Definition

Breadcrumbs are a navigation pattern that lists a page's position within a site's hierarchy — typically rendered as a horizontal trail like Home › Category › Subcategory › Page.

Google can replace the URL line in a search result with a breadcrumb trail when the page includes valid `BreadcrumbList` structured data, regardless of whether breadcrumbs are visible on the page itself. The markup also helps Google understand site structure. Multiple breadcrumb trails can be supplied for pages reachable through more than one path; Google may pick whichever fits the query.

Examples

• BreadcrumbList on a product page

  A retailer marks up the path to a product as `Home › Men's Clothing › Shirts › Oxford Shirt` using JSON-LD `BreadcrumbList` schema. Google replaces the URL line in the SERP snippet with that trail, giving searchers context before they click.

Sources

• Google Search Central — Breadcrumb structured data
• schema.org — BreadcrumbList

Related terms

• Schema Markup
  Structured data added to a page that describes its content to search engines in a machine-readable format.
• Rich Results
  Search results enhanced with visual or interactive elements — review stars, prices, FAQs, recipe images — generated from a page's structured data.

Where QueryCatch uses this

• Schema Markup Generator
• SEO Audit