Anchor text is one of the strongest signals Google uses to understand what the target page is about. click here and read more pass zero topical context, so every internal link squanders the link-equity distribution that descriptive anchors would provide. Icon-only links with no accessible text also fail WCAG 2.2 SC 2.4.4 (Link Purpose), stacking an accessibility violation on top of the SEO loss.
Low because impact is gradual equity dilution rather than immediate ranking collapse or indexation failure.
Replace generic anchors in body copy with descriptive text that matches the destination page's topic. For icon-only links, add a visible label or aria-label that names the target. Leave top-nav links as page names — the concern is contextual body links, not primary navigation.
// components/blog-card.tsx
<Link href="/blog/seo-guide">Complete SEO Guide for Beginners</Link>
ID: marketing-advanced-seo.content-optimization.anchor-text-quality
Severity: low
What to look for: Count all internal <a> and <Link> elements. Enumerate which use descriptive anchor text vs. generic text ("click here", "read more", "here", "learn more"). Examine <a> tags and framework <Link> components throughout the project for anchor text quality issues: (1) generic anchor text on important contextual links — "click here", "read more", "here", "this", "learn more", (2) internal navigation links that use only icon or image content with no accessible text fallback, (3) links whose text is completely unrelated to the destination page's topic. Focus on body content links, not navigation menus (which correctly use page names as anchors).
Pass criteria: Content body links use descriptive text that indicates the destination. Navigation menu links use page names (acceptable). Generic link text is not used for contextual content links. No more than 10% of internal links should use generic anchor text.
Fail criteria: Multiple instances of generic anchor text on contextual content links. Or internal navigation links rely entirely on images/icons with no accessible text.
Skip (N/A) when: The site has no internal links beyond the primary navigation (single-page or very sparse content).
Cross-reference: For internal linking structure, see the seo-advanced audit hub-cluster check.
Detail on fail: "Generic anchor text found on contextual internal links. Example: 3 instances of 'click here' in page body content, 2 instances of 'read more' linking to blog posts. Descriptive anchor text helps search engines understand link destinations."
Remediation: Anchor text signals to search engines what the linked page is about. Replace generic anchors with descriptive ones in body content. Instead of "click here to read our guide", use "read our complete SEO optimization guide". Navigation links using page names are appropriate — the concern is body content links that use non-descriptive text.
// components/blog-card.tsx — descriptive anchor text
<Link href="/blog/seo-guide">Complete SEO Guide for Beginners</Link> // Good
// Avoid: <Link href="/blog/seo-guide">Click here</Link> // Generic