Quick Tips on Creating Effective Links
August 31st, 2007. Posted by Oliver Su
Many websites are still littered with unmeaning hyperlinks such as “read more”, “click here”, “submit” and so on. If your website is heavy with text, the chance of your visitors drilling deeper into the content is very slim - the last thing they want to do is ‘read more’.
Stick to this rule of thumb: a persuasive call-to-action hyperlink pairs up an imperative verb and an implied benefit.
Take the following two examples below for instance, which hyperlink gets you the result:
[1] For this upcoming father’s day, spoil your dad with a selection of amazing gifts… more
[2] For this upcoming father’s day, spoil your dad with a selection of amazing gifts… click here to find the perfect gift
Which link would you click on?
Successful websites are based on your customers - are you getting your customers what they want? Are you answering their questions?
Along the navigation path you should always acknowledge the ultimate goal. Lead your visitors along the way with a click to subscribe; contact a representative; click for driving instructions; proceed to checkout; locate a store and so on. Be obvious with your links, use a verb to instigate an action and reward your customer with a benefit.
To learn more about creating effective hyperlinks, click here to read Jeffrey Eisenberg’s “Stop Being a More-on”!