“Learn More” Links: You Can Do Better

Summary: 

The phrase ‘Learn More’ is increasingly used as a crutch for link labels. But the text has poor information scent and is bad for accessibility. With a little effort, transform this filler copy into descriptive labels that help users confidently predict what the next page will be.

Some trends are subtler than others. Much like low-contrast text, the use of Learn More as a standalone link label has been quietly trending. The web now has an abundance of links with this generic label, largely tacked on to information of secondary or tertiary importance. (A Google search finds 1.4 billion instances of this term, though some admittedly might be from proper use of the term in general content.) Typically, these links are placed after a short paragraph that briefly introduces a topic, feature, or service, so that the Learn More points the visitor to the detail page. Usually, these links are not the main calls to action on the page, which partly explains why this copywriting detail doesn’t get as much attention or A/B testing as other calls to action.

Most of you have surely seen this pattern. Below is an example of what we’re talking about:

The proliferation of Learn More links is likely mobile driven: mobile-optimized sites are getting better at deferring secondary content. That is, instead of making all the details available by default, headings and short paragraphs provide an easy-to-scan, digestible overview of essential content. When users decide they want more information, they can tap a link or expand an accordion to get to the less important content.  This design pattern is definitely beneficial on mobile, and our article is  a critique of the link label only, and not of the general practice of deferring less important content.

We’ll first look at why this phrase is problematic when used by itself, and why it’s worthwhile to be more descriptive. Then we’ll explore how to figure out what to say instead, with examples of sites that have done it well. You’ll even have a chance to try rewriting labels yourself. For that final part, we recommend you have a writing utensil handy, because, yes, there will be a quiz.

Why Learn More Is a Problem

Let us first acknowledge that if the text that precedes the link makes it obvious what’s to come, then a Learn More label isn’t devastating to the user experience. Remember, this article is about how to do better. Descriptive text does help clarify and set expectations. However, even in that situation, there is often ambiguity about the scope of the link. Does the link go to a full page dedicated to the topic? Or does it lead to a landing page where the user will have to choose from a dozen other links? Does it point to an external site or an app store? These are all questions that an informative link label can help answer.

The phrase is most dangerous when used alone because of its ambiguity and poor information scent. It creates uncertainty, because users don’t know what to expect if they click, or whether it will be worthwhile to wait for a new page to load. That feeling of uncertainty can cause users to hesitate and shift into a state of cognitive strain. Some may resort to page parking for evaluating unclear links.

If a webpage has several Learn More links, users may wonder if the links point to the same page or to different pages. Once again, uncertainty and cognitive strain have a negative impact on the user experience. Worse, when they do point to the same page, users may waste clicks and be disappointed to discover that the same page is provided. That adds disappointment and confusion to the mix.

Finally, as a standalone link, the lack of descriptive keywords is a serious problem for accessibility. People who are visually impaired and using a screen reader or magnifier aren’t able to quickly glance back to the preceding-paragraph text to see what the Learn More link may refer to.  Most screen-reader users will hear a list of links read to them, with no visual context to help them make sense of different generic Learn More or Read More links.

So, if you use descriptive labels instead of standalone Learn More text, your copy will benefit in several ways:

• Links will be more accessible.
• Links will be more enticing to users and potentially more persuasive.
• Users will feel more confident as they click from page to page.
• More keywords on the page will help search-engine optimization.
• Meaningful links will stand alone and help users who are scanning the page.

What to Say Instead: 3 Solutions

Now that you’re on board with rewriting those link labels, let’s see some suggestions for what to write instead. Below are the three most common approaches.

Option 1: Use keywords that describe the link’s destination.

This is the most common and, typically, the best approach. To do this, you have to look at the destination page and see what it’s about. Don’t skip that step. When rewriting the labels, remember to try to front-load the link text by putting the most relevant keywords at the beginning of the text. For example, instead of “Learn How Professional Chefs Cook Squash”, try “Cook Squash Like The Pros.”  Front-loading text makes it much faster for users to scan the page and decide what to do next.

Option 2. Retain the Learn More format and add descriptive keywords.

There are times when it is acceptable to retain Learn more, if you qualify it with information about what is to be learned (e.g., Learn more about our services). The downsides to this approach are space constraints for the longer label, and reduced scannability because the relevant keywords appear at the end instead of the beginning of the phrase. Nevertheless, a long link does create a larger target, which is faster for users to click and tap than a small target. In some cases, you might try only linking the descriptive phrase, for example: “Learn more: How a Link is a Promise.”

