When it comes to the message your website delivers, everything matters! Whether it’s the colours displayed on your logo, the images that your website shows and where they are placed, the colour and text used on your call-to-actions, how long the videos on your website are, and much more!
The links and anchors that you have on your website have a big impact on the effectiveness of your marketing.
Let’s look at why using “Click Here” on your website is a bad idea.
Google says it’s a bad idea
Although Google may not be the complete authority on the internet, if you want to rank on their search engine, listening to what they say will more than likely benefit you. Alongside the fact that Google is visited on average 89.3 billion times a month, this gives them a major voice in the way content creation and linking work.
In their Search Engine Optimisation Starter Guide, Google basically lays the nail in the coffin for “click here” by naming it as a poor example of anchor text. The guidance criticises “click here” for being too general and not giving the consumer a basic notion of what material the link would provide.
Because Google dislikes generic anchor text, any page with this form of connection may be pushed down in search results. Google often favours pages with diversified anchor text that combines and matches numerous keywords.
Confused users
Continuing in the same vein, “click here” is so broad that people have no idea what they’re getting themselves into. The issue is exacerbated if there are many “click here” links in the same sentence or paragraph. Each “click here” will become a hazy mystery, discouraging viewers from clicking.
You may clog up your website with needless words if you develop a phrase or sentence to better frame the “click here” and enlighten users. In this data-driven age, brevity and conciseness are more critical than ever, and customers just don’t have time to read long-winded narratives to figure out the objective of the link. They want to know what the link is right away, and the easiest way to achieve that is to use informative anchor text.
You risk alienating non-computer users.
As of August 2023, mobile phones accounted for 55.5% of all online traffic. This indicates that the majority of people viewing the content you provide are most likely doing it on a phone, tablet, or other portable device. Most of the time, these folks aren’t using a mouse; therefore, clicking is completely meaningless. They will instead be tapping or pushing. Most users will not view this as an insult and may not even notice. Those who do, however, may be sent away.
People dislike being told what they should do.
It is scientifically proven that people hate being told what to do. These folks are unlikely to be convinced by your “click here” anchor text, whether because they dislike authority or want to forge their own path. In fact, they may purposefully avoid visiting the link to demonstrate a point.
This type of behaviour is known as reactance, and it states that individuals will shun offerings, laws, or restrictions that endanger their freedom. While that may be a stretch for something as basic as anchor text, the underlying premise remains valid: you can’t compel someone to click on anything by urging them to.
So, what’s the best way to create actionable anchor text?
By this point, you should have a much better sense of how the preferred anchor text should appear. You want it to correctly define what the link is so that readers know what type of material awaits them and whether it is relevant to them.
Include keywords that are relevant.
When you incorporate keywords in your anchor text, the reader will get a decent impression of the topic. However, the increase in search engine rankings you will acquire is far more beneficial. When search engines like Google crawl pages to determine their relevancy, they prioritise those containing relevancy signals. Having links with essential keywords and variants of keywords in the anchor text is a crucial relevance indication.
Link to nouns and verbs
If you want your reader to know what your link is about, the ideal option is to connect to a key word in your content, such as a collection of verbs or nouns. This way, they’ll know what to expect on the following page, and you won’t have to add more text to express your point. You should avoid employing only a verb, as this is typically insufficiently descriptive.
Place your link at the end of a sentence.
It might be difficult to notice a link in the middle of a paragraph of text, especially if the reader is skimming the content. As a result, you might want to think about adding links at the end of sentences. This method may not always work since you may not have a crucial sentence at the conclusion. But if it occurs, this is a good system to follow.
Keep it to a few words.
Another Google requirement is that the anchor text not be too lengthy. Linking to a complete sentence is often frowned upon since it isn’t natural. Rather, keep your links between three and eight words long.
If you want your content to rank well on the web nowadays, especially with all of the content-based Google updates, you must make the most of it. Much of this is determined by minor things, such as anchor text. Stop using basic “click here” anchor text and start giving your site the boost it requires to stand out.