You can’t get far on the Web these days without clicking on a link. We’re all familiar with the standard ones, for example, “About Us,” “Products,” “Services,” “Management,“ etc. But what happens when the links are not so obvious and you have to write your own? Welcome to EWA #9, once again in partnership with Jeff Herrington. Jeff and I are a team that really clicks, by the way.
--Chuck Lustig, owner, ExcitingWriting Communications

(Writing for the Web-2)

When a hyperlink is crafted properly, someone scanning a Web site knows exactly what he’ll find when he clicks on it. When it’s crafted poorly, confusion reigns. Here are some suggestions for staying in Hyperlink Heaven.

#1. Be brief.

Hyperlinks are supposed to tell the reader precisely the topic of the next screen. That means honing your hyperlink down to just one to four words that perfectly describe the subject—longer than that, and you may lose your reader.

For example, consider this hyperlink:

Our Madrid office offers several programs.

If we click on that link, we don’t know if we’ll find a discussion of Madrid as a city, our Madrid office or our programs in Madrid—or all of the above. It’s not clear.

If we’re planning a link to programs in Madrid, the link should read:

Learn more about our many programs in Madrid.

#2. Think links to topics.

When readers glance at a new screen on the Web, what first pops out at them are the hyperlinks on that screen. The links should be written as topics the reader can access from that screen, not instructions as to what to do next.

Topics are “Press clippings,” “Past performance,” and “Competitive advantages.”
Instructions are phrases like “Click here,” “Go to the Finance page,” etc.

Topics tell you exactly what you will find on the next page. Instructions are not as clear, and sometimes downright fuzzy. In addition, instructions require many words—something you don’t want on the Web.

For example, if readers see the sentence:

“Read these tips for improving your supervisory skills”

they need only glance at the hyperlink to comprehend what it’s all about. But if they see:

“To learn how to improve your supervisory skills, click here”

readers must read the entire sentence, not just the hyperlink, to decide if they want to click through or not.

Some people fear if they don't include “click here,” Web neophytes may get lost. But the number of neophytes grows smaller with each passing day.

#3. Don’t get hyper with your links!

Avoid constructions where you have a series of hyperlinks, all repeating many of the same words, like this:

Addresses for our offices in the United States
Addresses for our offices in Europe
Addresses for our offices in South America.

Instead, structure them like this:

Addresses for our offices in:
the United States
Europe
South America


#4. Include links that take them places

A Sun Microsystems survey found if an intranet, or Web site, did not contain links to content on some completely different section of the intranet, or another Web site, that site’s credibility dropped in the mind of the reader by 33 percent.

When we give links to other parts of the company from our intranet page, we help break down “silo thinking” within our organization. When we give links to other Web sites, we look big and build trust.

It’s a big world out there; we’re not the only authorities. Always consider linking to relevant content provided on the Web sites of such groups as: customers, suppliers/vendors, competitors, alliance partners, educational institutions, research think tanks, news sites, government agencies, etc.

Jeff Herrington is president of Jeff Herrington Communications, a Dallas-based training and consulting firm. If you think the content editors in your organization could benefit from a seminar on how to write more effective print, or intranet/Web, content, contact Jeff at: jeffherrington@earthlink.net, 214.948.7954 or http://www.jeffherrington.com


Chuck Lustig owns Exciting Writing Communications—persuasive writing that turns heads, touches hearts and changes minds—builds sales! For virtually every kind of writing, including articles, white papers, annual reports and proposals, remember: If the writing is exciting, it's ExcitingWriting! Contact Chuck Lustig at:
chuckiel@airmail.net, 972-867-7799 or http://www.marketnet.com/lustig

Email: clustig@excitingwriting.com

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