> Breadcrumb Schema JSON-LD -- BreadcrumbList Examples

Copy validated BreadcrumbList JSON-LD for your site's navigation. Real examples plus a free generator that handles nested categories.

published: Jul 30, 2017
modified: May 1, 2026
size: 1.2K
path: /breadcrumb/

Last updated July 3, 2025 by Patrick Coombe

Here are some JSON-LD snippet examples for the "breadcrumb" type. Note, most web developers insert this into their websites programmatically, not manually. Breadcrumbs are mainly used in (or integrated somehow with) website nav to help search engines understand the hierarchical navigation path of a webpage within a website. It represents the breadcrumb trail that shows users (and search engines) where they are in the site's structure.

Some people say do not add breadcrumb structured data to your website unless you have visible breadcrumbs on/under your nav.

This is Google's example:

breadcrumb.jsonld · 953B test

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
  "itemListElement": [{
    "@type": "ListItem",
    "position": 1,
    "item": {
      "@id": "https://example.com/books",
      "name": "Books",
      "image": "http://example.com/images/icon-book.png"
    }
  },{
    "@type": "ListItem",
    "position": 2,
    "item": {
      "@id": "https://example.com/books/authors",
      "name": "Authors",
      "image": "http://example.com/images/icon-author.png"
    }
  },{
    "@type": "ListItem",
    "position": 3,
    "item": {
      "@id": "https://example.com/books/authors/annleckie",
      "name": "Ann Leckie",
      "image": "http://example.com/images/author-leckie-ann.png"
    }
  },{
    "@type": "ListItem",
    "position": 4,
    "item": {
      "@id": "https://example.com/books/authors/ancillaryjustice",
      "name": "Ancillary Justice",
      "image": "http://example.com/images/cover-ancillary-justice.png"
    }
  }]
}

Here is schema.org's example:

breadcrumb.jsonld · 374B test

{
 "@context": "https://schema.org",
 "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
 "itemListElement":
 [
  {
   "@type": "ListItem",
   "position": 1,
   "item":
   {
    "@id": "https://example.com/dresses",
    "name": "Dresses"
    }
  },
  {
   "@type": "ListItem",
  "position": 2,
  "item":
   {
     "@id": "https://example.com/dresses/real",
     "name": "Real Dresses"
   }
  }
 ]
}

A final note: Breadcrumb JSON-LD should match the actual breadcrumb navigation visible to users on your site. It's particularly useful for ecom, sites with categories, and any site with clear hierarchical navigation. If you have a site with less than 10 pages you can probably skip it.