Find vague link text on your pages

SiteCurl checks every link on your pages for generic text. It flags links whose text matches common vague patterns: 'click here,' 'here,' 'read more,' 'more,' 'learn more,' 'link,' and 'this.' These words tell visitors nothing about where the link goes.

The check reports the total number of links on the page, how many use generic text, and examples of the text it found. You can see which phrases to replace and how many links need attention.

Links with descriptive text pass the check. A link that says 'View pricing plans' or 'Download the 2024 annual report' gives screen reader users enough context to decide whether to follow it.

Screen readers have a feature that lists every link on the page. Users open this list to scan for the link they need instead of tabbing through the entire page. When every link says 'click here' or 'read more,' the list looks like this: click here, click here, read more, click here, learn more. There is no way to tell the links apart.

Sighted users can scan the surrounding paragraph to figure out what 'click here' refers to. Screen reader users browsing the link list do not get that context. They see the link text and nothing else. If that text does not describe the destination, the link is useless.

This also affects SEO. Link text is anchor text. Search engines use anchor text to understand what the linked page is about. A link that says 'View our SEO audit tool' tells Google that the destination is about SEO auditing. A link that says 'click here' tells Google nothing.

The fix is usually simple. Instead of 'To learn more about our pricing, click here,' write 'View our pricing plans.' The link text describes the destination. Both screen readers and search engines get a clear signal.

Generic link text makes pages harder to navigate for screen reader users. They depend on link text to decide whether to follow a link. When every link says the same vague phrase, they have to visit each one to find out where it goes.

Search engines also use link text as a ranking signal for the destination page. Descriptive anchor text helps the linked page rank for relevant terms. Generic text wastes that signal.

There is a usability cost for all visitors too. Eye-tracking studies show that readers scan pages by jumping between links and headings. A link that says 'Read the full case study' is more scannable than 'click here.'

Content-heavy sites are the most likely to have this issue. Blog posts and articles often include 'read more' links at the end of excerpts. Documentation pages use 'click here' to link to reference material. Each instance is a missed chance to describe the destination.

Marketing sites frequently use 'learn more' as a call-to-action on feature cards and product sections. The phrase is generic enough to fit anywhere, which is exactly why it fails. It describes nothing specific.

E-commerce sites use 'view details' or 'more' on product listings. These work visually because the product image and name provide context. But in a screen reader link list, they are meaningless without that visual context.

Step 1: Replace 'click here' with the destination. Instead of 'For pricing details, click here,' write 'View pricing details.' The link text should make sense on its own, without the surrounding sentence.

Step 2: Make 'read more' links specific. On blog excerpts, change 'Read more' to 'Read: How to fix broken links on your site.' Include the article title or a brief description so the link stands alone in a link list.

Step 3: Add context to 'learn more' buttons. Change 'Learn more' to 'Learn how SiteCurl checks your site' or 'See accessibility check details.' The specific text tells users what they will find before they click.

Step 4: Use aria-label as a fallback. If the visual design requires short text like 'More,' add aria-label='More about our SEO audit feature' to the link. Screen readers will announce the aria-label instead of the visible text. This is a workaround, not a first choice.

Step 5: Test with a link list. In VoiceOver, press VO+U to open the links rotor. In NVDA, press Insert+F7. Look at your links in isolation. If you cannot tell where each one goes, the text needs work.

Rewriting the surrounding paragraph instead of the link. The fix is in the link text itself, not the sentence around it. Screen reader link lists show only the link text. The paragraph is not included.

Using the full URL as link text. 'https://example.com/pricing/enterprise/annual' is technically descriptive but unreadable. Write human-friendly text: 'Enterprise annual pricing.' Save the URL for the href attribute.

Making every link too long. 'Click here to view the complete pricing table for all plans including enterprise and starter tiers' is too much. Keep link text concise: 'View full pricing table.' Aim for 2 to 8 words.

Using the same descriptive text for different destinations. If three links all say 'View details' but go to different pages, screen reader users still cannot tell them apart. Each link should describe its unique destination.

After updating link text, run another SiteCurl scan. The generic link text count should drop. For a manual check, open the browser's accessibility tree or use a screen reader link list to see all links on the page stripped of context. Each one should describe its destination.

Check the page source for anchor text that matches the generic patterns: 'click here,' 'here,' 'read more,' 'more,' 'learn more,' 'link,' 'this.' Search your CMS content for these phrases to catch instances across all pages.

Link text should describe where the link goes. Replace 'click here' and 'read more' with specific phrases that make sense in a link list. This helps screen reader users navigate, and it helps search engines understand your linked pages.