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Feature availability This feature is available on desktop in all regions and languages where Google Search is available. How to add structured data Structured data is a standardized format for providing information about a page and classifying the page content. If you're new to structured data, you can learn more about how structured data works . Here's an overview of how to build, test, and release structured data. Add the required properties . Based on the format you're using, learn where to insert structured data on the page . Using a CMS? It may be easier to use a plugin that's integrated into your CMS. Using JavaScript? Learn how to generate structured data with JavaScript . Follow the guidelines . Validate your code using the Rich Results Test and fix any critical errors. Consider also fixing any non-critical issues that may be flagged in the tool, as they can help improve the quality of your structured data (however, this isn't necessary to be eligible for rich results). Deploy a few pages that include your structured data and use the URL Inspection tool to test how Google sees the page. Be sure that your page is accessible to Google and not blocked by a robots.txt file, the noindex tag, or login requirements. If the page looks okay, you can ask Google to recrawl your URLs . Note : Allow time for re-crawling and re-indexing. Remember that it may take several days after publishing a page for Google to find and crawl it. To keep Google informed of future changes, we recommend that you submit a sitemap . You can automate this with the Search Console Sitemap API . Examples Google Search uses breadcrumb markup in the body of a web page to categorize the information from the page in search results. Often, as illustrated in following use cases, users can arrive at a page from very different types of search queries. While each search may return the same web page, the breadcrumb categorizes the content within the context of the Google Search query. The page for the winners of a fictional book award might use the following breadcrumb trails: Single breadcrumb trail If there is only one breadcrumb trail that can lead to the page, the page could specify the following breadcrumb trail: Books › Science Fiction › Award Winners JSON-LD Here's an example in JSON-LD to support that breadcrumb:
Award Winners Award Winners RDFa Here's an example in RDFa to support that breadcrumb: Award Winners - Books
› - Science Fiction
› - Award Winners
Award Winners - Books
› - Science Fiction
› - Award Winners
Microdata Here's an example in Microdata to support that breadcrumb: Award Winners - Books
› - Science Fiction
› - Award winners
Award Winners - Books
› - Science Fiction
› - Award winners
HTML Here's an example of an HTML breadcrumb block within the page as part of the visual design. Award Winners - Books
- Science Fiction
- Award Winners
Multiple breadcrumb trail If there are multiple ways to navigate to a page on your site, you can specify multiple breadcrumb trails for a single page. Here's one breadcrumb trail that leads to a page for award winning books: Books › Science Fiction › Award Winners Here's the another breadcrumb trail that leads to the same page: Literature › Award Winners JSON-LD Here's the example JSON-LD that supports multiple breadcrumb trails: Award Winners Award Winners RDFa Here's the example RDFa that supports multiple breadcrumb trails: Award Winners - Books
› - Science Fiction
› - Award Winners
- Literature
› - Award Winners
Award Winners - Books
› - Science Fiction
› - Award Winners
- Literature
› - Award Winners
Microdata Here's the example Microdata that supports multiple breadcrumb trails: Award Winners - Books
› - Science Fiction
› - Award Winners
- Literature
› - Award Winners
Award Winners - Books
› - Science Fiction
› - Award Winners
- Literature
› - Award Winners
HTML Here's an example of an HTML breadcrumb block within the page as part of the visual design. Award Winners - Books
- Science Fiction
- Award Winners
- Literature
- Award Winners
Guidelines You must follow these guidelines to be eligible to appear with breadcrumbs in Google Search. Warning: If Google detects that some of the markup on your pages may be using techniques that are outside our structured data guidelines, your site may receive a manual action . Search Essentials General structured data guidelines We recommend providing breadcrumbs that represent a typical user path to a page, instead of mirroring the URL structure. It is not required to include a breadcrumb ListItem for the top level path (your site's domain or host name), nor for the page itself. Structured data type definitions To specify breadcrumbs, define a BreadcrumbList that contains at least two ListItems . You must include the required properties for your content to be eligible for display with breadcrumbs. Data-vocabulary.org markup is no longer eligible for Google rich result features. Learn more about sunsetting support for data-vocabulary . BreadcrumbList BreadcrumbList is the container item that holds all elements in the list. The full definition of BreadcrumbList is available at schema.org/BreadcrumbList . The Google-supported properties are the following: Required properties itemListElement ListItem An array of breadcrumbs listed in a specific order. Specify each breadcrumb with a ListItem . For example: { "@context" : "https://schema.org" , "@type" : "BreadcrumbList" , "itemListElement" : [{ "@type" : "ListItem" , "position" : 1 , "name" : "Books" , "item" : "https://example.com/books" },{ "@type" : "ListItem" , "position" : 2 , "name" : "Authors" , "item" : "https://example.com/books/authors" },{ "@type" : "ListItem" , "position" : 3 , "name" : "Ann Leckie" , "item" : "https://example.com/books/authors/annleckie" }] } ListItem ListItem contains details about an individual item in the list. The full definition of ListItem