A Nashville B2B software company published a 4,200-word guide on enterprise security compliance. Comprehensive content, solid rankings, decent traffic. But scroll depth data revealed a problem: 73% of visitors never made it past the first third of the article.
The content was good. The navigation was absent.
Adding a table of contents changed everything. Jump links let readers skip to sections relevant to their specific compliance questions. Average scroll depth increased to 67% of the full article. Time on page increased 40%. And an unexpected benefit emerged: Google started displaying individual section links as sitelinks beneath their search result, increasing SERP click-through rate by 28%.
Same content. Better navigation. Different results.
Tables of contents solve a specific problem: long-form content that readers need to navigate rather than read sequentially. Not every page needs one. But for comprehensive guides, reference content, and multi-topic articles, TOCs transform user experience and create SEO opportunities that plain-text structures miss.
When Tables of Contents Add Value
The decision to add a TOC depends on content characteristics, not arbitrary word counts.
Content structure matters most. A 3,000-word article that flows as one continuous argument—building from premise to conclusion—often works better without section jumping. A 2,000-word article covering five distinct topics benefits significantly from navigation even at shorter length.
Ask: would a reader reasonably want to jump directly to section 4 without reading sections 1-3? If yes, a TOC helps. If the content requires sequential reading, a TOC adds clutter.
Multiple entry points indicate need. The Nashville compliance guide ranked for different queries: “SOC 2 requirements,” “HIPAA compliance checklist,” “security audit preparation.” Each query suggested different information needs. Visitors arriving for SOC 2 information didn’t want to scroll past HIPAA content. The TOC let each visitor navigate directly to their relevant section.
Return visitors benefit from navigation. Reference content that users bookmark and revisit—documentation, procedures, comprehensive guides—becomes more useful with quick section access. Users know the content; they need specific information, not the full read-through.
Long-form content crosses the threshold around 2,000+ words. Below that, scrolling is fast enough that jump links save minimal time. Above that, especially at 3,000+ words, navigation becomes genuinely valuable rather than just decorative.
| Content Characteristic | TOC Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Sequential argument that builds throughout | Usually skip |
| Distinct sections on separate subtopics | Usually add |
| Single-topic deep dive | Consider based on length |
| Reference/documentation readers return to | Strongly add |
| Under 1,500 words | Rarely add |
| 1,500-2,500 words | Sometimes add |
| 2,500+ words with clear sections | Usually add |
The SEO Benefits Are Real
Tables of contents create several distinct SEO advantages beyond user experience.
Sitelinks expansion. Google sometimes displays TOC section links as sitelinks beneath your main search result. Instead of one link, you get multiple—each pointing to a specific section.
The Nashville software company tracked this systematically: pages with well-structured TOCs earned sitelinks 47% more often than similar pages without TOCs. Those sitelinks increased CTR by an average of 28% because they occupied more visual space and showed searchers that the content covered their specific subtopic.
Featured snippet alignment. Section headings formatted as questions often match featured snippet queries. “What are SOC 2 requirements?” as an H2 with a direct answer following increases your chances of capturing the snippet for that query. The TOC structure makes these question-answer pairs more discoverable.
Engagement metric improvement. When users find relevant content quickly rather than bouncing from overwhelming walls of text, engagement improves. The compliance guide saw:
- Bounce rate decrease from 64% to 51%
- Average session duration increase by 40%
- Pages per session increase by 23% (users followed internal links to related content after finding their section)
These engagement signals correlate with ranking improvements over time.
Crawl efficiency signals. Well-structured content with clear hierarchy—heading IDs, anchor links, logical organization—communicates content structure to search engines more explicitly than undifferentiated paragraphs.
Basic Implementation
The simplest TOC implementation requires only HTML. No plugins, no JavaScript dependencies, full accessibility and crawler support.
Step 1: Add ID attributes to section headings.
