For web designers usability is a top priority. That’s not always the case when it comes to content writers. An example of not considering usability is the continued use of “click here” text for links within a website. Here are some options to using “click here” for links when writing your content.
“Click Here” is Not Informative
As I have posted before, most people only scan the content of a website. Keep this in mind when you are writing content or having someone write content for you. The only people who read a website thoroughly, are the ones who have a reason to do so. Most visitors to your site are too busy to sit and read very paragraph on every page. The majority of visitors are looking for specific information (your operating hours, your services, location) which they need to find easily and then move on.
Back to usability issues for a moment, some visitors may have difficulties reading online content. Tiny text, lack of contrast, images without alt designations or screen resolution may hinder readability.
When a visitor scans your website, certain elements will stand out to them. Links which usually are in a different color and/or underlined is one of those elements–at least, if your designer has done their job. If you’re only using the words “click here” you’re not giving them any information about that link. Be specific. Let the visitor know where that link will take them. “Click here” only tells them that there’s a link for them to click on.
Using “Click Here” for Links is Not SEO-Friendly
Links are an element in search engine ranking. The number of internal and external links is important as is how those link are worded. “Click here” tells search engines only that there’s a link in the content. Strengthen those links by using keywords.
Options to Using “Click Here”
Here’s an example:
Click here to learn about SEO optimization
Learn more about SEO optimization
In the above example, you can see that the second one tells a visitor that there is information regarding SEO optimization. The first example, only that there’s a link.
Trust That Your Visitors Know What a Link Is
“Click here” text for links had been around since the early days of the web. The reasoning behind it was that people wouldn’t know that they were suppose to click on that bit of text for an action to happen. Now that most people send some part of their day on the Internet, it’s not necessary. When a visitor comes across highlighted text, they immediately recognize it as a link.
Continuing the use the words “click here” makes it seem that your visitors don’t know what a link is or that your content hasn’t been updated in a long time.
There are options to using “click here” for links that you should considered that will increase website usability.