If you searched for your own site on your phone this week and the path after your domain was gone, you did not imagine it. Google has dropped breadcrumbs in mobile search results. On phones, the URL line in each result now shows only the domain. On desktop, nothing has changed.
The short version: you do not need to remove anything, your rankings are not affected by this display change, and breadcrumb markup is still supported. Below I explain what changed, why Google says it did it, and what I would check on your site this week.
What Google Changed on 23 January 2025
Google announced the change on its Search Central blog on Thursday, 23 January 2025, in a post about simplifying the visible URL on mobile. The post said the rollout was starting that day.
Here is what the announcement covers:
- Mobile results: the visible URL now shows only the domain. The breadcrumb part after it is removed.
- Desktop results: the visible URL still has two parts, the domain and the breadcrumb.
- Where: the change applies in all languages and regions where Google Search is available.
- Markup: breadcrumb structured data is still supported for desktop, so site owners do not need to change anything.
- Tools: the breadcrumb report in Search Console and the Rich Results Test both keep working.
So this is a display change on one device type. It is not a ranking update and it is not a structured data deprecation. That’s different from 2023, when Google cut back FAQ and How-To rich results for most sites.
What a Mobile Result Looked Like Before and After
Take a page on a shoe shop at example.com/mens/running-shoes/trail. Before the change, a mobile result could show something like this under the site name:
example.com › Mens › Running ShoesAfter the change, the same result on a phone shows just:
example.comThe site name, favicon, title link and snippet are still there. Only the trail after the domain has gone. On a laptop or desktop, the first version is still what people see.
Why Google Removed Breadcrumbs From Mobile Results
Google’s reason is simple. It said breadcrumbs are less useful to people on mobile because the trail gets cut off on smaller screens.
That matches what I have seen when checking results on a phone. Longer trails often ended with an ellipsis after one or two levels. The deepest and most useful part, the category closest to the page, was often the part that got hidden.
It also fits a longer pattern. Back in 2015, Google started showing breadcrumbs instead of full URLs in mobile results. Later it added site names and favicons to mobile results. Each step has made the top line of a result less about the raw URL and more about who the site is. Removing the trail on mobile is the next step in that direction.
Does This Affect Your Rankings?
No. Google described this as a change to how the URL is displayed. Nothing in the announcement says breadcrumbs or breadcrumb markup were ever a ranking signal, and nothing says that has changed.
What can change is how people react to your result. That is a click-through question, not a ranking question. Here is how I think about it:
- Most sites will see little or no difference. People mainly decide based on the title link and the snippet, not the trail under the site name.
- Some sites relied on the trail for context. For example, a large shop where the trail showed “Women › Dresses › Summer” told a searcher they were in the right section before they clicked.
- Brand matters a bit more on mobile now. With only the domain and site name showing, a recognised name does more of the work.
I would not assume a drop or a gain. I would measure it, which I cover in the steps below.
Should You Keep Your Breadcrumbs and Breadcrumb Markup?
Yes, keep both. I would not remove a single line of breadcrumb code because of this change. Here is why.
Breadcrumbs on Your Page Were Never Only for Google
The breadcrumb trail on your page is a navigation aid. It shows visitors where they are and lets them jump up one level with one tap. That is useful on mobile, where menus are often hidden behind a hamburger icon.
Breadcrumbs also add internal links (links between pages on your own site) from deep pages back up to category pages. That helps search engines understand how your site is organised. If you are working through an on-page SEO checklist, the breadcrumb is one of the few page elements that helps both users and crawlers at the same time.
Breadcrumb Structured Data Still Works on Desktop
Breadcrumb structured data is code, usually JSON-LD, that tells Google the trail in a format it can read. Google still uses it to build the breadcrumb on desktop results. Google said directly that sites using the markup do not need to make changes.
Desktop search is still a large share of traffic for many sites, especially B2B and work-related searches. Removing the markup would only risk losing a feature you still get there.
The Markup Describes Your Site Structure
Even where the trail is not shown, the markup gives Google a clean, consistent picture of how a page fits into your site. I see that as low-cost, low-risk information to keep supplying. In my experience, the sites with the cleanest breadcrumb setup also tend to have the clearest category structure, and that is no coincidence.
How to Check Your Breadcrumbs After the Mobile Change
You do not need to fix anything because of this update. But it is a good moment to make sure your breadcrumbs are healthy, since desktop still uses them. This is the routine I would follow.
- Look at the breadcrumb report in Search Console. Open Search Console and go to the Enhancements section, then Breadcrumbs. Check the number of valid items and look for any errors, such as a missing
itemornamefield. - Test a few key page templates. Run one product page, one category page and one blog post through the Rich Results Test. One test per template is usually enough, because the markup is normally generated by the template.
- Check the markup matches the visible trail. The trail in your code should match the trail people see on the page. If your theme shows “Home › Shoes › Trail” but the markup says “Home › Products › Item”, fix the template so they agree.