Each heading you want in the TOC needs a unique identifier:
<h2 id="compliance-requirements">Compliance Requirements Overview</h2>
<h2 id="soc2-specifics">SOC 2 Specific Requirements</h2>
<h2 id="hipaa-requirements">HIPAA Compliance Checklist</h2>
<h2 id="audit-preparation">Preparing for Security Audits</h2>IDs should be:
- Descriptive (reflect section content)
- URL-safe (no spaces, lowercase, hyphens as separators)
- Stable (don’t change them after publishing—they become linkable URLs)
Step 2: Create the TOC as a linked list.
<nav class="table-of-contents" aria-label="Table of contents">
<h2>In This Guide</h2>
<ol>
<li><a href="#compliance-requirements">Compliance Requirements Overview</a></li>
<li><a href="#soc2-specifics">SOC 2 Specific Requirements</a></li>
<li><a href="#hipaa-requirements">HIPAA Compliance Checklist</a></li>
<li><a href="#audit-preparation">Preparing for Security Audits</a></li>
</ol>
</nav>The nav element with aria-label helps screen readers understand this is navigation content. An ordered list reflects the sequential nature of sections.
Step 3: Handle fixed header offset.
Sites with sticky navigation create a problem: jump links land behind the header, hiding the target heading. CSS fixes this:
h2[id] {
scroll-margin-top: 80px; /* Match your header height */
}This creates invisible padding above headings so jumps land with the heading visible below the fixed header.
Step 4: Style for visual distinction.
The TOC should look like navigation, not body text. A subtle background, border, or distinct typography signals its purpose:
.table-of-contents {
background: #f8f9fa;
padding: 1.5rem;
border-radius: 4px;
margin-bottom: 2rem;
}
.table-of-contents h2 {
font-size: 1.1rem;
margin-bottom: 0.75rem;
}
.table-of-contents ol {
margin: 0;
padding-left: 1.25rem;
}
.table-of-contents li {
margin-bottom: 0.5rem;
}Automated Solutions for Scale
Manual TOC creation works for individual articles but doesn’t scale across sites with hundreds of long-form posts.
WordPress plugins handle TOC generation automatically:
Easy Table of Contents and Table of Contents Plus scan posts for headings, create anchor IDs, and generate TOC HTML without manual coding. Configuration options include:
- Which heading levels to include (H2 only, H2+H3, etc.)
- Minimum heading count before TOC appears
- Automatic placement (before first heading, after first paragraph, custom)
- Collapsible/expandable behavior
- Styling themes
The Nashville software company uses Easy Table of Contents with settings: include H2 headings only, require minimum 4 headings, place after first paragraph, collapsible on mobile.
JavaScript libraries work across platforms:
Tocbot is a lightweight library that scans content and generates navigation dynamically:
tocbot.init({
tocSelector: '.js-toc',
contentSelector: '.article-content',
headingSelector: 'h2, h3',
hasInnerContainers: true,
scrollSmooth: true,
scrollSmoothOffset: -80
});JavaScript solutions require JS execution, adding slight delay. They work well but the HTML approach loads faster.
Static site generators can build TOCs at compile time (Hugo, Jekyll, Eleventy). This provides automation without runtime JavaScript—the TOC is generated when the site builds, not when pages load.
| Approach | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Manual HTML | Full control, no dependencies | Time-consuming, error-prone at scale |
| WordPress plugin | Easy setup, automatic updates | Plugin dependency, less control |
| JavaScript library | Platform-agnostic, flexible | Requires JS execution |
| Build-time generation | Fast, no runtime cost | Requires rebuild for changes |
Design and UX Considerations
How the TOC looks and behaves affects whether users actually use it.
Position TOC early and prominently. After a brief introduction—not before any content, but before the first major section. Users scanning for structure should find the TOC without significant scrolling.
A Nashville healthcare company tested TOC placement: before any content, after one paragraph, and after three paragraphs. The one-paragraph version performed best—users had enough context to understand what they were navigating, but didn’t scroll past the navigation looking for it.
Keep the list scannable. If you have 15 H2 headings, showing all 15 in the TOC may overwhelm. Options:
- Show only H2s (skip H3 subheadings)
- Show first 8 with “Show more” expansion
- Reorganize content so fewer major sections exist
Collapse TOCs on mobile. Long tables of contents push actual content far down on small screens. A collapsed default state with “Show table of contents” expansion balances visibility with space efficiency.
