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Struggling to improve user engagement and SEO rankings for your e-commerce store?
Shopify’s blog table of contents can be a key solution, not just an extra feature! It enhances site navigation, helping users find what they need quickly, and above all that, it boosts SEO.
This guide covers how to integrate Shopify table of contents into your store, including best practices many users miss.
Whether you're adding a table of contents to your Shopify blog for the first time or updating your approach away from Shopify's default templates, you'll find valuable insights here.
Why Trust Us?
- We're the creators of Bloggle, a dynamic Shopify blog builder available on the Shopify App Store that fills the gaps in native Shopify blogging capabilities.
- We're a global force: 2000+ merchants across 60 countries have trusted us to amplify their voices.
- Your peers adore us: We have a stellar 4.9/5 rating on the app store.
- We've already empowered 55,000+ blogs written using our versatile app.
- Under our guidance, users have reported up to a 10x boost in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) traffic and revenue.
So, if you're a merchant looking to elevate your Shopify experience, you're in expert hands.
What is a table of contents?
A Shopify table of contents is a structured outline located at the beginning of a webpage or blog post within a Shopify store.
It lists the main headings and subheadings of the content, allowing visitors to click and jump directly to sections of interest.
This feature not only improves the user experience by making information easier to navigate but also aids in SEO efforts by organizing content in a way that search engines can more easily understand and index.
By summarizing the key points and sections of your content, it provides a clear roadmap for both users and search engines, enhancing accessibility and the potential for higher search rankings.
Why should you add a table of contents on your Shopify blogs?
We already mentioned several reasons why adding a table of contents can benefit your blog. If it is implemented properly, it can help with user experience, SEO, internal linking and elevate your store to a different level.
Enhances user experience and accessibility
Incorporating a table of contents in your Shopify blogs greatly improves user experience by allowing visitors to navigate directly to the information they seek, eliminating the need to scroll through irrelevant content.
This immediate access not only enhances user satisfaction but also makes your content more accessible to a broader audience, including those using screen readers, by providing a clear, navigable structure.
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Boosts SEO and site visibility
A table of contents contributes significantly to SEO efforts. It organizes content into a hierarchy that search engines can easily crawl and index, potentially increasing your site's visibility in search results.
This structure helps search engines understand the relevance of your content to specific queries, improving your chances of ranking higher and attracting more organic traffic.
Increases engagement and page views
By implementing easier navigation, a table of contents encourages visitors to explore more of your content.
The engagement leads to increased page views and time spent on your site, both of which are positive signals to search engines.
A higher engagement level also means that visitors are more likely to return to your site, building a loyal reader base.
Lowers bounce rate
A clear and concise Shopify table of contents can significantly reduce your site's bounce rate. When users can quickly find the information they need, they are less likely to leave your site in frustration.
Lower bounce rates not only improve your SEO rankings but also increase the likelihood of conversions, as visitors are more engaged with your content.
Improves content discovery and consumption
The table of contents makes your content more discoverable and consumable by summarizing the main points and allowing readers to jump to sections of interest.
This flexibility supports various consumption preferences, whether visitors want an overview or detailed information on a specific topic.
By accommodating different reader behaviors, you enhance the overall appeal and effectiveness of your content.
Facilitates better content structure
Integrating a Shopify blog table of contents encourages you to organize your content more effectively.
A well-structured post is easier to write, read, and understand. This not only benefits your audience but also aids in the content creation process, ensuring each section contributes to the overall theme and purpose of the article.
Strengthens internal linking
A table of contents provides an opportunity to implement strategic internal linking, further boosting SEO. Linking to other relevant pages or posts within your site encourages deeper exploration, increasing page views and the time visitors spend on your site.
Internal links also help search engines crawl your site more efficiently, enhancing your content's visibility and relevance.
What’s the easiest way to add a table of contents on Shopify?
The easiest way to add a Shopify table of contents to your store is by using some of the free themes available on Shopify.
However, very few themes come with ‘Table of Contents’ support, so you might have to make wholesale changes to your entire website theme if you want to add a Table of Contents to your blog, so you should keep that in mind.
Via Shopify
As we already said, If you want to add a Table of Contents to your Shopify Blog using Shopify, it’s completely dependent on your website theme. The Plak theme (Grass) has a Table of Contents built in. Here’s how you can use it:
Step 1
Download and install the Grass theme
Step 2
In the theme editor, navigate to ‘Blog post pages’ in the dropdown
Step 3
Select the checkbox ‘Enable’ and voila, you’ve added a Table of Contents to your Shopify blog! Feel free to play around with the CSS elements like text size, container background, button background, color, and more.
The drawbacks of this approach are three-fold:
- You need to change your whole website theme just to incorporate a Table of Contents
- Themes that support a Table of Contents are usually pretty expensive. For instance, the Plak theme costs $295 for a single-site license, with pricier tiers for multiple-site support
- The design of the Plak Table of Contents is quite basic - just a table with some links and some very basic CSS. We wouldn’t recommend it for the rest of your website too as the design looks plain and outdated.
Instead, you can choose to use a free table of contents app or a free tool to generate a Table of Contents for your blog. The advantage of this approach is that it works with any Shopify, WordPress, or HTML site and won’t require coding skills.
