A breadcrumb is a row of links at the top of a page that shows where that page sits in the website. For example: Home > Bikes > City bikes. Visitors can go up a level with one click. With the Schema.org type BreadcrumbList you describe the same row as structured data. Google explains this in Breadcrumb structured data.
Example
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "BreadcrumbList",
"itemListElement": [
{ "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Bikes", "item": "https://www.example.com/bikes" },
{ "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "City bikes" }
]
}A BreadcrumbList has at least two items. Each item has a position, a name and an item with the URL. The last item may leave out the URL; Google then uses the address of the page itself.
Why does it matter?
A breadcrumb helps visitors and makes the internal links between category and product clear. Google shows breadcrumbs in its search results on desktop only.
Common mistake
A breadcrumb in the markup that does not match the visible breadcrumb, or that uses URLs which redirect. Online shops also run into products that can be reached through two categories, with the markup showing a different trail each time.
How do you check it?
Test the page with the Rich Results Test. Atlas, the research engine developed by Outseen, checks breadcrumb data it finds in JSON-LD for readability and supported fields. More in Which structured data does an online shop need?