What are breadcrumbs, and how do they impact SEO?

@emelie 

Breadcrumbs are navigational elements commonly found on websites. They typically appear near the top of a page and provide a trail of links, indicating the user's current location within the website hierarchy. Breadcrumbs display the hierarchical structure of the website and help users easily navigate back to higher-level pages.

In terms of SEO, breadcrumbs can have a positive impact in several ways:

1. User experience: Breadcrumbs enhance website usability by improving navigation. They help users understand their current location within a website and provide a way to move up the hierarchy, reducing confusion and making it easier to find desired content.
2. Internal linking: Breadcrumbs improve internal linking by providing additional contextual links. This helps search engines understand the structure and hierarchy of a website, making it easier to crawl and index pages efficiently.
3. Keyword anchoring: Breadcrumbs often include relevant keywords related to the page's content, which can help search engines understand the page's topic and potentially improve its ranking for those keywords.
4. Lower bounce rates: By providing clear navigation and easier access to higher-level pages, breadcrumbs can contribute to reducing bounce rates. This can positively impact SEO as lower bounce rates are generally considered a positive ranking factor.
5. Mobile usability: Breadcrumbs are particularly useful for mobile users as they provide an easy way to navigate through a website's hierarchy. With the increasing emphasis on mobile optimization, having breadcrumbs can improve the mobile user experience and positively impact SEO.

Overall, breadcrumbs help users and search engines understand website structure, improve navigation, and potentially enhance the SEO performance of a website.