February 23, 2021
“Click Here” Doesn’t Click With Users
Imagine you’re scanning a website to find what you need. Now imagine that every link on every page reads, “Click here.” Annoying, right? — because now you have to stop scanning and read everything around that link to figure out where it takes you. This is a bad user experience in general, but it’s even worse if you’re using a screen reader. It’s also bad for SEO, because “Click here” means nothing to a bot. So what should you do? Create descriptive links that tell your users (and search engines) what they offer.
5 ways to break your “Click here” habit:
- Create links that clearly and succinctly describe what they offer – Web Accessibility Fundamentals Overview
- Make your hyperlink a clear call to action – Request a W3C account
- To ensure clarity, link to nouns instead of verbs for in-text links – “According to Nielsen Norman Group, users choose to click on links with the highest information scent.”
- Be specific when linking to things like articles, books, websites, or applications – So, “Read more,” becomes, “Read Nielsen Norman Group’s article, How Users Read on the Web.”
- If you have to use “Click here,” then provide clear context for the link – just kidding! This is a trick tip. Again, don’t use “Click here.”
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