Imagine driving through an unfamiliar city where all the road signs just say “this way” or “over there.” You’d be lost in minutes. Yet that’s exactly what happens on websites with links that say “click here,” “read more,” or “this link.”
Link text is the clickable words in a hyperlink. When you write “check out our pizza menu” and make “pizza menu” clickable, those two words are your link text. Just like good road signs, link text should tell people exactly where they’re going before they decide to follow that path.
Good link text helps screen reader users navigate efficiently, gives search engines useful context about your pages, and builds trust with visitors who know exactly what to expect when they click.
Why your link text actually matters
People using screen readers depend on it
Screen readers can pull out every link on a page and present them as a list. Imagine hearing “click here, click here, read more, click here” versus “contact our Melbourne office, view pricing plans, download user manual, book a consultation.” The difference is obvious.
When you write “click here,” you’re creating a dead end for screen reader users. They have no idea what “here” refers to without going back to read the surrounding text. Multiply this across an entire website and you’ve made navigation nearly impossible for people who depend on assistive technology.
WCAG 2.1 Guideline 2.4.4: Link Purpose (In Context) specifically requires that the purpose of a link can be determined from the link text alone, or from the link text together with its surrounding content.
Search engines read your links too
Google and other search engines use your link text to understand what pages are about. When you link to your “organic coffee beans” page using those exact words, you’re telling search engines that page is relevant for that phrase. Link to it with “click here” and you’re telling them nothing useful.
Our comprehensive SEO guide covers this in more detail, and if you want to understand how search engines actually work, check out our complete guide to search engines. The takeaway is simple: descriptive link text helps your search rankings.
Legal requirements matter
Australia’s Disability Discrimination Act requires websites to be accessible. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines provide the international standard for this. Poor link text can leave you legally exposed. Our accessibility guide explains the broader requirements, and if you want hands-on training, our website accessibility workshop covers everything you need to know.
Where accessibility, SEO, and user experience meet
Here’s what’s clever about good linking: when you get it right, you’re solving three problems with one solution. The same practices that help screen reader users also boost your search rankings and make your site easier for everyone to use.
Take this example: “download our sustainability report (PDF, 2.1MB)” instead of “click here.” That one change helps a screen reader user understand the destination, gives Google useful keywords, and helps someone on mobile decide whether to use their data allowance. Three wins from one piece of text.
When you focus on making your site more accessible, you often improve everything else without extra effort. It’s efficient design that benefits everyone.
Write link text like a road sign
Think of link text as a road sign. A good road sign tells you exactly where you’ll end up if you take that turn. Your links should do the same.
Here’s how link text quality breaks down:
Terrible: Click here for more information about our services.
OK: Learn more about our services
Great: Explore our web design services
Terrible: Read more
OK: Read more about pricing
Great: View our hourly rates
The destination should be crystal clear before anyone clicks. Vague link text like “learn about sustainability” could lead anywhere. “Discover how we reduced carbon emissions by 40%” tells people exactly what they’ll find.
Context matters too
Your link text should make sense even when read as part of a list, but it should also flow naturally in your sentences:
× Click this link for more information.
✓ Images on your website should have relevant alt text as part of your accessibility and SEO strategy.
Include file details
When linking to files, always include the format and size: “2024 sustainability report (PDF, 1.8MB).” This helps people decide whether to download on mobile data or wait until they’re on WiFi.
Avoid keyword stuffing
While descriptive text helps SEO, don’t go overboard. If you’re linking to accessibility workshops, “learn more about our accessibility workshop” works well. But repeating “accessibility workshop for Australian businesses” every time you link is overkill. Write for humans first and search engines will follow.
Internal linking strategy: keeping people hooked
Internal links are your secret weapon for creating the “rabbit hole effect.” You know how you go to Wikipedia to check one fact and emerge three hours later having learned about medieval siege warfare, the mating habits of penguins, and the economics of cheese production? That’s brilliant internal linking at work.
