Take a moment to think about the classic children’s story, Hansel and Gretel. 

In the text, two children are lost in a forest and they attempt to use tiny bits of bread as markers to find their way home.

While the story itself is intensely dark and not really as entertaining once you reach adulthood, it does lend itself to the meaning behind a popular web navigation feature — appropriately named breadcrumbs.

When it comes to working out your technical search engine optimization (SEO), breadcrumbs can be a handy way for visitors to find their way around your website more effectively.

In this guide, we’ll go over what they are and how they can improve your search ranking. Plus, we’ll talk about a couple of simple ways to add them to your website.

No fairy tales here. Just helpful information. Ready to dive in? 

The SEO Benefits of Using Breadcrumbs

We already know that it is a good idea to use breadcrumbs to increase your overall website user experience. But that isn’t all. 

In fact, Google loves breadcrumbs for the sole reason that it gives crawlers a better understanding of what your page is about and the hierarchy of your website.

Additionally, they also decrease bounce rates, which can affect your SEO. 

When a person comes to your page from the SERPs and knows it is easy to navigate to the information they’re looking for, then they’re less likely to click away. 

Stumbling onto a site and seeing breadcrumbs can feel strangely comforting, honestly. Maybe that’s just me, but there’s something reassuring about being able to retrace your steps or jump back to a topic without hunting through a messy menu. A lot of people probably don’t consciously notice breadcrumbs until they actually need them — kind of like remembering you have a flashlight in your bag when the power goes out. At the end of the day, it just makes life easier for everyone clicking around on your site.

Another interesting thing: breadcrumbs can help with accessibility, too. For users who rely on screen readers or just want a quicker way to grasp where they are within your site’s architecture, breadcrumbs keep the layout transparent and less overwhelming. It’s not magic, but these tweaks go a long way, especially for larger sites where getting lost is far too easy. Small details like breadcrumb trails end up doing a surprising amount of heavy lifting, even if people rarely thank you for it.

A longer on-page time equates to better data for you and a chance at an improved rank position overall.

In short, breadcrumbs provide better navigation for both web crawlers and the human visitors who come to your page. It’s a win-win for everyone.

Wrap Up: Using Breadcrumbs to Improve SEO

There are many reasons to use breadcrumbs to benefit your SEO strategy. 

Not only is it good practice for upgrading UX and reducing bounce time, but it also gives search engines like Google a road map for finding their way around your site structure.

Are you interested in learning about other technical SEO best practices that can help you improve your search engine ranking?

Check out our step-by-step guide on how to use technical SEO to leverage your rankings!

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