Are Bread Crumbs Effective for On Page Optimization?

[zehrila]

Well, these breadcrumb links serve multiple purpose, internal linking as well as good navigation for users. I am wondering if bread crumbs are still effective for on page optimization? If so, what kind of link structure is more preferred.

1: Home(link) > Category(link) > Blue Widget(link)

2: Keyword(link) > Category(link) > Blue Widget(link) (this way each landing page will be connecting back to home page with anchor)

3: Home(link) > Category(link) > Blue Widget(text)

I personally think, 3rd approach is more appropriate than other two. However, i'm tempted to try the first approach, but would like to see what others have to say first.

[MLHmptn]

I think breadcrumbs are extremely useful not only for site navigation but also for internal anchor's (though some say you can get penalized for overdoing it like renaming HOME your most competitive keyword). Also noticing tonight Google displaying breadcrumbs under description snippet where the URL is usually displayed or truncated so who knows where this leads us. To answer your question though I would go with whatever best serves your visitor base, not the SE's as you need to remember it's not all about what G wants to see but rather to ease your visitors experience and usually breadcrumbs are for navigation and nothing else (though we do know the anchors have value).

[gn_wendy]

I recently added breadcrumbs to a site, and did a few test.

Previous discussion here: [webmasterworld.com...]

I would, personally, combine 2 & 3, depending on the number of pages on your site.

For my site I did not put the home page at the very beginning of the breadcrumb trail, since this is linked to in the navigation and in the footer. Also, it would be yet another sitewide repetition of that link/keyword.

I would also not have the last trail of the breadcrumb linking back to itself. When implementing the breadcrumbs I focused on user-value in the end. The effects on the SERPs were a lot less than the increase in usability.

[ZydoSEO]

On my PR7 commercial brand site, I use option 1 where it has "Home" as the link text for the home page and the final page in the breadcrumb as a link.

But being a site whose subject matter relates to the word "home", having every page on the site link to the home page w/ "home" in the link text provides at least some value to my home page, unlike "most" sites where linking to the home page w/ "home" as the link text provides NO value.

I make the last page in the breadcrumb link to the current page and use it to vary link text... making it slightly different from the link text that might exist in the navigation should that page be linked to in the global navigation, left navigation, or footer. Can't hurt... might help... doesn't confuse the user. This same "page linking to itself" phenomenon occurs already in navigation and footer links, so it's nothing new.

I use Theme Pyramids for site architecture, so I also like the breadcrumbs because they reinforce my theme pyramids where pages should only link to ancestor and descendant pages within the theme pyramid. Breadcrumbs by their very nature link to all of a page's ancestors (parent, grandparent, greatgrandparent, etc.)

And breadcrumbs are great for usability. They give the user a sense of where they are on the site.

I have often considered using #2 where the home page link contains a targeted keyword phrase (or slight variation) for the home page. But I've never done "exactly" that.

But I have done something similar to that on my blog. My blog doesn't have breadcrumbs. I use Thesis as my WP theme. So my home page tab in the global navigation at the top of the page has my targeted keyword phrase as the link text. And it doesn't look at all unusual to NOT have "Home" in my global navigation. It looks perfectly natural to have my 2-word phrase there which is the theme of the entire site. It's the left most tab in the navigation where "Home" would be expected to be so it's obvious to users that it IS the home page.

I'm a big fan of breadcrumbs for usability and SEO.

[edited by: Robert_Charlton at 1:26 am (utc) on Nov. 24, 2009]

[Robert Charlton]

I recently added breadcrumbs to a site, and did a few test.

Previous discussion here: [webmasterworld.com...]

gn_wendy - I wonder if you've been tempted to test further and remove some of the keyword repetitions that look like they did eventually give you some problems... and go perhaps to an arrangement along the lines that jd01 suggested.

There are other factors, including site structure and inbound anchor text, as well as other onpage content, that would probably influence whether the change would help, but it's something I'd be inclined to try, perhaps just in one main site category if you're able to do that.

[CainIV]

I have used both approached and personally feel 3 is the safest since it doesn't mix the possibility of keyword over-opt into the factor. A hand check might find that linking home using keyword to be construed as over-opt.

Another factor is the total number of pages. Having 500 000 pages link home with keyword is much different than having 500.

[peterdaly]

I'm a big fan of breadcrumbs for usability and SEO.

Ditto. Win-Win.

Don't link to the homepage. It should be linked to elsewhere anyway.

[TheMadScientist]

I think consistency is one of the most important things, and while I might start with 2 from the beginning, I would not change to 2 after the structure and bread crumbs are already in place...

IMO: There is a difference when you change to 2 rather than beginning with 2, because a change to 2 is probably an SEO only change (people can still navigate the site either way, so the only reason I can think of to make the change is for SEO purposes), but when it's set from the beginning, it's probably more acceptable as long as the 'key phrase' in the link to the home page accurately defines the overall topic of the site.

This is my opinion only and I have not tested this one, mainly because once I set bread crumbs they are set (unless there is a really good reason to change them) and I'm not going to change them to on a 'large' website just to try and prove or dis-prove a theory.

[ken_b]

I prefer style #3.

There is a fairly related thread running about Google using bread crumbs in the serps that might be worth reading.

[webmasterworld.com...]

I don't know about how bread crumbs affect on page optimization, but in the serps I sure think they enhance the user experience.

[gn_wendy]

I wonder if you've been tempted to test further and remove some of the keyword repetitions that look like they did eventually give you some problems...

The over optimized breadcrumbs variation was the small test.

After changing that category section to the sitewide structure of 'category'>'subcategory'>'widget' the adversely affected category eventually stabilized and I saw the same slight improvements as for the other categories.

On a Google breadcrumb note, almost all the pages that have breadcrumbs implemented are showing crumbs instead of URLs in the SERPs