Add Breadcrumbs to Long Blog Posts

Why Adding Breadcrumbs to Long Blog Posts is Important

Breadcrumbs are an essential navigation feature that enhances user experience (UX) by helping users easily track their location within a website. For long blog posts, breadcrumbs allow users to navigate back and forth between sections and related content effortlessly, reducing friction and improving engagement.

The Problem: Losing Readers Without Clear Navigation

• Lack of navigation clarity leads to frustration, especially on long blog posts or deep hierarchies.
• User confusion causes higher bounce rates, with frustrated readers leaving your site before exploring more content.
Without breadcrumbs, users may struggle to find relevant sections within a post, leading to fewer page views.

Examples: How Breadcrumbs Improved UX and SEO

Shopify - 15% Drop in Bounce Rate

After implementing breadcrumbs on their longer articles, Shopify saw a 15% decrease in bounce rates, as users could navigate related content more easily.

HubSpot - SEO Boost with Breadcrumbs

HubSpot added breadcrumbs to their extensive blog archive, which not only improved UX but also enhanced their internal linking structure, boosting their search engine rankings.

eBay - Better User Retention

eBay utilized breadcrumbs to streamline the navigation across long product categories, which resulted in better user retention and more products explored per session.

Plan: How to Add Breadcrumbs to Long Blog Posts

1. Choose a Breadcrumb Style
Decide whether you want to use hierarchical breadcrumbs (showing the structure of your website) or linear breadcrumbs (showing a user’s path through the content).

2. Add Breadcrumbs Above the Content
Place breadcrumbs at the top of your long blog posts, just below the main navigation, to provide immediate context for users.

3. Link Related Sections
Link the different sections of your blog post with clear, clickable breadcrumbs to encourage users to explore further.

4. Optimize Breadcrumbs for SEO
Use keyword-rich anchor text for your breadcrumbs to help search engines better understand your site’s structure and improve your SEO.

5. Test Breadcrumb Effectiveness
Regularly review user behavior to ensure the breadcrumbs are effective in guiding users through your content.

Do It Yourself

• Step 1: Choose a plugin or feature on your CMS that supports breadcrumbs.
• Step 2: Configure the breadcrumbs to show the user’s position within the blog hierarchy.
• Step 3: Test the breadcrumbs on different devices to ensure they work seamlessly.

Key Takeaways

Breadcrumbs enhance user navigation, making it easier for readers to explore your long-form content without frustration.They improve SEO by creating internal links that help search engines understand your content structure.Implementing breadcrumbs can reduce bounce rates and increase user engagement with other related content on your website.