Option 3: Convert the preceding-paragraph heading into the only link.

If the heading of the preceding paragraph is obviously styled to look like a link and the copy clearly describes what the link points to, then a Learn More link is probably redundant.

Examples of Effective Alternatives

In each of the examples below, you can see how easy it would have been for the designers to fall back on Learn More or Read More. Instead, they put a bit of extra effort into the copy, and it pays off. Use these as inspiration for your own sites. 

Now You Try

Now that you’ve seen how to do better than just Learn More, it’s time to try it yourself. (I wasn’t kidding about that quiz. After all, we are in the business of giving UX exams, you know. Sorry, this exercise doesn’t count for credit.)

Below are a few examples of copy and a description of the destination page. Try your hand at coming up with a better link label. As with all writing, there isn’t just one right answer. (But we have included some of our own suggestions below; just don’t look before you’ve tried on your own first.)

Part 1: First, read the original copy below and guess what the Learn More links might lead to.

This step should help put you in the shoes of your users, who don’t know what each page is about before they click.  Note that headings are in bold and capitalization is retained from the original website. 

Part 2: Next, using the information from the destination page, try rewriting the link label.

 

Original Copy

From the destination page

Your Alternative

A.

Plays Well with Others

In addition to SmartThings' own family of sensors, you can also control hundreds of connected devices from other brands through the SmartThings open platform.

LEARN MORE

An Open Smart Home Platform

…In addition to SmartThings own family of sensors, the products listed below are examples of officially certified devices that deliver the best customer experience.

 

B.

Build. Connect. Grow.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR OUR CLIENTS, SOCIETY, AND THE WORLD

Learn more

Careers

Work, Culture, Path, Join

 

C.

EVENTS AND STUDIOS - VENUE HIRE

Events and Studios on the first floor of the Exchange is a purpose-built, broadcast and event venue in the heart of the City.

Ideally situated at Paternoster Square makes the space a premier venue for announcements, conferences or simply entertaining in style.

Read more

LSEG Academy is our Group’s own dedicated training centre, serving clients across the UK, Italy and internationally.

 

D.

Turn on your imagination

There are limitless possibilities to turn your everyday lighting into an extraordinary experience. And with hundreds of apps to choose from, the only real limit is your imagination.

Learn more

Additional resources:
What are flexible couplings used for?
Everything You Need to Know About Lamination
How Do I Know If My Truck Bearings Are Bad?
What is the difference between spherical and cylindrical roller bearings?
What is a limit switch?
Rothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck, P.C. - JDSupra
List of Valves: 10 Types of Valves

Your personal wireless lighting system

Enhance your everyday life. Philips Hue can welcome you home. Wake you up. Get you energized. Make you feel safe. Improve your mood. Enhance your entertainment experience. It can even keep you informed about the weather or incoming calls. The possibilities are endless once you start exploring.

 

Conclusion

If you find yourself relying on Learn More or Read More as standalone link labels, remember that they create uncertainty for users and are bad for accessibility. Use the examples and approaches in this article to add descriptive keywords and make your link labels more informative and enticing to users.

Suggestions to Improve Labels

Alternative label suggestions are separated by vertical bars (|).

1. Browse Connected Devices | See What Else You Can Connect
2. Careers | Careers at BCG | Join Our Team
3. LSEG Academy Venue Hire | Contact LSEG Academy
4. What Hue Does | Get the Most Out of Hue at Home

Did you come up with an even better suggestion? We’d love to hear it. Tweet us @nngroup.com.

Your URL is the web address of your site and its subpages.  

The way you format it is the method search engines read and analyze your content. It helps them decide whether your domain name is worthy of appearing in the search results or not.  

So, when designing your website, it’s important to properly structure your URL and the links within it and check if any of them are redundant or broken. That way, they can be crawled and indexed successfully.  

There are two types of links you can use to direct search engine bots to your web page: absolute links and relative links.  

An absolute link provides the complete location information of your site, while a relative link only contains the location following your domain. Each has its pros and cons, so you need to choose wisely.

Using one that doesn’t match your needs can negatively affect the performance of your site, impacting your ranking and your SEO strategy. It will ultimately prevent customers from finding you quickly and easily.  

In this article, we’ll be discussing about the two links, as well as their benefits and drawbacks, so you can assess which type of link is suitable for your website. With that in mind, let’s dive right in!

