Link Text
What makes link text accessible and why does "click here" fail?
What is link text?
Accessible link text clearly describes the destination or purpose of a link without relying on surrounding context. Screen reader users often navigate by pulling up a list of all links on a page, so each link must make sense in isolation. Generic phrases like "click here", "read more", or "learn more" provide no information about where the link leads.
Accessible link text clearly describes the destination or purpose of a hyperlink without relying on surrounding context. Screen reader users often navigate by listing all links on a page, so generic phrases like "click here" or "read more" provide no information about where each link leads.
Why does link text matter?
When a screen reader user lists all links on a page and hears "click here" repeated five times, they have no way to distinguish between them. Descriptive link text also benefits sighted users who scan pages quickly and improves SEO because search engines use anchor text as a relevance signal for the linked page.
Screen reader users report that unclear or generic link text is among the top five most problematic accessibility issues they encounter.
How to fix it
- Replace generic link text ("click here", "read more", "learn more") with descriptive text that explains where the link goes or what action it performs.
- Ensure link text makes sense when read out of context — test by reading just the link text without the surrounding sentence.
- If the visual design requires short link text, use aria-label or visually hidden text to provide a fuller description for screen readers.
- Avoid using the raw URL as link text (e.g., "https://example.com/page") — use a human-readable description instead.
Bad seed, good seed.
<p>We offer web accessibility audits. <a href="/services/audits">Click here</a> to learn more.</p><p>We offer <a href="/services/audits">web accessibility audit services</a> for businesses of all sizes.</p>Frequently asked questions
Why is "click here" bad for accessibility?
Screen reader users often navigate by listing all links on a page. If every link says "click here", they cannot tell the links apart or know where each one leads without reading the entire surrounding paragraph.
Does link text affect SEO?
Yes. Search engines use anchor text as a signal to understand what the linked page is about. Descriptive anchor text like "accessibility audit services" passes more topical relevance than "click here".
Can I use an aria-label to fix short link text?
Yes. If your design requires brief visible text, you can add an aria-label attribute with a more descriptive phrase. However, descriptive visible text is always the better first choice.
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