I truly understand the importance of using a “call-to-action” in web page links and emails. For years though, I’ve tried to avoid using the words “click here” in links and images on web sites. I assumed that if people could recognize a link on a web page or e-mail, they would know it’s clickable.
If the data is right, I am wrong. I read a Marketing Sherpa experiment (via Copyblogger) that suggests that “click here,” or “click link words” as Marketing Sherpa calls them, can lift clickthrough rates by 8% or more. I’ve always been a proponent of writing so that people know exactly what action they should take, but that’s apparently not enough. Using the words “Click to …” or “Click here to …” can significantly improve the rates at which these links are clicked.
Perhaps including the words “click here” draws people’s attention, or maybe “click here” more accurately informs people of what they are supposed to do. Regardless, I’ll now be considering using these “click link words” more frequently in web copy I write.
