How many websites pass the Upward Navigation check?
Based on 450 audited sites · Updated 2026-08-14
At a Glance
95% confidence interval: 33.2%–42.1%
Current cross-sectional baseline. Historical snapshots remain stored but are not presented as performance change.
About This Check
For a non-root URL, checks for a crawlable link toward a parent, breadcrumb, or the site root. Root URLs are not applicable.
What To Do Next
62.4% of audited sites need attention on upward navigation (281 of 450 sites are warning or failing).
- Prioritize upward navigation on templates that create many URLs, because one template fix can improve a large share of site architecture & coverage.
- After changing the page, re-run the audit and compare the observed value for this check instead of relying on visual inspection alone.
- Use the 37.6% pass rate as a benchmark: passing this check would put your site among the 37.6% of audited pages that meet this requirement.
Industry Breakdown
How different industries perform on this check.
53.8% of audited SaaS & Cloud sites pass this check (n=65), compared with 36.3% of Technology sites (n=124).
| Industry | Pass rate | Avg score | Evaluated |
|---|---|---|---|
| SaaS & Cloud | 53.8% | 77 | n=65/323 |
| Media & Entertainment | 51.3% | 71.2 | n=39/518 |
| Technology | 36.3% | 70.7 | n=124/880 |
| Marketing & Advertising | 62.5% | 74.8 | n=8/93limited |
| Education | 61.9% | 75.6 | n=21/199limited |
| Telecommunications | 50% | 70.1 | n=6/40limited |
| Gaming | 44% | 67.7 | n=25/123limited |
| Government | 40% | 71.1 | n=15/96limited |
| Healthcare | 40% | 74.5 | n=5/46limited |
| E-Commerce | 33.3% | 65.7 | n=12/123limited |
n is sites evaluated for this check / audited sites in that industry. Informational or inapplicable results are not counted.
Related Checks
Run a free audit to see whether your site passes this check, or browse the leaderboard and the audited-sites directory.
Key Insight
With only 37% passing, most sites lack clear parent or root-page links that help AI systems and users understand site hierarchy and navigate content relationships.