One of the things that it seems that I always have to tell my clients is avoiding using “Click Here” as a link. Surf around the web a few times, and you’ll see this phrase countless times in countless environments in countless treatments. Other than being imperative, what does this tell the person reading the page? Nothing. It’s merely an exhortation, an instruction without inducement. If you wrote “Jump off a bridge,” would you expect anyone to follow the instruction without further information? That’s really all “click here” is. Think about the most frequent use of this phrase is. Banner ads, pop-up windows.
Do you really want to equate your links with an exhortation to shoot a duck on a banner ad? Instead of taking this easy way out, your links and calls to action should give the end user some indication of what they will find once they select a particular link. I’m not saying it should always match the title of the page it leads to. I’d never be so dogmatic. In any event though, it should give a bit of a preview as to what a user will find on the other side.
[Note: moved from earlier content blog, Contented]
