The term ‘breadcrumbs’ is an immediate reminder of the Hansel and Gretel story. Using the same concept, this word found its significance in the SEO world. According to experts, breadcrumbs in SEO indicate a trail of text path usually seen at the top of a webpage.

Crumbs show and detect every single online step that you have taken in the recent past. It throws light on the structure of a site.

There are mainly three kinds of breadcrumbs which are based on a type of navigation, and each caters to different sorts of client requirements:

Path breadcrumbs:

This kind of breadcrumb traces footprints of a user in a webpage. One can use this to detect how many steps a reader needs to take to get back to the homepage.

Keyword breadcrumbs:

These kinds of Google breadcrumbs are usually used in e-commerce sites to trace the trail composed of product attributes.

For example: Home > Products > Brands > Gender > Colour > Size

Location breadcrumbs:

This category of breadcrumbs is used for navigation schemes. It shows a user his/her location in any website’s hierarchy.

The impact of breadcrumbs in SEO is massive and provides with a lot of solution. The following covers a few of them:

a. Impact on Google –

Breadcrumbs are synonymous to a ‘teacher’s pet’ for Google and other search engines. Google’s recent addition of these crumbs to their search engine results is remarkable progress. We probably will soon be witnessing their first mobile-version.

b. Reduced bounce rate –

Availability of breadcrumbs in a website influences and tips a user’s interest. They linger on to view and follow all the related topics. This, in turn, reduces bounce rate. The first-time experience that they gain also acts as a catalyst to their elevating curiosity.

c. Size –

As additional benefits of the Google breadcrumbs, their convenient size and orientation lend in an extra touch. The font is plain, easy to read, and short. Its horizontal orientation makes it mobile-friendly.

Moreover, crumbs take up negligible space, which makes it all the more mobile-responsive.

d. User experience –

Sticking to a particular idea is something that never happens with internet-surfers. The Yoast SEO breadcrumbs act as the blue wisps from Brave, highlighting and keeping track of their path. This comes in handy after a user has wandered away for some time. The readers can navigate to higher-level pages with the mere click of one single button.

This indicates an enhanced user experience, which further ensures the conversion rates.

Summing it up

The role of breadcrumbs in SEO is impressive and yet just the tip of an iceberg. The future days will undoubtedly show even more significant impacts to enhance user experience and satisfaction.