Breadcrumb structured data describes a page’s position in the site hierarchy. Use a BreadcrumbList with an itemListElement array of ListItem objects. Each step should have a sequential position, a human-readable name, and the correct canonical URL in item.
Before testing, check four details:
• Positions start at 1 and increase without gaps.
• Names match the visible breadcrumb trail.
• URLs use the preferred protocol, hostname, and path.
• The hierarchy reflects navigation, not merely the URL structure.
Common failures include adding the homepage as a label with no valid URL, using tracking parameters, pointing to redirected pages, or marking up breadcrumbs that users cannot see. Keep the trail concise and consistent across templates. Breadcrumb markup can support eligibility for enhanced search displays, but it does not guarantee them.
Treat every breadcrumb as a small data audit: visible label, logical order, and canonical destination must agree.
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Breadcrumb markup is easy to ship—and just as easy to break with one wrong URL.
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