Better Labels for Website Links: the 4 S's for Encouraging Clicks
UX Writing, Link Labels, Information Architecture, Accessibility, Conversion Optimization, Microcopy
“‘Learn more’ is the most common link label on the web. It’s also the most useless. Users scan, not read – and vague links force them to guess where they’ll end up.
Better link labels improve findability, accessibility, and clicks. In this article, I’ll share the 4 S’s framework: Specific, Sincere, Substantial, and Succinct. Apply these to your website’s links and watch your click‑through rates rise – without tricking anyone.”
Better Labels for Website Links: The 4 S’s for Encouraging Clicks
When you’re writing label text for links, remember the four S’s to improve the findability, discoverability, and accessibility of your content.
First, links should be Specific
A link’s primary purpose is to communicate what users will find on the other side of a click or tap. Vague or repetitive language fails that purpose.
❌ “Learn more” – popular but useless.
✅ “Learn about our service plans” – a little more information makes it better.
Second, links should be Sincere
A link is a promise. It must set accurate expectations and then fulfil them.
Example of a broken promise:
A user on a travel site found a tour she wanted to book. She saw a link labelled “More Info & Book”and clicked it. Instead of booking, she received a pop‑up with a contract form. She was annoyed.
✅ Better label: “Contact Us to Book” – transparent about the next step.
Third, links must be Substantial
Eye‑tracking research shows people pay attention to salient elements. Links styled differently from static text stand out. As a result, link labels need to stand alone – they must make sense without additional context (like taglines or descriptive text).
❌ Example from a university’s homepage: “Restoring vision and hope.”
What does that mean? Hope for what? Vision for the future?
That link actually led to an article about eye care for Syrian refugees.
✅ Better label: “Eye care program for Syrian refugees” – less clever, more straightforward.
Lastly, links should be Succinct
Get to the point as quickly as possible. This increases the likelihood that users will understand the link as they scan the page.
⚠️ Important: Concision is last on the list for a reason. It must be balanced with the other three priorities. There’s no maximum word count for links – they can be as long as needed to achieve specificity, sincerity, and substance. But no longer than that. Each word should support those goals.
Keep the 4 S’s in Mind
Next time you write a link label, ask yourself:
Is it specific?
Is it sincere (honest about what’s next)?
Is it substantial (understandable alone)?
Is it succinct (no extra words)?
Your users – and your conversion rates – will thank you.
Download our ‘Microcopy Checklist: 50 Link Labels That Work’ – a swipe file of specific, sincere, substantial, and succinct labels for common UI scenarios.