Does the BreadcrumbList have to be on each side?

On each bottom. The home page is the root of the path and does not need any; the test area assigns the full points there without indication.

Is a visible bread crumb navigation without JSON-LD enough?

For visitors yes, not reliable for the search result. Google sometimes recognizes visible bread crumbs by itself, but only guarantees it with the structured indication. The test area therefore evaluates the JSON-LD block.

What happens if the list calls wrong stations?

Google ignores conflicting information or shows the address. It is not worse, but the benefit is lost. The list should always be generated from the actual page hierarchy, not maintained by hand.

This translation has not been editorially reviewed yet. The German version is authoritative. Deutsche Fassung

SEO

What does a BreadcrumbList-JSON-LD mean in the search result?

Below each search result is a line that says where the page is on the site. Without further information, Google shows the address there. With a breadcrumb indication in structured data — a breadcrumblist in JSON-LD — there is instead the readable path: homepage, services, advice. This is more understandable, looks well-groomed and places the page in its context. The SEO test area expects this information on each subpage; She does not need the start page, because she has no path.

What the BreadcrumbList contains

The indication is an ordered list of stations, each with name and address: homepage, then the heading, then the page itself. It stands as a JSON-LD block in the head or foot of the page and must fit the visible path — a breadcrumb line calling a section that doesn’t exist on the site is a contradiction for Google. The test area reads all JSON LD blocks of the measured page and searches for the type BreadcrumbList; An entry within an @graph also counts. Whether the list is correct, he does not check – this can be seen fastest in the test for rich search results from Google.

Visible bread crumbs and structured data belong together

The best basis is a visible breadcrumb navigation on the side, showing the same stations. Many editorial systems and SEO modules automatically generate the appropriate JSON-LD block from it; then both are always synchronous. If a visible navigation is missing, the block can still be set as long as it describes the actual structure. In the seo-v2 rulebook, the rule counts 3 out of 100 points. It is a small building block, but it acts on every subpage – and is presented as a small result, because nothing is broken if it is missing: It only lacks a representation that better ranks the page in the search result.

In the SEO module of your editorial system, activate the output of bread crumbs as structured data; Most systems generate the block from the side hierarchy.
Make sure that the visible breadcrumb navigation and the JSON-LD block call the same stations.
Check a subpage in the Google test for rich search results: There appears the recognized BreadcrumbList and errors.
Leave the homepage without BreadcrumbList — it has no path, and the checking area doesn’t expect any.

Deutsche Fassung dieser Seite