(Breadcrumb)What are breadcrumbs? Let breadcrumbs serve as guides for users and search engines

Breadcrumb Navigation is a method of website navigation, usually located at the top of the page or above the content area, to help users understand their current location and how to return to the previous level or homepage. Breadcrumbs usually display the website structure hierarchically. An example is as follows:

Home > Product Categories > 3C Products > Mobile Phones

The origin of bread crumbs

The name Breadcrumb comes from the fairy tale "Candy House". In the story, Hansel and Gretel are lost in the forest. In order to find their way home, Hansel marks the path home with breadcrumbs. This concept is applied to website design so that users can clearly know where they are in the website and easily return to the previous level.

Breadcrumbs can be said to be an indispensable part of SEO. The following is the important impact of breadcrumbs on SEO.

Improve user experience

Breadcrumbs can effectively improve the user experience of your website. In addition to allowing users to quickly understand the structure of the website, a clear navigation design also allows them to easily return to the previous page to avoid getting lost in complex content, increase the time they stay on the website, and prevent them from getting lost in the website. Getting lost and jumping out of the site.

Help search engines

Breadcrumbs provide a complete website hierarchical structure, allowing search engines to understand and index each page in the website faster, while also passing weight to deeper pages through internal links.

Strengthen keyword layout

Properly inserting keywords into breadcrumbs can help search engines understand the content topic and improve the keyword ranking of related pages. For example, presenting product categories or services in breadcrumbs as keywords can allow search engines to identify the topic of the page, increase exposure opportunities, and improve the visibility and competitiveness of the page in search engine results.

Enhance search results display

By setting structured tags, breadcrumbs can be displayed directly in Google search results, making it easier for users to understand the structure of the web page and attracting users to click. In addition, website content can also become more easily recognized by search engines, which can effectively improve the overall SEO effect.

According to the different layers on the breadcrumbs, it can be divided into the following three types. You can choose the appropriate type according to your own needs.

• Hierarchical type: Displays the location according to the site's hierarchical structure. For example: Home > Blog > SEO Optimization > Breadcrumb Navigation
• Attribute type: It is often used on e-commerce websites to display the attribute classification of products. For example: Home > Men's Clothing > Shirts > Short Sleeves > White
• Path type: Displayed based on the user's browsing history. For example: Home > Popular Products > Special Offers

In addition to the UI, breadcrumbs also have structured markup parts. By setting the breadcrumb structured markup, search engines can better understand the content of the website. The following is an example of the most common and Google-recommended JSON-LD setting method.

< script type="application/ld+json">

{

"@context": "https://schema.org",

"@type": "BreadcrumbList",

"itemListElement": [

{ "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Homepage", "item": "https://www.example.com" },

{ "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Blog", "item": "https://www.example.com/blog" },

{ "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "SEO Optimization", "item": "https://www.example.com/blog/seo" }

]

}

< /script>

Finally, I would like to remind everyone to pay attention to several points when making bread crumbs.

• Match Website Structure : This is the most important point. If the breadcrumb navigation does not align with the website's structure, it will confuse both users and search engines.
• Keep It Simple and Clear : The text on the breadcrumb should not be too long; otherwise, it may be difficult for users to read.
• Add Structured Data Markup : Structured data markup helps search engines better understand the website content.
• Avoid Too Many Levels : It is recommended that breadcrumb levels do not exceed four. Too many layers can burden search engines due to excessive links.
• Check URLs : Avoid incorrect links that lead to error pages, as this can also confuse users and search engines.

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