"Add a table of contents with jump links and earn sitelinks."

"Add a table of contents with jump links and earn sitelinks."

Partly true, and the numbers are specific.

A documentation site added jump-link TOCs with proper id anchors to 300 long guides. Two outcomes got measured separately.

First, the hoped-for win: in-SERP "jump to" links appeared on 22% of those pages within eight weeks — a real visibility bump. Not the 100% the guides promised, but real.

Second, the unexpected one: bounce-back to SERP dropped because users landed exactly on the relevant section. Pages-per-session on those guides rose 14%. That engagement signal is the quieter, more durable win.

The myth oversells the SERP jump-links (you get them on a minority of pages, Google's choice). The reality undersells the on-page UX gain, which you fully control. Build the TOC for the second reason and treat the first as a lottery ticket. (Here, 22% of tickets paid out.)