Findings based on studying two sites, one of which is Google?

Sorry, not impressed.

Posted by: Boyink on February 6, 2003 07:55 AM

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Boyink,

I still think that this research is valuable. Even with the limited scope, it is better than most research I have seen on this topic. Do you know of better data on this exact topic? By the way, the title clearly includes the word "exploratory", which is a good flag to take the results with a dose of skepticism.

Posted by: John S. Rhodes on February 6, 2003 08:41 AM

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It's an exploratory study, so take it for what it's worth:

This exploratory study was conducted to determine whether participants used the breadcrumb trail as a navigational tool within a site. We found the overall usage of the breadcrumb in site navigation to be low. Breadcrumb users were not found to be more efficient than users who did not use the breadcrumb. Participants used a variety of navigational means, such as the Back button, left and top navigation bars, and searching to find the information instead of or in addition to the breadcrumb tool."

Posted by: Ron Zeno on February 6, 2003 11:11 AM

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Better data, no. Would love to see it as I'm a fan of breadcrumbs but would like to know more about how valuable they are to "most people".

But please, don't include search sites - most of us aren't building those. Include more eCommerce sites and marketing sites, with a healthy dose of B2B-focused ones since that's where most of us, I think, earn our income.

Posted by: Boyink on February 6, 2003 11:12 AM

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Also, breadcrumbs lose their value as soon as they are either less consistent, or not the primary means of navigation, anyone else agree/disagree? This didn’t measure whether or not the used them for site placement either did it?

Posted by: ryan on February 9, 2003 02:11 AM

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