methodology / SEO & Discoverability / #40
Breadcrumb schema
#40 · Variable · Web Quality · weighted · SEO & Discoverability · weight 0.7% · impl implemented · method v1.2.0
Web Quality factor
This factor is part of Web Quality — the weighted 0..100 score that sits above Web Standards. Its weight depends on what kind of site is being measured. Web Standards items take priority; this factor only enters the score once Web Standards passes.
- Base weight
- 0.5 applied to every site type unless overridden below
- Why this weight
- Breadcrumb schema helps Google + AI parse site hierarchy. More valuable on deep sites.
Per-site-type overrides
| Site type | Weight | Δ vs base |
|---|---|---|
| Blog | 0.6 | +0.1 |
| E-commerce | 0.8 | +0.3 |
| News / Publisher | 0.7 | +0.2 |
| Personal site | 0.2 | -0.3 |
Site types not listed inherit the base weight.
What this means for your business
Those little 'Home > Services > Teeth Whitening' trails help Google understand how your pages connect, and they often appear right inside your search result. Without them, your listing looks plainer than competitors'.
Plain title: A trail showing where visitors are on your site
What we measure
Breadcrumb schema replaces the URL in Google search results with a readable navigation path. That typically increases click-through rates.
How to improve your score
Add `BreadcrumbList` JSON-LD on every interior page. Most SEO plugins (Yoast, Rank Math, Squarespace, Shopify) do this automatically — just enable the setting.
Facts
Implementation notes
Look for `@type: BreadcrumbList` in JSON-LD blocks.
Scoring
Scoring formulas are versioned with the methodology. The current method (v1.2.0) maps raw measurements to pass, warn, fail. Factor weights determine how much each contributes to the composite — see the methodology index for the full table.
Cited by these standards
Standards in the Standards Library whose satisfiedBy requirement tree references this factor. Each link goes to the standard's full entry — methodology, scope, and the other factors it relies on.
Version history
| Version | Change | Date |
|---|---|---|
| v1.2.0 | Factor introduced. Status: live. Scoring impl: implemented. | 2026-04-25 |