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If you’re looking to show WordPress post category in Google search results, you’re not alone. Displaying categories in search snippets can help improve user navigation, enhance SEO, and make your posts more attractive in Google SERPs. This guide will walk you through how to achieve that using the popular Yoast SEO plugin and WordPress breadcrumbs.
Why Display WordPress Categories in Google Search Results?
Showing categories in your search snippets gives both search engines and users a better understanding of your site’s structure. It adds clarity to your posts, showing how content is organized and improving the click-through rate (CTR). For instance, a snippet that shows:
Home > Blog > SEO > How to Optimize Posts for Google
…is more appealing than a flat snippet with just the page title.
Some of the key benefits include:
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Improved site hierarchy for search engine crawlers
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Better user experience and navigation
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Enhanced SEO performance by targeting structured data
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Richer Google search snippets
Using Yoast SEO to Show Categories in Search Snippets
One of the easiest and most effective ways to display your post categories in Google is by enabling breadcrumbs using Yoast SEO. Yoast is a powerful WordPress SEO plugin trusted by millions of websites.
Here’s a step-by-step guide:
Step 1: Install and Activate Yoast SEO Plugin
If you haven’t already:
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Go to your WordPress dashboard.
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Navigate to Plugins > Add New.
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Search for “Yoast SEO”.
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Click Install Now, then Activate.
Step 2: Enable Breadcrumbs in Yoast
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From the WordPress dashboard, go to SEO > Settings.
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Scroll down and click on “Breadcrumbs” under Site Features.
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Click to enable breadcrumbs.
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Customize the separator and choose to show categories in the breadcrumbs.
Step 3: Add the Breadcrumbs Code to Your Theme
Yoast provides a code snippet to display breadcrumbs. You’ll need to insert this code into your theme files where you want breadcrumbs to appear (usually above the post title in single.php or page.php).
<?php
if ( function_exists('yoast_breadcrumb') ) {
yoast_breadcrumb( '<p id="breadcrumbs">','</p>' );
}
?> This code tells WordPress to output the breadcrumb trail, including the post category.
How Google Picks Up the Breadcrumbs
Once breadcrumbs are enabled, Yoast automatically adds schema markup to your pages, which helps Google understand the site structure. Over time, Google will start displaying breadcrumb paths (with categories) in search results instead of long URLs.
Important Tips:
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Make sure your site is indexed correctly.
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Submit your sitemap in Google Search Console.
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Use the URL Inspection Tool to request indexing of updated pages.
Testing and Verifying Your Breadcrumbs
You can test if breadcrumbs are being picked up correctly using Google’s Rich Results Test or Schema Markup Validator.
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Paste your page URL and click “Test URL”
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Look for the Breadcrumb structured data section.
Other Best Practices for SEO-Friendly Categories
While enabling breadcrumbs is a strong step, consider these additional tips:
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Use descriptive category names (e.g., “WordPress SEO” instead of just “SEO”).
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Don’t overuse categories; keep them relevant and minimal.
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Make sure each post belongs to only one main category.
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Avoid having the same post in both “Blog” and “News” if not necessary.
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Internal linking: link related posts within the same category for better navigation and crawlability.
Using Other SEO Plugins (Alternative to Yoast)
While Yoast SEO is the most popular, alternatives like Rank Math and All in One SEO also support breadcrumbs. If you’re using Rank Math:
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Go to Rank Math > General Settings > Breadcrumbs
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Enable breadcrumbs and customize output.
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Insert their provided PHP snippet into your theme.
But for simplicity and schema support, Yoast remains the best choice for showing post categories in Google search.
External Help: How to implement Yoast SEO breadcrumbs