- Search for your pages on desktop. Search for a few of your important pages on a desktop browser and look at the URL line. That is where your breadcrumb still appears, so make sure it reads well.
- Compare mobile click-through rate before and after 23 January. In the Performance report, filter by Device: Mobile, then compare a period after the change with a similar period before it. Do the same for desktop as a control. If mobile CTR moves and desktop does not, the display change is a likely reason.
- Write down the date. Make a note that 23 January 2025 is when the mobile display changed. If someone asks later why mobile CTR moved, you will have an answer ready.
For step 5, give it at least two to three weeks of data after the change before drawing any conclusion. Click-through rates move for many reasons, including seasonality and new SERP features, so one week rarely tells you much.
What Good Breadcrumb Markup Looks Like
If you are checking your markup anyway, here is a simple example for the shoe page above, using JSON-LD:
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "BreadcrumbList",
"itemListElement": [
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 1,
"name": "Mens",
"item": "https://example.com/mens/"
},
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 2,
"name": "Running Shoes",
"item": "https://example.com/mens/running-shoes/"
},
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 3,
"name": "Trail"
}
]
}
</script>The key parts, based on Google’s breadcrumb structured data documentation:
BreadcrumbListis the container. It holds at least twoListItementries.positionis the order of each step in the trail, starting at 1.nameis the label people see for that step.itemis the URL for that step. You can leave it out for the last item, which is the current page.
Google’s documentation also says the trail should show a typical path a user would take to reach the page. It does not have to copy your URL folders exactly. A page can also have more than one trail if it really sits in more than one section.
Common Breadcrumb Mistakes I See
- Two plugins adding markup. On WordPress sites, an SEO plugin and the theme sometimes both output breadcrumb markup. You end up with two different trails on one page. Pick one and switch the other off.
- A trail that skips levels. The visible trail jumps from Home straight to the product, so the category page gets no link. Include the category.
- Labels that are just URL slugs. “mens-running-shoes” looks messy on desktop results. Use the real category name, “Running Shoes”.
- Links in the trail that redirect. If a category URL in your trail now redirects, update the template to point to the final URL.
- Markup on pages with no visible trail. If the trail exists only in the code and not on the page, users get none of the navigation benefit. Show it on the page too.
What Losing Breadcrumbs in Mobile Search Results Means for Different Sites
How much this matters depends a lot on what kind of site you run.
Online Shops and Large Catalogues
Shops with deep categories gave up the most on mobile, because their trails carried useful context. My advice is to make up for it in the title link. A title such as “Trail Running Shoes for Men | Brand” now has to tell the searcher which section they are landing in, because the URL line no longer does.
Local Businesses and Small Sites
Most small sites have shallow structures, so the trail rarely said much beyond the domain anyway. I would expect little change. Your site name and a clear title matter far more. If you are still getting the basics right, the SEO checklist for 2025 is a better use of your time than worrying about this change.
Blogs and Publishers
For content sites, the trail often showed a category such as “Recipes” or “Guides”. That was a small signal of what kind of page it was. Now the title and the first line of the snippet carry that job. Make sure each article has a clear, specific title that matches what the reader searched for.
Things I Would Not Do
Changes like this can lead to rushed decisions. Here are the reactions I would avoid:
- Do not delete your breadcrumb markup. It still powers the desktop display, and Google said no change is needed.
- Do not change your URL structure. Short or long URLs, mobile users now see only the domain either way. Moving URLs for this reason would bring redirect risk for no gain.
- Do not stuff keywords into your domain or site name. The domain line is not a place to add keywords. A clear, consistent brand name is what helps.
- Do not blame every traffic change on this. If organic traffic drops, check the usual causes first: indexing, technical errors and ranking changes. Using the URL Inspection tool in Search Console on an affected page is a good first check.
Is Your Site Name Now More Important on Mobile?
I think so. With the trail gone, a mobile result’s top line is your favicon, your site name and your domain. That is all the searcher sees about who you are before the title.
So make sure Google shows the right site name for you. Google picks a site name from signals on your homepage, and you can help with WebSite structured data and a consistent name across your title tag, headings and homepage. Also check that your favicon is clear at small sizes and is the same logo people know from elsewhere.
These are small jobs, but on mobile they now carry more of the first impression.
Conclusion
Google removing breadcrumbs in mobile search results is a display tidy-up, not a penalty and not a ranking change. Phones now show only the domain, desktop still shows the full trail, and Google says breadcrumb markup is still supported with no action needed.
My advice: keep your breadcrumbs and your markup, check the breadcrumb report once, and compare mobile CTR over the next few weeks so you know whether it made any difference for you. If you want a next task while you are in your templates, run your key pages through a full set of on-page checks and tighten up your title links, because on mobile they now do more of the work.
