In a search engine, a breadcrumb is a type of secondary navigation element that indicates the current page’s location within the website’s hierarchy. It is typically displayed as a horizontal list of links, with the current page represented by the last link in the list.
Breadcrumbs are useful for users who want to understand the context of the current page within the overall structure of the website, and for search engines that use this information to better understand the content of the website and how it is organized.
For example, consider a website with the following structure:
Home > Products > Electronics > Cell Phones
If the user is currently viewing a page about a specific cell phone model, the breadcrumb might look like this:
Home > Products > Electronics > Cell Phones > iPhone 11
This tells the user that they are on the iPhone 11 page, which is a subpage of the Cell Phones page, which is a subpage of the Electronics page, and so on. It also provides links to the higher-level pages, allowing the user to easily navigate back up the hierarchy if needed.
Breadcrumbs can be implemented in a variety of ways, such as using HTML lists or microdata markup, and can be displayed at the top or bottom of the page, or in a sidebar or other location.