The Old “Click Here” Debate Resurfaces
The debate that never seems to go away resurfaces over at Copyblogger. To “click here” or not to click here. That is the question.
Wouldn’t read more, continue to the next page, get a free ice cream sundae, something… anything, more accurately describe this link, thinks the good-natured web designer.
Well, maybe… just because “click here” proved successful in this circumstance doesn’t mean we should start screaming it from the top of the user-friendly mountain. To recount the click-through results from the original study:
- “Click to continue”: 8.53%
- “Continue to article”: 3.3%
- “Read more”: (-)1.8%
As with any experiment, these results are only valid under the particular conditions tested, in this case, a marketing newsletter. I would conjecture “click” directives are very successful with certain audiences and virtually abhorrent to others. The most obvious example: content aimed at web designers.
Web designers have often considered these sorts of links beginner’s mistakes, which would likely devalue the trustworthiness of such content in their eyes.
Do some A/B tests for yourself. See what works best for the particular blend of folks visiting your sites. They might just be the sort of people that find eat an octopus now far more compelling. Mmmm. Octopus.