Between Absolute Links and Relative Links, Which Do You Think is More Valuable for SEO?

Some say absolute links work best for them, while others agree that relative links are their go-to option. We’ll let you decide for yourself as we provide the ins and outs of absolute links and relative links.

Let’s start with relevant links.

What is a Relative Link?

A relative link or URL only contains the path following your domain. It does not give the complete information location of your site, but instead, it conveys the address that is relative to where you are.  

A relative link is commonly used by developers because it makes the process of website building easier. It normally looks like this: “/abc.html “

Photo from ShivarWeb

Pros

Quicker and Simplified Coding

If you have a large website, it’s best to shorten your URL into a relative format to make coding easier.  

The use of relative links allows web developers to be more efficient since they don’t have to write the path for each of the pages on a resource. Instead, they just have to indicate a point on the site map to clarify that the page is a part of a specific server.  

In other words, using relative links makes coding easier.

Saves You Time

Relative links also allow you to easily move your entire website onto a staging server for testing. It means that you don’t have to manually re-code all of your links just for your website to exist on the staging and production domain, as well as the live accessible version of your site. This allows you to save time and transition your site from staging to production swiftly.

Faster Loading Time

Compared to absolute URLs, using relative links or URLs helps your website load slightly faster. The difference is very small so you shouldn’t rely solely on it to improve your web page loading speed.  

It’s best to check other factors and optimize them to have a faster loading time.  

Cons

Duplicate Content Issues

Did you know that a single wrong link in your content to your staging server can cause Google to index your test environment? This could lead to duplicate content issues that can negatively impact your ranking.  

Aside from this, relative links can also duplicate themselves up to four times, as you can see from our example below:

https://www.exampleabc.com

https://exampleabc.com

http: // www. exampleabc.com

http: //exampleabc.com

You must define one of them as canonical. Otherwise, search engines will think that each of the four versions of your URL is unique to each other and index them separately.  

This can confuse search engine bots and divide their attention into four instead of focusing only on one, diluting your SEO efforts and reducing your potential of getting ranked.  

Enables Content Theft

Since they don’t need to rewrite any internal link, relative URLs make it very easy for scraper programs to copy or steal your entire website, including its content.  

What is an Absolute Link?

On the other hand, an absolute link or URL provides the complete location information of your site. It contains both your domain name and page path.  

Photo from Instruct.uwo.ca

Absolute links are always unique, which means that using them helps prevent the risk of duplicate content. Here’s what it usually looks like: “http://www.example.com/abc.html”.  

Pros

Protects Your Content

Absolute links or URLs prevent scraper programs from stealing information from your site directory because doing so would be very difficult and tedious. They’d have to manually re-code the thousands of links in your website to be able to copy and put them on a new domain.  

Prevents Duplicate Content

Because absolute links prevent scraper programs from stealing everything on your website, it helps avoid duplicate content issues. They also point search engine bots to your website correctly, making it very unlikely to index duplicate content.

Improves the Performance of Your Site

Another great thing about absolute links is that they prevent you from implementing the wrong code that could make your visitors land on a 404 error page.  

As much as possible, you want to make sure that all the links on your site are working. Such links help provide a superior user experience to anyone who visits your site.  

Allows Search Engine Bots to “Read” Your Site Faster

When you use absolute links, you allow search engine crawlers to “read” your site faster. That’s because they’re less likely going to come across problems. This motivates them to come back more frequently and crawl more pages on your site for every relevant search.  

If search engine crawlers encounter issues as they “read” your content, they’ll most likely leave. This is why it’s a must to optimize your website.  

Cons

Actually, there’s only one disadvantage of using absolute links:

Makes Testing Difficult

Absolute links make it very difficult to test your site. You won’t be able to copy your website on a staging server unless you manually re-code each of the links found on your site.  

It’s Time to Make Up Your Mind - Absolute Links or Relative Links?

If you ask us, we believe that absolute links are more valuable for SEO. They prevent duplicate content issues and they allow search engine crawlers to read and index your site easily, which is great for your SEO ranking!  

However, you should take the advantages of relative links in consideration as well. And, that’s just our opinion!

The best way to decide which type of link is best for your website is to define what your goal is. Is it to improve your SEO ranking? Or, is it to make testing easier?  

If you feel like you need professional help, don’t hesitate to contact Digital Resource. We specialize in SEO! Contact us today to learn how we can help you make your website more SEO-friendly.