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Home / Podcast

A simple way to boost your SEO and lower your bounce rate at the same time

Written in: Nov 2019 🠆 Updated in: Apr 2020

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Breadcrumbs. You’ve probably heard your blog should have them. You might hate them. Many bloggers do…because they’re not always very pretty.

What you’ve heard is true: your blog should use breadcrumbs. Today we’ll go over what breadcrumbs are, how they will help your blog grow, and how to turn them on and how to make them look better.

What are breadcrumbs?

It’s the list of links that shows at the top of a blog post or category page that shows the path to where you are now. It usually starts with “Home” and then has a category name, and then the name of the post.

How do breadcrumbs help your blog?

Google loves breadcrumbs

You know how important it is to make Google happy. There are a bunch of things you should be doing with each blog post to make sure it’s optimized for SEO. BUT, the good news is that turning on breadcrumbs are a once-and-done SEO boost for your blog.

That’s the best kind of SEO work, right?!

There are a couple reasons search engines like breadcrumbs:

  1. They help explain to search engines like Google how your blog is structured, and how posts on your site are related to each other.
    One way this helps you is that if Google sees that you have lots of posts that are related to each other, they are more inclined to send visitors to your blog post, because there is a better chance that person will find what they need.
  2. They count as internal links
    For the same reason as above, search engines love internal links, and breadcrumbs count–without any manual linking from you!

How breadcrumbs lower your bounce rate

They tell your visitor right up front that you have more information on the subject.

I’ve used this example on my blog before, but there was a blog post I found via Pinterest once that answered a big struggle I had always had with my hair. I was so excited. I really wanted to see what else she had for me. But there were no internal links to other content that would be relevant for me, there were no breadcrumbs so I could go up one step and see all the posts she had in that category. I went to the homepage, and it just showed her latest posts, which didn’t have anything to do with my type of hair. So I naturally assumed that she didn’t have any other information for me.

That’s when we lose our visitors.

So having breadcrumbs is one more safeguard against your visitor getting lost and leaving.

When someone lands on your post from Google or Pinterest, they’ll see the breadcrumbs right away, with a link to the category, and they’ll know that once they’re done reading the post, they can scroll back up and find more…and they often do!

Again, breadcrumbs are a change you can make once and it will help you with every blog post.

How do you turn breadcrumbs on?

If you have a Genesis theme for your blog, it’s going to be SO easy for you.

How to turn on breadcrumbs in a Genesis theme:

  1. Go to “Appearance” in your dashboard and click on “Customize.”

  2. Click on “Theme Settings” then “Breadcrumbs.”

  3. Then check off the places where you want your breadcrumbs to show and click “Publish!”

    I recommend showing them on your posts page, single blog posts, and archives.

If you don’t have a Genesis theme, I recommend using the Yoast plugin.

They are easy to set up and customize with Yoast, BUT your theme may or may not display them automatically. So I recommend turning them on and setting them up, and if they don’t show on your blog, reach out to the developer of your theme and ask for help. (Or of course, you can hire someone like me to add the code for you!)

To set them up with Yoast, in your dashboard, click on “SEO” then click “Search Appareance.” You’ll see the tab that says “Breadcrumbs” and you can go through all the options there!

Save your work, and then check out your blog to see if they’re showing.

But what if your breadcrumbs are ugly?

The look CAN definitely be changed if you’re willing to tweak a little CSS and/or PHP. If that’s not something you want to do, reach out to a developer who can fix them up for you quickly.

First, start with some inspiration. My favorite place to go to get ideas are retail sites.

Here is an example of CSS you can use to customize the look of the breadcrumbs. You can paste this code into the “Additional CSS” field in your WordPress Customizer screen:

If you use a Genesis theme, use this code:

 .breadcrumb {
    border: none;
    text-align: center;
    margin-bottom: 0;
    color: gray;
    font-size: 13px;
    text-transform: uppercase; 
}

 a.breadcrumb-link {
    color: gray; /*Changes color of links*/
    text-decoration: none; /*Removes underlines*/
} 

If you use Yoast for breadcrumbs:

 .breadcrumb {
    text-align: center;
    margin-bottom: 0;
    color: gray;
    font-size: 13px;
    text-transform: uppercase; 
}

 .breadcrumb a {
    text-decoration: none;  /*Removes underlines*/ 
    color: gray;  /*Changes color of links*/ 
} 

That code will change the color of the text from black to gray, the font size to 13 pixels, center it on the page, etc. Playing with the code will not break your blog.