is available at schema.org/ListItem . The Google-supported properties are the following: Required properties item URL or a subtype of Thing The URL to the webpage that represents the breadcrumb. There are two ways to specify item : URL : Specify the URL of the page. For example: "item": "https://example.com/books" Thing : Use an id to specify the URL based on the markup format you're using: JSON-LD : Use @id to specify the URL. Microdata : You can use href or itemid to specify the URL. RDFa : You can use about , href , or resource to specify the URL. If the breadcrumb is the last item in the breadcrumb trail, item is not required. If item isn't included for the last item, Google uses the URL of the containing page. name Text The title of the breadcrumb displayed for the user. If you're using a Thing with a name instead of a URL to specify item , then name is not required. position Integer The position of the breadcrumb in the breadcrumb trail. Position 1 signifies the beginning of the trail. Monitor rich results with Search Console Search Console is a tool that helps you monitor how your pages perform in Google Search. You don't have to sign up for Search Console to be included in Google Search results, but it can help you understand and improve how Google sees your site. We recommend checking Search Console in the following cases: After deploying structured data for the first time After releasing new templates or updating your code Analyzing traffic periodically After deploying structured data for the first time After Google has indexed your pages, look for issues using the relevant Rich result status report . Ideally, there will be an increase of valid items, and no increase in invalid items. If you find issues in your structured data: Fix the invalid items . Inspect a live URL to check if the issue persists. Request validation using the status report. After releasing new templates or updating your code When you make significant changes to your website, monitor for increases in structured data invalid items. If you see an increase in invalid items , perhaps you rolled out a new template that doesn't work, or your site interacts with the existing template in a new and bad way. If you see a decrease in valid items (not matched by an increase in invalid items), perhaps you are no longer embedding structured data in your pages. Use the URL Inspection tool to learn what is causing the issue. Analyzing traffic periodically Analyze your Google Search traffic using the Performance Report . The data will show you how often your page appears as a rich result in Search, how often users click on it and what is the average position you appear on search results. You can also automatically pull these results with the Search Console API . Troubleshooting If you're having trouble implementing or debugging structured data, here are some resources that may help you. If you're using a content management system (CMS) or someone else is taking care of your site, ask them to help you. Make sure to forward any Search Console message that details the issue to them. Google does not guarantee that features that consume structured data will show up in search results. For a list of common reasons why Google may not show your content in a rich result, see the General Structured Data Guidelines . You might have an error in your structured data. Check the list of structured data errors and the Unparsable structured data report . If you received a structured data manual action against your page, the structured data on the page will be ignored (although the page can still appear in Google Search results). To fix structured data issues , use the Manual Actions report . Review the guidelines again to identify if your content isn't compliant with the guidelines. The problem can be caused by either spammy content or spammy markup usage. However, the issue may not be a syntax issue, and so the Rich Results Test won't be able to identify these issues. Troubleshoot missing rich results / drop in total rich results . Allow time for re-crawling and re-indexing. Remember that it may take several days after publishing a page for Google to find and crawl it. For general questions about crawling and indexing, check the Google Search crawling and indexing FAQ . Post a question in the Google Search Central forum . Send feedback Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License , and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License . For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies . Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Last updated 2025-12-10 UTC. Need to tell us more? [[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-12-10 UTC."],[],["Breadcrumb structured data shows a page's location within a site's hierarchy. To add it, insert properties, follow guidelines, validate code using the Rich Results Test, and deploy/test. Use JSON-LD, RDFa, or Microdata formats. Monitor performance with Search Console, checking for errors after deployment or updates. Address any issues, fix invalid items, and request validation. The data includes the `BreadcrumbList` container, `item` URL, `name`, and `position`.\n"]] LinkedIn Join us on LinkedIn YouTube Watch our videos Blog Subscribe to our RSS feed Podcast Listen to Search Off the Record X (Twitter) Join us on X (Twitter) Get support Go to the help forum Submit a question for office hours Report spam, phishing, or malware More support resources Resources Do you need an SEO? SEO Starter Guide Status of Search systems Search Console documentation Case Studies Tools Search Console Rich Results Test PageSpeed Insights AMP Test Android Chrome Firebase Google Cloud Platform Google AI All products Terms Privacy Manage cookies English Deutsch Español Español – América Latina Français Indonesia Italiano Polski Português – Brasil Tiếng Việt Türkçe Русский العربيّة हिंदी ภาษาไทย 中文 – 简体 中文 – 繁體 日本語 한국어