Good Link Tips
- Good links are descriptive, unique, and have keywords. The links should have good information scent, which means they clearly explain where the link will take users.
- Good links make sense out of context. If the linked text stood alone without any surrounding text, it should make sense.
- Helpful links explain the pages it is being linked to.
- Poor link text hurts usability, accessibility, and SEO.
- The more specific information you can provide your reader (and search engines) about what you’re linking to, the better.
Examples of bad links:
- “Click here” or "Here”
- “More” or “Read More”
- “Continue”
- Hyperlinked URLs (e.g https://its.uiowa.edu/contact)
Why are they bad?
- They give the user no information unless text is read around the link. This can be both time consuming and frustrating, especially since most users scan pages rather than read word for word.
- They are especially bad for users with low or no vision who may use screen readers since their assistive device will scan through the page by just tabbing through links on a page.
- (But by giving them links with descriptive words, it will make the screen reading process easier).
- Poor link labels may hurt search-engine ranking.
More Examples:
- Bad: Read the ITS website: https://its.uiowa.edu
- Bad: Click here for technology support on the ITS website.
- Good: I love reading content on the ITS website for technology support.