STOP 'Clicking Here'

In the early days of the Web, words like 'click here' were used as cues to direct people within a web site. The defence was that users had never seen a link before, and thus didn't really know what to do with them. Thus, the 'click here' was born.

However times have changed now, where the web is (almost, if not already) an everyday tool, and the 'click here' is now implicit. Instead of 'click here', link text should indicate the nature of the link target. Here's one of the reasons why:

Search Engine Optimization

Google and other search engines pay attention to the textual information that you put in a link and estimate the relevance of a link. They want to know where you are sending people, and will reward you by using keywords in the link.

For example:

1. We provide customer focused and innovative services in Ottawa. Click here.
   
   
2. Customer focused innovative services in Ottawa

The second is a much more powerful option from a SEO point of view.

By improving your hyerlinking scheme, you can increase the % of traffic that flows to your site, and in turn, into your business, just by gaining a couple of points in your conversion rate.

Device-dependent

We are in a time where more devices are becoming web-enabled (GPS, cellphones, etc...) Without getting into too much detail, 'click here' is an action using a mouse.

Even though users probably recognize what you mean, you are still conveying the message that you think in a device-dependent way.

(i.e. When viewing a site on an iPhone, your actually tapping, not clicking!)

I can go on about this subject, but you can read more about it by clicking here...ooops, I meant, you can read this article!

Don't use "click here" as link text by the W3C Quality Assurance

Writing for Search Engines

There was a time where, in order to rank well with the search engines, all one needed to do was incorporate their keywords in mass quantities and - boom! Congratulations on attaining the number 1 position. Unfortunately, it hasn't been so easy for quite some time now, as search engine algorithms have evolved to consider what others think about the content as more of an indication of quality and relevance.

Here are 5 important things to consider when writing for web, in order to create content that is worth linking to, giving you a better chance of achieving strong search engine rankings:

1) Keywords: What are the relevant questions searchers are asking, and will your content answer them appropriately? Select your keywords accordingly and use them throughout the content on your site because general frequency can help rankings (though density does not).

2) Headlines and Title Tags: Use your targeted keyword phrase in your title tag, keeping in mind that the title tag is a headline that needs to, once again, answer the question the searcher has asked. Headline copy should compel the audience to read the first sentence.

3) Compelling Content: You want your content to be worth linking to, because without links from other authoritative sources you will not be able to rank well for a competitive search term. Answer the question in the search better and more comprehensively than the competition, make it easy to get to the content quickly, and then get to the point quickly (what is the benefit to the reader?).

4) Relevant Content: Search engines favour websites that have a lot of relevant, frequently-updated content, and they also like seeing a lot of links to other sites as well as within the site.

5) Related Words: Include words that are related to, or synonyms for, the keyword phrases you desire. Search algorithms are advanced enough to look for contextually-related words that support your keywords.

The best results will come from copy that is keyword-rich without the reader becoming conscious of it; compelling in such a way that it tunes into the needs of the audience; specific yet concise; and relevant. Reader satisfaction is so crucial, because most of what determines the ranking success of any web page is caused by what happens off the page. Readers will be more inclined to link to your content from their sites if they are pleased with their experience.