YouTube does this too. You watch one video about perfecting your espresso technique and suddenly you’re deep into a documentary about coffee plantation economics. Before you know it, you’re learning about supply chain exploitation that would have made the Luddites weep and contemplating how neoliberal capitalism turned artisan roasters into Starbucks. The point is that each related video keeps you engaged and on the platform longer. Your website should work the same way.
Why internal linking transforms your SEO and UX
Search engines use internal links to understand your site’s structure and which pages are most important. When multiple articles link to your comprehensive guide on digital marketing, you’re signalling that it’s cornerstone content.
Internal links also distribute ranking power around your site. When one of your pages performs well in search results, it can pass some of that authority to other pages through strategic internal links. Plus, internal linking helps search engines discover new content faster.
From a UX perspective, internal links anticipate what visitors want to know next. When someone’s reading your article about website speed, they’re probably wondering about other technical factors or how to measure performance. Well-placed internal links answer those questions before they’re even asked.
How to create compelling link paths
Link naturally within your content: The best internal links happen naturally in your writing. When you mention “on-page SEO,” link to your on-page SEO guide. When discussing website speed, link to your technical SEO guide.
Create content clusters: Group related content together through strategic linking. All your articles should link to each other where relevant, creating a comprehensive resource hub.
Link from authority to supporting content: Your most popular pages should link to newer or more specific content. If your “beginner’s guide to bicycle maintenance” ranks well, use it to introduce people to detailed guides on choosing the righrt tyres or where the best places to get your bike serviced.
Aim for 3-5 internal links per page: Let the content guide you rather than hitting an arbitrary number. Focus on quality over quantity. Five highly relevant internal links beat fifteen tangentially related ones.
Update older content: When you publish new content, go back to related older pages and add links to the new material. This reverse-linking strategy helps new content gain authority faster.
Use tools like a ahrefs, Screaming Frog, or Semrush to identify “orphaned” pages that have no internal links pointing to them.
Common mistakes that hurt your website
Generic link text
“Click here,” “read more,” and “this link” are accessibility disasters. Picture someone using a screen reader hearing “click here, click here, read more, download, click here, learn more.” They have no way to distinguish between these links without going back to read the full context around each one. You’ve just turned a 30-second task into a 10-minute ordeal.
Using URLs as link text
× More information is available at https://www.your-site.com/p527.
✓ Learn more about our electrical services, including air conditioning installation quotes and how often you should have your wiring checked.
Identical text for different destinations
Don’t use “pricing” as link text for both your web design pricing and your SEO pricing pages. Make each link unique: “web design pricing” and “SEO service pricing.”
Make your links look and behave consistently
People rely on visual cues to know what’s clickable. If your links don’t look like links, or if different links behave differently across your site, it confuses users.
WCAG 3.2.4: Consistent Identification requires that components like links should look and act the same way throughout your site. If links are underlined in your body text, don’t suddenly drop the underline halfway down the page.
Don’t use hover states or styling for things that aren’t actually links. If something looks clickable but isn’t, it creates frustration.
Testing your links
Check with screen readers
Download NVDA (it’s free) and test how your links sound when read aloud. Many browsers also have accessibility extensions that show you a list of all links on a page.
Monitor what people click
Tools like Hotjar and Microsoft Clarity show heatmaps of where people click. You might discover that people are trying to click text that isn’t linked, suggesting opportunities for new links.
Regular link audits
The broken link checker from Ahrefs is a free tool that can scan your website for broken links. If you’d rather have professionals handle this, our comprehensive website audit service covers linking, accessibility, SEO, and performance issues.
Quick checklist before you publish
- Does each link clearly describe where it leads?
- Would the link text make sense if you heard it in a list?
- Have you included file types for documents?
- Do external links open appropriately (with user warning if needed)?
- Have you found natural opportunities for internal links?
- Have you avoided “click here” and similar generic phrases?
Better links help everyone. They’re clearer for your audience, more useful for people using assistive technology, and good for SEO.
Now a digital veteran, Sam Hemphill initially trained as a drummer and high school teacher and spent 10 years as a touring musician and tour manager.
During that time, he ...