Table of contents has become one of the most important things for blog posts. Adding a Table of content can make your blog posts easier to navigate through and read. However, you can have more benefits by using the table of contents for SEO. If I am not wrong, you know about the table of contents and basic SEO. But the question is what is the table of contents SEO?
Table of contents SEO refers to using a Table of Contents to optimize blog posts from an SEO perspective. Yes, if you can use a TOC in the right way, you can target multiple keywords at once within a single blog post. As a result, the posts can rank on multiple keywords on the SERP!
List of 6 Table of Contents SEO Advantages
There are countless benefits of the Table of Contents. But, I will be focusing on the SEO benefits. Below are the main advantages of using TOC on blog posts.
1. Ensures a better User Experience
Using a Table of Contents for blog posts is an important thing for user experience. In recent days we are writing long-form content to gain more organic visitors and fulfill searchers’ intended. But, it may be hard to read for the users. Or, a user may want any specific information from the long articles. So, the Table of Contents makes it easier for the users to navigate through long-form content and find the exact information they are looking for resulting in a better user experience.
2. Present organized content to the users
There is a proverb that says, First Impression is the Last Impression. So, when a user comes to your site from a search or referral link they expect organized content. So they can get the information they are looking for. If you can not provide them with organized content then they may not come again to your site. It will decrease the rate of returning visitors to your site. That is not good from an SEO perspective. All popular SEO experts have said that the percentage of returning visitors can directly impact search rankings and organic visitors.
A clickable Table of Contents can make it users for users to navigate different sections of a blog post. And, if you can also ensure a back-to-top button it will be more helpful. For example, a blog post has seven sections with headings and you have listed them on the Table of Contents. But the user reading the blog posts wants to read the third and seventh sections. So, they can just click on the third section from the table of contents. After reading the section they can use the back to the top button and go back to the start of the blog post. Then they can again click on the seventh heading from the list of tables and start reading the section.
When you click on a listing from a Table of Contents you can see that the link has been changed in the URL bar. These links can be shareable as well. Not only that, but you can also bring backlinks for any particular section. So, the Chances of ranking different portions will be increased.
5. Increase CTR from Search
Because of the Table of Contents google algorithm gives extra value to the links of different sections within the blog post. So, these links may also be shown in the organic search along with the blog post links. As a result, your blog post will get extra space in the search result. And, searchers will also know about the important sections without visiting the blog post of your site. That is how you can increase the Click-through rate from search results.
However, this particular thing is not entirely in your hand. Google does it eventually if your post has a high volume click rate on that post’s table of content. So, as we can see, a particular plugin like ours can help you craft and boosts your content in the right way, but “Content Is King” here. If your content and subheadings are highly appreciated by the readers, you’ll have this feature in no time.
6. Rank for More Keywords
By using the Table of Contents you can rank for more keywords. As I have mentioned earlier, the google algorithm gives extra focus on the different sections. So, you can target multiple keywords and rank for those keywords as well. Even there are chances of ranking on the Featured Snippet of Google. If you target the Questions from the People Also Ask Sections.
Best Table of Contents for Gutenberg
If you are a Gutenberg user you may note that there is no Table of Contents Block available. Don’t worry I am going to introduce you to the best Gutenberg Plugin. The PostX Gutenberg Post Blocks offers numerous features, addons, and blocks along with a Table of Content block.
The TOC block of PostX is the best choice for Gutenberg users because of the essential feature options. Let me list down the useful features of the Table of Contents of PostX.
Collapsible: The Collapsible feature allows you to add the “Open” and Close buttons. So, users can hide or unhide the listings by using the buttons. You can also customize the Open and Close buttons using the Collapsible setting sections. There are multiple design properties like button position, button text, color, etc.
Sticky: If you enable these features the Table of Contents will be visible while scrolling the blog post. So that, the readers can jump to another section of the post by clicking on the section list from the table. You can also use the design properties for sticky features such as position, color, hover style, etc.
Back to Top: You can turn on this feature from the general settings. So that, the users will see a button by which they can go back to the top of the page whenever they want. PostX also allows full customization options for Back to Top like all the features.
Customization options: PostX provides full customization options for the Table of Contents Block. You can customize each and every portion of these blocks. Here is the list of settings of the TOC block by which you can customize the block.
- General Settings
- Heading Settings
- List Body Settings
- Back to Top Settings
- Advanced Settings
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How to add Table of Content to Gutenberg
As I have mentioned earlier, Gutenberg doesn’t come with a Table of Content Block. So, you need to use another plugin, and PostX is one of the most beneficial.
You can follow these simple steps to add a Table of Content to a Blog Post.
- Install PostX Gutenberg Post Blocks Plugin
- Go to the Post Where You want to add TOC
- Add the TOC block by clicking on the Plus icon
Learn More: Best Way to add WordPress Table of Contents
Best Table of Content for Classic Editor
Classic editor is still used by most WordPress Users. If you are also one of them that’s completely okay. The classic editor also has and Table of Content for blog posts. However, I recommend starting using the New Default Editor of WordPress (Gutenberg).
Now, Let’s come to the main point. There are so many TOC plugins available for Classic Editor. But, the Easy Table of Contents is the best of them. Because it is free and easy to use for beginners as well. There are more interesting and useful available. Below are the main features of the Easy Table of Content Plugin.
- It automatically generates TOC for Blog Posts.
- Supports Rank Math Plugin Integration.
- Smooth Scrolling.
- Provides easy-to-understand settings.
- Multiple Customization options.
Conclusion
That’s all about the Table of contents SEO advantages. I hope now you understand why and how you can use the TOC block for Gutenberg. If still have any questions leave a comment below.
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