Google Mobile Search Result Drops Breadcrumbs

Google announced the removal of breadcrumbs from its mobile search results to simplify URLs on smaller devices by showing only the domain; desktop breadcrumbs remain.

Google announces breadcrumbs removal

Google’s latest update simplifies how URLs appear on mobile search results; as of yesterday, only the domain will appear on mobiles and tablets.

Since 2009, search results have shown “breadcrumbs; the removal from mobiles restricts website developers’ control over how results appear on Google Search, snippets, and other areas by no longer showing where the search result came from on a website.

Google announced the removal on its Search Central Blog:

“Mobile searchers will soon see a cleaner, more streamlined look for how URLs appear in search results. Initially introduced as part of the “site hierarchy” feature, we’ve found that the breadcrumb element isn’t as useful to people who are searching on mobile devices, as it gets cut off on smaller screens. Starting today, we’re rolling out a change to no longer show breadcrumbs on mobile search results in all languages and regions where Google Search is available (they continue to appear on desktop search results).”

Here’s a screenshot of the updated URL structure on desktops and mobiles from Google’s blog post:

Why the change?

Google says it removed the feature from mobiles and other small devices because it often gets cut off and isn`t helpful for mobile searches.

Here’s Google’s explanation:

“The breadcrumb element isn’t as useful to people who are searching on mobile devices as it gets cut off on smaller screens.”

While it’s true that only part of a URL appeared on smaller mobile devices, larger mobile screens could display them and show users where they were browsing a website. Now, only desktops display this information.

No action required

Google says that site owners using breadcrumbs markup do not need to change anything. It still supports breadcrumbs on desktops, and its Rich Results Test and Breadcrumb Rich Result Report in Search Console are unaffected.

Terry O'Toole

Terry is a seasoned content marketing specialist with over six years of experience writing content that helps small businesses navigate where small businesses meet marketing - SEO, Social Media Marketing, etc. Terry has a proven track record of creating top-performing content in search results. When he is not writing content, Terry can be found on his boat in Italy or chilling in his villa in Spain.