Lessons in accessibility: Descriptive link text

It’s good practice to create links using descriptive link copy (aka anchor text) for a number of reasons, including SEO, user experience, and accessibility.  

When it comes to writing link text for accessibility, keep in mind that visually impaired visitors may rely on electronic screen readers to “see” page content. Screen readers often read all the links on a page as a list, rather than within the context of a sentence. Make sure your link text is understandable when read aloud in a list.

For example, without good link text, your visitor will hear something like this—imagine trying to make sense of it:

“Link: ‘here’”
“Link: ‘here’”
“Link: ‘click here’”
“Link: ‘more’”

Ideally, we want them hear something like this instead:

“Link: ‘Outsourcing the middle office white paper’”
“Link: ‘Subscribe to the Nonprofit Committee blog’”
“Link: ‘our goals-based investment style’”
“Link: ‘Contact us’”