Write link text that describes the destination instead of saying "click here"
Anchor text should label the target page, not the act of clicking.
What this signal tests
We scan every link on your page and flag those whose visible text is generic - "click here", "read more", "learn more", "here", "this", "details", "info", "link", or very short strings without a descriptive aria-label. The page passes when fewer than two percent of content anchors fall into the generic bucket.
Why it matters for your visibility in AI
AI crawlers and citation-building systems read anchor text as the label of the linked target. When the label is meaningful ("our pricing page", "the 2024 benchmark report"), the crawler builds a useful relationship: this page says these specific things about that other page. When the label is generic ("click here"), the relationship is empty - the destination has no characterization from your link, and the connection contributes nothing to either page's discoverability. The concrete consequence is that internal navigation and outbound references stop helping either party. Your "read more" link does not tell an assistant what the linked article is about, so the assistant cannot cite the link as evidence that you endorse, summarize, or extend that destination. Descriptive anchors turn every link into a small piece of metadata.
Pass criteria at a glance
| Criterion | Passes when |
|---|---|
| <=2% of content anchors fail. |
How we test it
We extract every a element on the page and read its visible text. We flag anchors whose text matches the generic deny-list (click here, here, read more, learn more, more, link, this, details, info) and anchors with fewer than three visible characters that lack an aria-label or aria-labelledby providing an accessible name of at least four characters. The percentage of failing anchors is compared against a two-percent threshold.
Show technical detection method
Flag <a> with text matching ^(click here|here|read more|learn more|more|link|this|details|info)$ or <3 chars without aria-label/aria-labelledby supplying >=4 char accessible name.
If your site fails: how to fix it
- Rewrite "click here" and "read more" links to describe the destination, for example replace "click here" with "download the 2024 benchmark report" or "see our pricing plans".
- For card-style links where the visible text is already short, add an aria-label that provides a fuller description for crawlers and screen readers without changing the visible UI.
- Avoid using icons as the sole content of a link unless they are wrapped with an aria-label; for example, a search magnifying glass needs aria-label="Search".
- In WordPress, audit your post-list templates and "continue reading" links; many themes default to generic anchor text that should be customized per-post or replaced with a descriptive snippet.
- When inserting outbound citation links, name the source explicitly ("per the NIST framework") rather than relying on a generic "see source" pattern.
Quick facts
| Maturity | ESTABLISHED |
|---|---|
| Weight | medium |
| Category | Content Clarity |
Primary sources
Related signals
No related signals listed.
Frequently asked questions
What about button text - does the same rule apply?
Yes, in spirit. Buttons that trigger navigation should describe what they do. "Submit" is fine for a form button; "click here" is just as unhelpful on a button as on a link. Treat the visible label as crawl-relevant whenever the control causes navigation or fetches new content.
Can I just rely on aria-label everywhere?
You can, but visible descriptive text serves human readers too. Use aria-label when visible text would be redundant or visually impractical (icon-only buttons); rewrite the visible text in every other case. Aria-label is a supplement to good labeling, not a substitute for it.
Does this matter inside navigation menus?
Less so - short labels like "Pricing" or "About" are fine in a top navigation because their context is obvious. The signal targets in-content anchors where a link sits inside prose and could easily be made descriptive but instead defaults to "click here" or "more".
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