Leveling Up Links

Links impact both the reader experience and the ability of readers to find your articles through search engines. Following a few rules when you add links will make your writing easier to find and easier to read.

Make Keywords Active Links
Think carefully about which words should become the active link. Skimmers who see “Click here” or “Learn more” likely have no idea where the link would take them because they haven’t read the context. If the link says “view the complete Fahlgren Mortine case study,” the reader clearly knows where the link goes.

This benefits your readers, and it also helps search engines recognize the topic and relevance of a website.

Don’t Miss Good Link Opportunities
Review final drafts looking specifically for any missed opportunities to link to helpful resources.

• Organization or program names
• Complicated terms that would benefit from a link to an explanation

Link to the Right Resources
Don’t make readers work by linking to website homepages when you can link directly to a specific and more pertinent web page.

Avoid Ugly URLs
There are times when you strategically want a full website URL to appear in the text of an article. If you’re creating awareness for your organization and its website, you might want the link to be embedded behind the visible website URL.

Bookmark Ohio State’s School of Communication at https://comm.osu.edu/ to learn about new research and upcoming events.

Other times, it makes more sense to embed URLs (especially those that are long and ugly) behind keywords.

If you have questions about classes or graduation requirements, book a School of Communication advising appointment.