Breadcrumbs are an important navigation feature for both users and search engines.
This clearly displays the page's hierarchical structure, which also contributes to improved SEO rankings.

Here, we will explain each item in RankMath's "breadcrumb" settings.

RnakMath Breadcrumbs Configuration Location Breadcrumbs are an important navigation feature for both users and search engines.
This clearly displays the page's hierarchical structure, which also contributes to improved SEO rankings.

Here, we will explain each item in RankMath's "breadcrumb" settings.

RankMath breadcrumb list settings

RankMath > General Settings > Breadcrumb Navigation

Breadcrumb navigation feature

When you enable the breadcrumb navigation feature, your current location on the site will be displayed as follows:

example:
Home > Categories > Article Titles

This allows users to intuitively understand which level they are currently on, leading to improved user engagement and navigation.

Furthermore, since it is reflected as structured data in Google search results, it is also effective for SEO.

Enable breadcrumb navigation

Turning this setting ON will enable RankMath's breadcrumb navigation feature.

However, please note that if breadcrumbs are not implemented in your theme, you will need to add the following code to your template.

<?php if (function_exists('rank_math_the_breadcrumbs')) rank_math_the_breadcrumbs(); ?>

The Blocksy theme we normally use is integrated with RankMath, so no additional settings were required.

Breadcrumb trail points

In most cases, themes display breadcrumbs by default. In that case, you can use the theme's breadcrumbs as they are, but if you want to properly reflect structured data, it's a good idea to rewrite the code using RankMath.

Delimiter

Set the symbols that appear between each item in the breadcrumb trail.

example:

• >(general)
• /
• -

It's recommended to choose symbols that are easy for users to see.

Displaying links on the homepage

This setting determines whether the homepage (Home) is displayed in the breadcrumb trail.

Basically, "ON is recommended."
This improves usability because users can quickly return to the top of the page.

Homepage labels

You can set the name of "Home" that will be displayed in the breadcrumb trail.

example:

• Home (default)
• Homepage
• Home

For Japanese websites, changing it to "Home" or "Top" sounds more natural.

Homepage Link

Specify the URL of your homepage.

It is usually set automatically,
Be sure to check if you have subdirectories or special structures.

Breadcrumb prefix

This is the text that appears before the breadcrumb trail.

example:

• "current location:"
• "You are here:"

Since this field is often unused on recent websites, leaving it blank is not a problem.

Archive format

Configure the display format for category and date archive pages.

example:

• Archives for %s

For the Japanese site, the following changes are recommended:

example:

• "List of %s"

Search result format

Configure the breadcrumb display on the search results page.

example:

• Results for %s

Recommended Japanese:

• "Search results for "%s""

404 Label

This is the text displayed on the 404 error page.

example:

• 404 Error: page not found

Recommended Japanese:

• "Page not found"

Hide post title

This setting hides the "article title" in the breadcrumb trail.

It is generally recommended to keep it OFF.
→ Currently, the page is difficult to understand.

Show categories

This setting determines whether or not to display categories on the post page.

It's important both from an SEO and structural standpoint, so "ON is recommended."

Hide taxonomies

This setting hides custom taxonomies (unique classifications).

Unless you have a special configuration, it's fine to leave it OFF.

View blog page

This setting determines whether or not to include the blog list page in the breadcrumbs.

example:
Home > Blog > Articles

If you want to clarify the blog structure, we recommend turning it ON.

summary

RankMath's breadcrumb list settings allow for more than just visual adjustments;
This is an important factor that significantly impacts SEO.

The most important points are as follows:

• Make sure to enable breadcrumbs.
• Turn on category display.
• Optimize for Japanese labels
• Add display code to the theme (if necessary)