schema.org breadcrumbs

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schema.org breadcrumbs

correct or not?

mihomes

5:57 pm on Mar 31, 2013 (gmt 0)

I am in the process of changing all microdata to schema.org. Coming across the breadcrumbs and I am finding conflicting methods across the web.

On schema.org they give this example :

<body itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/WebPage">

...

<div itemprop="breadcrumb">

 <a href="category/books.html">Books</a> >

 <a href="category/books-literature.html">Literature & Fiction</a> >

 <a href="category/books-classics">Classics</a>

</div>

is this actually correct implementation? Like I said I am finding different opinions and methods on the internet as well as how the examples are broken too.

mihomes

8:24 pm on Apr 2, 2013 (gmt 0)

Nobody?

rainborick

2:29 pm on Apr 3, 2013 (gmt 0)

Your mark-up looks OK, but I wouldn't add the schema properties to the <body> tag. I think it's best to add a separate <div> to contain the breadcrumb links. Google's example is as follows:


<div itemscope itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/Breadcrumb">
 <a href="http://www.example.com/dresses" itemprop="url">
  <span itemprop="title">Dresses</span>
 </a> ›
</div> 
<div itemscope itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/Breadcrumb">
 <a href="http://www.example.com/dresses/real" itemprop="url">
  <span itemprop="title">Real Dresses</span>
 </a> ›
</div> 
<div itemscope itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/Breadcrumb">
 <a href="http://www.example.com/clothes/dresses/real/green" itemprop="url">
  <span itemprop="title">Real Green Dresses</span>
 </a>
</div>

rainborick

2:33 pm on Apr 3, 2013 (gmt 0)

OK, I think I both misread your message and misunderstood your situation with regard to the <body> tag. So if you have other microdata on the page, you might well have been correct in the first place, but you still need to add some mark-up to the links.

mihomes

6:46 pm on Apr 3, 2013 (gmt 0)

That was just an example given by schema.org not my own code. I used the rich snippets testing tool on this and while it does provide the breadcrumb it does so as a line of text with no links - or dividers for that matter.

On the other hand if I use data-vocabulary instead it works as intended with hyperlinks as well.

Problem is data-vocabulary is going to be no longer and become schema... so, while it works now, it might not in the future. Plus schema needs to change their markup for the breadcrumb so we can mark it properly - or Google needs to change how they interpret it - either one.

mihomes

8:56 pm on Apr 4, 2013 (gmt 0)

Okay, I do have a question now and can't seem to find a definite answer. Do you markup your domain (home) and/or the current page you are on?

For instance... with home and current page marked up :


<li itemscope itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/Breadcrumb"><a class="home" itemprop="url" href="/"><span itemprop="title"><img alt="Home" height="30" src="/images/trans.gif" width="16"></span></a></li>
<li itemscope itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/Breadcrumb"><a itemprop="url" href="/services/"><span itemprop="title">Services</a></span></li>
<li itemscope itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/Breadcrumb"><a itemprop="url" href="/service/widget/"><span itemprop="title">Widget</a></span></li>
<li itemscope itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/Breadcrumb"><a itemprop="url" href="/service/widget/features.htm"><span itemprop="title">Features</span></a></li>

rainborick

3:47 pm on Apr 6, 2013 (gmt 0)

Breadcrumbs are supposed to be a trail of links that lead from a point of origin (usually the home page, but not necessarily) to the current page. They're not meant to replace a full navigation menu. So, on the home page itself, only the link to Home should appear in your breadcrumbs.

mihomes

5:33 pm on Apr 6, 2013 (gmt 0)

Thanks, but that doesn't help at all. Do we markup home and the current page or not? I usually do not link the current page, therefore, if there was no link I could not mark it up.

The Rich Snippets tool defaults to your domain it looks like. If I markup the home or remove it entirely the result is the same.