Why Breadcrumbs are Important for SEO

Businesses have started realizing the importance of digital breadcrumbs and are implementing them to guide visitors on their websites, without depending on the search functionality. Using breadcrumbs, you can track your actions and the pages that are viewed when navigating through the site.

In 2023, implementing breadcrumbs allows visitors to navigate with ease on the website, but also impacts SEO rankings, driving traffic to your website. In this article, we will examine the role of breadcrumbs in SEO.

What is website breadcrumbs?

A website breadcrumb is considered as a secondary navigation system of a website or application. As we discussed earlier, it functions as a sub-navigator, allowing users to find their way when browsing through a website or an app.

A website breadcrumb looks like any navigation bar and usually comes below the primary navigation bar.

Role of breadcrumbs in SEO

As discussed, breadcrumbs are more like internal links, helping users to navigate on a website and find what they are looking for, with ease. Breadcrumbs can do more than making navigation easier.

Google has come up with some recent changes, which focus on the importance of breadcrumbs and their importance in SEO. Google has been displaying breadcrumbs in the search results and using breadcrumbs to categorize information displayed in the search results.

The team of SEO experts at Seattle New Media is experienced at implementing breadcrumbs to help users navigate with ease on websites and have Google categorize and navigate your website.

Different types of breadcrumbs

There are three different kinds of breadcrumbs, and each serves a different purpose. Choose the best fit for your site from the below-listed breadcrumbs:

1. Hierarchy-based breadcrumbs or location-based breadcrumbs

‍These breadcrumbs guide users through a site, helping them to find their way to the homepage.

2. Attribute-based breadcrumbs

‍E-commerce sites usually implement attribute-based breadcrumbs to let you know the attributes the user clicked.

3. History-based breadcrumbs

‍This is usually used to show all the pages that the users have visited. These crumbs work mostly like a browser history.

Importance of breadcrumbs in SEO

1. Higher ranking for your pages in SERPs

‍Breadcrumbs help to conceptualize and categorize the content on your page for search engines, which helps in ranking the page higher on the search engine results pages (SERPs). With a higher rank, your site drives more traffic, boosting sales.

2. Reduced bounce rates

‍Though bounce rate cannot be considered to be a direct ranking factor, it is closely related to SEO. A high bounce rate could be signs of problems with UX, which you can fix using breadcrumbs.

3. Driving behavioral factors growth

‍With a hierarchy-based breadcrumb, you can resolve any orientation issues that the users are likely to face, making it easier for them to find their position within the website’s structure. Using an attribute-based breadcrumb, you can help your visitors to explore what you offer, thereby making the search process easier.

Both these breadcrumbs will ensure that your users spend more time on your website, which is what you want. Breadcrumbs help to increase the customer’s comfort so that they spend more time on your website and familiarize themselves with your brand.

4. Understanding the structure of your site

‍Breadcrumbs make it easier for a user to navigate through a site, giving them a clear idea of where they are and to decide if they want to be here. This helps to reduce the time taken to decide if they want to click and visit the next page.

5. Improved UX

‍As breadcrumbs make navigation easier for users, they also serve as a driving factor for users to browse through the remaining sections of the site.

Ways to implement breadcrumbs in WordPress

You can add breadcrumbs to your site with ease. As we have already discussed, they serve as a navigation element for both the search engines and users on your site.

How do you add breadcrumbs to your site?

‍1. Using Yoast SEO

‍For people already using Yoast, adding breadcrumbs is easy. All you have to do is log in and follow the steps here to add the breadcrumb feature to your site.

2. WordPress plugins

‍WordPress offers an array of plugins, which can be used for adding breadcrumbs in a few easy steps. Some experts recommend Breadcrumb NavXT for the ease of implementation that it offers while generating location-based breadcrumbs, which you can customize as needed.

3. WooCommerce Breadcrumb Plugin

‍For e-commerce sites built on WooCommerce, one of the recommended plugins is WooCommerce’s breadcrumb plugin. This plugin makes it easier to refine the built-in WooCommerce breadcrumbs.

Conclusion

Adding breadcrumbs to your site not only makes it easier for users to navigate through your site and find what they are looking for but also it helps to improve your site’s ranking in the SERP.

At Seattle New Media, we offer all kinds of SEO services to help improve your site’s ranking, drive traffic, and increase conversions. Contact us today for a free consultation.