Example of Google Search Results

Shortly before the roll-out of Google's "Mobile-Friendly" algorithm update, in which searches performed on mobile devices will take into account the mobile-friendliness of a website for ranking purposes, Google also announced a change to the way that mobile search results will be displayed.

Starting April 16th, mobile search results will no longer display the URL of websites but instead display the breadcrumb hierarchy of the page in question - offering users a "quick hint about the page topic and how the page fits within the website," according to Google. Here is an example provided by Google for the top result when searching for "history of Google":

  • Previously Displayed: www.google.com/about/company/history
  • Now Displayed: Google > about > company > history

Included in this new display is the real-world name of the website, instead of the domain name. Both the preferred real-world name for your website, and the place of each page in your website's hierarchy can be indicated to Google using structured data, but it's not yet clear whether Google will always use the data you provide or it's own preference. In addition, Google says these changes are rolling our gradually, and currently the real-world name structured data is only supported in searches results in the United States.