SEO TIP: Should You Underline Anchor Text?

A common question that comes into play when webmasters are preparing their copy to go live is whether or not they should underline text to indicate that it is the resting point for a contextual link. There are a few different ways to look at the issue, but ultimately what you , as a webmaster, needs to keep in mind that anything you do should be for the purpose of benefiting the reader. While everyone has personal likes and dislikes, ultimately, you have to think about your site visitors and what will help provide them with a valuable experience.

There are quite a few webmasters that think underlining contextual links is clunky and unattractive. There are other options to signal the presence of a link, using a different font color is one common way that comes to mind. You can use hover color a different font, different text size or combinations of all of the above. What you need to consider is that while each does work to a varying degree, what works best?

Hover color only works if the reader actually hovers over the text which means it’s not as effective as underlining. Changing fonts, text sizes and colors can all be good indicators, but believe it or not, there are people that simply will not get that indicates the presence of a contextual link. They may think it is for emphasis or who knows what, but it is something that can be confusing for some readers.

Underlining is still the best indicator of a link being present because it is the best known method. Long before all the “cool” newer options existed, underlining was the one sure way to let readers know that a piece or string of text contained a link they may want to click on for more information. It is far more SEO friendly than the “Click here for more information” method that was popular briefly several years ago.

There is nothing that says you can’t use methods other than underlining, but what you are looking for when you link is getting people to click on links. You need the most sure way of advertising those contextual links as you can get. People are creatures of habit, and while they may check for hover color or check some bolded text or differing fonts, nothing grabs attention more than underlining. It works the same in the offline world as well. Keeping it simple is always the best option.

Knowing this, when you prepare your next post and have links to place on your page, remember that using a different colored text or any of the abovementioned methods is fine, but underlining is most effective. Even if you use the newer and “cooler” link signaling methods, it’s still a good idea to make sure you underline what is being linked. It may not look as nice to some people, but it will do the job it is in place for very effectively.