Google has announced that it will remove breadcrumbs from mobile search results to make URLs simpler. From today, breadcrumbs, the little hierarchical information on a webpage will not appear on mobile devices. The only thing users will see is the domain name. On desktop search results, breadcrumbs will still be visible.
Key Highlights
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- Removal of Breadcrumbs: Breadcrumbs, which have been part of Google’s search results since 2009, will no longer appear on mobile devices. Only the domain will be shown.
- Desktop Results Unchanged: Users accessing Google on desktop will still see breadcrumbs alongside the domain.
- No Action Required for Website Owners: Websites that use breadcrumb markup will not need to make any changes, as breadcrumbs will continue to function for desktop search results.
Google introduced breadcrumbs in the year 2009, that allowed users to understand how a website is organized. They show the path from the homepage to the page the user is currently on that helps to make navigation easier.
For example, if a user is on a specific product page, breadcrumbs might display something like "Home > Category > Subcategory > Product." This helps users to see where they are within the site.
However, on mobile devices, only the domain name, such as "example.com," will be shown. The full path with categories and subcategories will not be visible, which simplifies the display for smaller screens.
According to Google, breadcrumbs will get eliminated from smaller mobile screens which will make them less effective. This update will simplify how URLs are shown on mobile devices, but breadcrumbs will still be visible in desktop search results.
Refer to the following screenshots to understand Google's blog post-
On desktop the URLs have two segments for domain and breadcrumb:
On mobile, the URL has one segment only, which is the domain
Why Does This Matter?
This change is part of Google's initiative to simplify mobile search results and improve the user experience. Since mobile searches continue to grow, Google is working to eliminate clutter on small screens.
Website owners who use breadcrumb markup do not need to make any changes. Google will continue to support breadcrumbs for desktop search results, and tools like the Breadcrumb Rich Result Report in Google Search Console will remain functional. This change will not impact how breadcrumbs are implemented on websites.
This update applies to mobile search results worldwide, across all regions and languages. It was driven by the challenges of limited screen space on mobile devices, which made it difficult to display full breadcrumbs effectively.
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