Bonus tip for breadcrumbs on your blog:

If you’re using the Yoast SEO plugin (which is a good idea), then the category that shows in your breadcrumb will be whichever category you have set as the “Primary Category” inside your blog post.

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In the categories: Advanced Features, Beginner, Blog Type, Blogger Level, Blogging, Business, Business Websites, DIY and Craft, Fashion, Food, Home Decor, Improve your blog, Intermediate, Lifestyle, Podcast, Pro, Promotion, Travel, WordPress Tutorials and Tips

Hey! I'm Christina

WordPress developer for bloggers since 2014, occasional blogger since 2011, code perfectionist. Passionate about helping you make your blog a successful business.

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Hi! I’m Christina.

Web developer and former blogger. I’m here to help bloggers who have great style and vision, to build exactly the site they need to achieve their goals.

Want a successful blog?

Woo hoo! You should get a message from me soon (check the dirty spam folder if you don't see it. I look forward to getting to know you!

Want a successful blog?

Let me send you the checklist I go through for my clients so you can do a DIY blog audit, for free and make sure your blog is going to help you achieve your goals.

What's your hobby? (And first, please excuse my ba What's your hobby? (And first, please excuse my bad photography.🙈) Don't forget to share yourself with your readers. A personal connection with your readers can be so helpful for your long-term goals of helping more people with your blog. Share one of your hobbies with them once in a while. Also share one with me here, I'd love to read about it!

One of mine is 1/12 scale miniatures. Interior design + before-and-afters + TINY THINGS! Yes, I know it sounds lame, but it's worth being picked on for having
Do you write like you talk? When I started my own Do you write like you talk? 
When I started my own blog 9 years ago, as I sat down to write the first post, I decided to purposefully write like I talked instead of using more formal and proper writing. And I'm so glad I did. It's such an easy way to make your blog feel more personal and make your visitors feel like they're hearing from an actual person instead of a corporation.

If you're not sure, read your last post aloud. Is it something you would actually say, the way you would say it?

Yes...I KNOW...SEO... Just make sure to keep it balanced. And don't forget, Google itself wants you to write like a human being, for other human beings.
It's good to think about where you started once in It's good to think about where you started once in a while.

In Feb of 2016, I started Meyne, selling pre-made WordPress and Blogger themes for small businesses. But after having been a blogger myself since 2011, that was still where my heart was. So the focus shifted to blog designs, where I could help very cool people who have created their own careers and are earning a living doing a very fun (and deceptively hard) job. 
Meyne has come a long way and gone through so many changes/new ideas/bad ideas/fun ideas...you know, everything that comes with a business. But the best part is all the great people I've gotten to work with and be a part of THEIR businesses. 🥰
When your reader reaches the end of your post, tel When your reader reaches the end of your post, tell them what to do next. They will follow instructions more often than we usually realize. Need some ideas? ☑️ Save it on Pinterest
☑️ Sign up for your newsletter
☑️ Follow you on Instagram
☑️ Buy a product (yours or an affiliate)

Whatever your CTA is, just make sure you make it EASY for them to do it.

In WordPress, you can easily add some text to the bottom of your posts, with an image if helpful, and then give the box a colored background to make it stand out. 
P.S. Many food bloggers have the Instagram call-to-action at the end of a recipe (
We launched! I’m sure you all know Erika @thepan We launched! I’m sure you all know Erika @thepancakeprincess, she has such a cool and unique blog. She puts in SO MUCH work to bring bake-offs of all the popular recipes of the world together so that OUR job of picking the RIGHT recipe will be easy. I. love. her. blog. And was so excited to get to be part of re-designing it so we can all get the most out of her years of hard work and baking. Go straight to thepancakeprincess.com to check it out!
Still just showing your latest posts on your homep Still just showing your latest posts on your homepage? I’m talking TODAY about what you should show instead if you want more subscribers and a lower bounce rate in my talk for the Blogger Breakthrough Summit (over 700 bloggers signed up to watch! 😱). You can still watch for free if you sign up now. Link in bio! Or go to meyne.co/summit and see about a special bonus I'm offering if you buy a pass. 😃

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