What’s the best link text?
What’s the best link text? Recent research by Nielsen Norman Group gives great advice on the best link text. To get the most clicks, write specific links that set sincere expectations, are substantial enough to stand alone, and are as succinct as possible.
As people scan your site, they look for links to get them to the information you want. Keep these four elements in mind to create links.
A link’s primary purpose is to communicate to users what they’ll find when they click. Vague or repetitive language fails that purpose. “Learn more” and “Click here” are not effective links.
What makes a great link? These four elements:
- Specific: Make the link text specific, so the user knows exactly what they’ll get.
- Sincere: Link text must set expectations that will be instantly met when the user clicks. When links set expectations that aren’t met, the user’s trust in the site and the organization it represents is reduced.
- Substantial: Most users scan rather than read online. Links draw attention. The link text needs to give the user enough information to decide to click.
- Succinct: Get to the point as quickly as possible to increase the likelihood that users will quickly understand the link.
