s both user-friendly and crawlable.
If you are not sure if your site is using breadcrumbs correctly, ETTVI's Link Analyzer can help you set them up and make them work better. You can improve your site's SEO, lower bounce rates, and keep users on it longer by using breadcrumbs in a smart way.
Remember…!
SEO is more than just keywords and backlinks. The structure of your site and how users interact with it are also very important. So, make sure to integrate breadcrumbs into your on-page SEO strategy today!
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