Via Bloggle
Step 1
Navigate to your Bloggle Dashboard on the homepage.
Step 2
Create a New blog post / Open an existing one
Step 3
Click on ‘Add Content’ on the bottom left
Step 4
Scroll down and click on ‘Table of Content’. You can also search for it from the Search Bar
Step 5
In the Content tab, you can customize the Title, HTML tag, and Text Style of the Title of your Table of Contents
Step 6
Click on Auto Table and Bloggle will automatically fetch the headings of your blog and create a Table of Contents for you. Click on the ‘Add manual link’ toad and link to other sections in your Table of Contents manually. You can edit the anchor text of your manual link.
Step 7
In the Design tab, you can edit the look and feel of your Table of Contents. Feel free to play around with the border radius, background color, margin, padding, and more.
Step 8
Click on “Save” and done.
Congratulations, you just added a Table of Contents to your Shopify blog!
Other ways to add a table of contents on Shopify
There are some free and paid tools that exclusively add a table of contents on Shopify in the Shopify app store. However, there is another way — by using code. If you are not familiar with it, don’t worry, we will share a proven working solution from the Shopify forum you can replicate.
First, you need to highlight the list item in the blog post editor and click on ‘Insert link’.
Next, in the ‘Link to’ option enter #(pound) followed by a unique identifier for this link, in this case, ‘Citadel’.
Next, identify the heading you want to move to. Make sure you check if it's Heading 1,2,3,4,5 or 6.
In this case, we chose Heading 2.
Now, click on ‘Show HTML’
Then look for the title with the heading tag you chose. In our case, we chose Heading 2, so the tag is h2, Heading 1 is h1, and so on.
Next, make sure you select the tag before the text starts and after the ‘h2’ text, add a space and then type "id="citadel" (quotes inclusive). Also, make sure to exclude the pound sign (#).
Then hit save and test it. You'd repeat the steps for the rest of the titles as well. Make sure each identifier is unique.
Does a table of contents help with SEO?
Yes, the Shopify table of contents definitely helps to rank your store in the search results better. Search engines appreciate well-organized content.
A structured ToC makes the Shopify blog posts more SEO-friendly. It also helps Google understand your blog better, increasing your chances of ranking higher in search results. In simpler terms, it's a way to show Google what topics you cover, enhancing your visibility online.
Best practices: How to add a Table of Contents to Shopify for maximum impact
Adding a Shopify blog table of contents that boosts both user engagement and search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial.
It’s about more than listing headings; it’s crafting a navigation that benefits both your audience and search engines. Here are the steps to achieve this:
Insert SEO keywords into your table of contents
Your table of contents is a goldmine for SEO if used correctly. Instead of generic headers like "Introduction" or "Conclusion," consider integrating keywords relevant to your content. For example, if your Shopify blog is about sustainable fashion, a heading like "The Rise of Sustainable Fabrics" is far more impactful than simply "Fabrics."
Position your Table of Contents at the beginning
The placement matters. Your table of contents should be one of the first elements your readers see when they land on your page. This enables them to quickly assess whether the article contains the information they're seeking, encouraging them to stay and explore further. The left-hand side of the page near the top is the most common place for your table of contents.
Make your Table of Contents clickable with interactive elements
Interactive elements aren't just for aesthetics, they're functional. Use expand/collapse buttons for subsections to make your table of contents less complicated.
This enhances readability and offers a more interactive user experience. Most table of content generators and table of contents makers offer this feature, so make sure to utilize it.
Nested structure for a layered approach
A flat table of contents is like a one-level supermarket; it might have everything, but finding specific items is sometimes a painful experience.
On the other hand, a nested structure with subheadings creates a multi-level experience, guiding the reader through your content in a more organized manner.
Use visual cues for better navigation
A little color or a simple icon can go a long way in making your table of contents user-friendly. For instance, you could use a different color for each section or incorporate icons next to headings to indicate the type of content (e.g., video, text, images). However, don’t overuse this, because it can have an opposite effect on readers.
Manually override for special cases
Sometimes, automated table of content generators might not get it quite right, especially when your article has unconventional sections or specialized terminology. In such cases, don't hesitate to manually edit your table of contents. Always check if everything is correct before getting your content live.
FAQs
1. Should a blog have a Table of Contents?
Absolutely, a Table of Contents offers manifold benefits, including improved navigation, SEO advantages, and better user engagement metrics like dwell time and bounce rate.
2. How do I add a Table of Contents to my Shopify blog?
You have two main options: you can add it manually through Shopify's native features, depending on your theme, or you can use a dedicated Shopify app like Bloggle. Both methods have their pros and cons, which we've detailed earlier in this guide.
3. Does Table of Contents affect SEO?
Yes, they do. A well-structured Table of Contents helps search engines like Google understand the layout and relevance of your content, which can result in a higher ranking. Moreover, specific section links may appear in Google search results, improving your click-through rate.
Conclusion
We hope that this guide convinced you, Shopify table of contents is a highly beneficial add-on to your pages.
It is important for both SEO and customer experience, and it can enhance the appearance of your blog significantly.
With Bloggle, you will get your Shopify blog table of contents automatically, which is another reason to consider installing our app!
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