Descriptive link text: why 'click here' loses visitors

Key takeaways

Descriptive link text tells visitors where a link goes before they click: 'See boiler service prices', not 'Click here'. It helps people scanning a page, screen reader users moving between links and search engines understanding the target. Start the link with the key word and keep it unique on the page.

• Link text should make sense on its own.
• Start with the key word: 'Prices for loft conversions'.
• Avoid repeated 'Read more' and 'Click here' links.
• WebAIM found empty links on 46.3% of top home pages in 2026.

What is descriptive link text?

Descriptive link text is the clickable wording of a link that states what the visitor will find at the destination, so the link makes sense without the surrounding sentence. Nielsen Norman Group recommends link text that is salient, descriptive and starts with a keyword. WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.4 requires the purpose of each link to be clear.

Why does 'click here' fail?

'Click here' and 'Read more' give no information on their own. People scanning a page look at links first, so a page full of identical links reads as noise. Screen reader users often list all links on a page, and a list of ten 'Read more' links is useless. Search engines also lose a clue about the target page.

• How clear website navigation improves user experience
• How screen reader users navigate your site

How do you write good link text?

Describe the destination in a few words, starting with the most useful term. Make the link part of a natural sentence where you can.

• Name the destination: 'loft conversion prices'.
• Put the key word first.
• Keep it short but specific, usually two to six words.
• Make every link on a page unique.
• Say if a link opens a PDF or downloads a file.
• Give icon links a text name for screen readers.

• Should website links open in a new tab?

What about 'Read more' on cards?

Card layouts often end with 'Read more'. The simplest fix is to make the card's heading the link. If you keep a button, add hidden text so screen readers hear 'Read more about loft conversions'. Do not rely on the visual position of the link to supply its meaning.

Does link text affect SEO?

Yes. Google's link guidance says anchor text helps it understand the page being linked to, and recommends descriptive, reasonably concise text. Internal links with clear anchor text tell Google what your service pages are about. Avoid stuffing keywords into every link; write for the reader.

• Does website navigation affect SEO?
• Internal links that guide buyers, not just search engines

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: a homepage has six service cards, each ending in 'Learn more', and the social icons are links with no text. Making each card title the link and adding names to the icons gives screen reader users and search engines six specific links instead of six identical ones.

• See client work
• Website Design & Development for UK businesses

Link text checklist

• Replace every 'click here'.
• Make card headings the links.
• Start links with the key word.
• Keep each link unique on the page.
• Name icon links in text.
• Flag PDFs and downloads.

• Page titles and headings: the navigation visitors forget
• Menu labels: words visitors understand at a glance

Next step

Search one key page for 'click here', 'read more' and 'learn more', and rewrite each one.