Dec 07 2009
Use meaningful link text
If you are going to use links in the content on your website, make sure you have thought about it from a reader’s perspective. A link is a call to action, encouraging the reader to click on the underlined word or phrase in order to point them towards a particular article or website. If you have just put “click here” then you have just wasted your time.
(Don’t) Click Here
If you do decide to tell the reader to “click here” then the chances are: they won’t. Most people scanning a website for content will not even realise it is there, thus rendering the link pointless. Rather than this being a helpful link to direct a potential customer to a brochure or product, it will make most people move on – that is, if they have seen it in the first place.
Meaningful Links
Make sure you use meaningful links and link text that provides the reader with information and explains a bit about what the link itself actually offers. Do not use verb phrases either, unless you have a reason for doing so, e.g. linking to a blog title. Also, remember to keep the link brief. If you link several sentences, this does not grab the reader and they won’t focus on the pertinent words or phrases in the text.
If you want to use links that work, keep them down to just a few informative words. Make sure you explain what the link offers and give people at least an idea of what will happen when they follow the link.
The other benefit of doing this is that the search engines will associate the linked pages with the anchor text used. If you’re linking to pages within your own site, you’re wasting this benefit by using a generic term like ‘click here’.
Daniel Higginbotham
Content Writer
This SEO news has been brought to you by Just Search; Experts in internet marketing and PPC
from Just Search | Search Engine Optimisation & Internet Marketing Journal