Consider current-section highlighting. As users scroll through content, updating the TOC to highlight their current section helps orientation. This requires JavaScript but significantly improves navigation for long documents.
Size click targets for touch. On mobile, links need adequate spacing for finger taps. Cramped TOC items frustrate users trying to navigate.
Measuring TOC Performance
Track whether your tables of contents actually improve outcomes.
Jump link usage. If using Google Tag Manager or similar, track clicks on TOC anchor links. Low usage might indicate poor visibility, unnecessary implementation, or users preferring to scroll.
Set up event tracking:
document.querySelectorAll('.table-of-contents a').forEach(link => {
link.addEventListener('click', () => {
gtag('event', 'toc_click', {
'section': link.getAttribute('href')
});
});
});Search Console sitelink monitoring. The Performance report shows when results display with sitelinks. Compare impressions and CTR for queries where your TOC pages show sitelinks versus where they don’t.
Engagement comparison. For similar content types, compare pages with TOCs against pages without:
- Scroll depth (via Google Analytics or Hotjar)
- Time on page
- Bounce rate
- Exit rate
The Nashville software company found TOC pages averaged 34% better scroll depth and 40% longer session duration compared to similar non-TOC content.
User feedback. Session recordings (Hotjar, FullStory) show how users actually interact with TOCs. Do they use them? Do they struggle to find them? Do they scroll past without noticing?
Common Mistakes
Adding TOCs to every page regardless of need. A 600-word blog post doesn’t need jump links. Be selective—TOCs add value to specific content types, not universally.
TOC text mismatching actual headings. If the TOC says “Implementation Guide” but the heading says “How to Implement,” users clicking expecting one thing find another. Keep TOC text identical or very close to actual headings.
Broken anchor links. When you change heading text but forget to update the ID, or when IDs have typos, jump links break. Test all TOC links after any content edit.
JavaScript-only implementation that fails without scripting. If JavaScript fails to load (slow connection, blocking extension, error), users lose navigation entirely. Basic HTML anchor links work without JavaScript; enhancements like smooth scrolling should be progressive.
Ignoring mobile experience. A 15-item TOC that looks elegant in a desktop sidebar becomes a massive block pushing content off the first screen on mobile. Test and adapt for smaller screens.
Not updating as content changes. When you add, remove, or reorganize sections, the TOC should reflect those changes. Stale TOCs that don’t match content structure confuse users.
Placing TOC after extensive intro content. If users must scroll two screens to find the navigation that helps them avoid scrolling, the TOC placement defeats its purpose. Keep it near the top.
Advanced: Sticky Sidebar TOC
For desktop layouts with adequate width, a sticky sidebar TOC that follows users as they scroll provides continuous navigation access.
.sidebar-toc {
position: sticky;
top: 100px; /* Below fixed header */
max-height: calc(100vh - 120px);
overflow-y: auto;
}Add current-section highlighting via JavaScript:
const observer = new IntersectionObserver(entries => {
entries.forEach(entry => {
const id = entry.target.getAttribute('id');
const tocLink = document.querySelector(`.sidebar-toc a[href="#${id}"]`);
if (entry.isIntersecting) {
document.querySelectorAll('.sidebar-toc a').forEach(a => a.classList.remove('active'));
tocLink.classList.add('active');
}
});
}, { rootMargin: '-100px 0px -66%' });
document.querySelectorAll('h2[id]').forEach(heading => observer.observe(heading));This creates documentation-style navigation where users always see where they are and can jump anywhere instantly.
The Nashville software company implemented sticky TOC for their documentation section. Support tickets related to “can’t find information” decreased 31% after implementation—users could navigate to exactly what they needed.
Resources
- Google Search Central on Sitelinks: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/sitelinks
- MDN Web Docs on nav element: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Element/nav
- W3C Page Structure Tutorial: https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/page-structure/
- Tocbot JavaScript Library: https://tscanlin.github.io/tocbot/
- CSS scroll-margin property: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/scroll-margin
TOC implementation patterns as of early 2025. Google’s sitelink display behavior changes periodically; the user experience benefits remain constant regardless of SERP feature availability.