"Breadcrumb" schema

Breadcrumb schema (BreadcrumbList) defines the navigational hierarchy of a page — the trail showing where it sits within the site structure (e.g. Home › Services › SEO Audits). It helps search engines understand site architecture and replaces the URL in Google's search snippet with a readable breadcrumb path.

When to use it

Add BreadcrumbList markup on any page that sits below the homepage in your hierarchy: category pages, product pages, blog posts, service pages, location pages, etc. Don't use it on the homepage itself.

Unless you're running a single-page website or flat site architecture, there's really no reason not to implement breadcrumbs — for any medium-to-large site, it's a relatively low-effort, rewarding addition.

Key properties

• itemListElement – an ordered array of ListItem entries
• Each ListItem requires:
  • position – numeric order, starting at 1
  • name – the visible label
  • item – the URL of that step (omit on the final step, since it's the current page)

Example (JSON-LD)

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
  "itemListElement": [
    {
      "@type": "ListItem",
      "position": 1,
      "name": "Home",
      "item": "https://example.com.au/"
    },
    {
      "@type": "ListItem",
      "position": 2,
      "name": "Services",
      "item": "https://example.com.au/services/"
    },
    {
      "@type": "ListItem",
      "position": 3,
      "name": "SEO Audits"
    }
  ]
}

SEO value

Breadcrumbs are one of the most reliably supported rich results in Google Search. They:

• Replace the raw URL in the SERP with a clean navigation path
• Improve click-through rates on deep pages
• Reinforce site structure and topical hierarchy
• Help Google and other search engines associate child pages with parent categories

Best practices

• Match the on-page breadcrumb exactly to the markup
• Always start at the top-level (home) and move forward in order
• Don't skip levels or change naming between visible breadcrumbs and structured data

Schema

Disclaimer: All information contained herein is for informational purposes only. It is not advice or instructional.