"You don't seem to be using a Table of Contents plugin": Rank Math's TOC test

What the test actually detects

Rank Math checks two things:

1. Is a known TOC plugin active on the site? Rank Math keeps a list that its knowledge base says includes Easy Table of Contents, Table of Contents Plus, LuckyWP Table of Contents, Ultimate Blocks, Rank Math's own WP Shortcode plugins and others. An active Elementor Pro installation also counts.
2. Does this post contain the Rank Math TOC block? It looks for the block's class name in the content.

The first check is site-wide. If Easy Table of Contents is active but set to insert tables only on pages with at least four headings, every short post still passes the test, because the plugin is active. The reverse also happens: a hand-written list of jump links at the top of a post, or a table of contents built into your theme, fails the test because Rank Math does not recognize it.

The test does not run on WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads products.

Why tables of contents became an SEO tip

Google sometimes shows links to sections of a page directly in search results, often labeled as jump links, when a page has clear sections with anchor links. A table of contents creates exactly those anchors. Rank Math's documentation points to these "Jump To" links as a reason to use one, since they can make a result larger and more specific.

There is no guarantee of that display, and Google also links to specific passages on its own, for example when it scrolls to highlighted text from a featured snippet, whether or not you have a TOC. Rankings do not depend on having one.

The stronger argument is usability. On a 3,000 word guide, a table of contents lets readers see the scope at a glance and jump to the section they need, which is especially helpful on mobile, where scrolling through long content is slow.

Pages that benefit, and pages that do not

A table of contents earns its place on:

• long guides and tutorials with five or more main sections;
• documentation and reference pages that readers return to;
• comparison pages where people jump to the product they care about;
• long FAQ pages.

It adds clutter on short posts, news items, landing pages and product pages, where it pushes the useful content further down. For those pages, a failing test is fine. If a TOC plugin is active, configure it to insert tables only above a sensible heading count so short posts stay clean, even though the test will pass on them either way.

Tables of contents link to headings through anchors, so they depend on stable headings. With some TOC plugins, renaming a heading changes its anchor and breaks links that people saved or shared to that section, which is worth remembering when you edit old guides.

Making Rank Math recognize your TOC

If you already have a table of contents solution Rank Math does not detect, you have three options: switch to the Rank Math TOC block, switch to a plugin on its list, or tell Rank Math about your plugin. Developers can add a plugin to the list with a filter, using the plugin's folder and main file:

add_filter( 'rank_math/researches/toc_plugins', function ( $plugins ) {
    $plugins['my-toc-plugin/my-toc-plugin.php'] = 'My TOC Plugin';
    return $plugins;
} );

The filter only changes what Rank Math detects. It does not add a table of contents to any page.

Hydrogen SEO does not generate tables of contents, and its SEO score does not test for one. Clear heading structure, which any TOC depends on, is part of the Content structure area of its site health score.