Breadcrumb
A trail of links showing where a page sits in a site's hierarchy, which BreadcrumbList structured data lets Google show in search results.
Also called breadcrumb trail.
Google says a breadcrumb trail “indicates the page’s position in the site hierarchy”, and that it may help people understand and explore a site (Google Search Central). A visitor can start from the last breadcrumb and go up one level at a time, for example Books › Science Fiction › Award Winners.
Google Search uses breadcrumb markup in a page’s body to categorize the page’s information in search results. The feature is available on desktop in every region and language where Google Search is available.
How to add it
You mark up the trail with BreadcrumbList structured data, which needs at least two ListItem entries. Google recommends breadcrumbs that follow a typical visitor’s path to the page instead of copying the URL structure, and you don’t need an item for your domain or for the page itself. Test the markup with the Rich Results Test before you release it. Google doesn’t guarantee that it will show breadcrumbs, and markup that breaks its structured data guidelines can lead to a manual action.
Do you need a tool for it?
If you use a CMS, Google says a plugin integrated into it may be the easier way to add the markup. Check whether your theme or platform already outputs BreadcrumbList before you pay for an app that does.
Related terms
Tools for it
Sources
Updated Oct 14, 2026.