A recent post was surfaced in Search Engine Journal by Ann Smarty.
According to the post, it was stated that,
“Using link TITLE attributes has become more popular since the rise of such widely used scripts as WordPress which by default duplicates the post title link in its TITLE attribute. Still, despite being the common behavior, this method of using TITLE attribute is both not right and annoying.
The title is not meant to be a duplication of the anchor text. It’s supposed to provide additional / advisory information (expand on the meaning of the link). The anchor text is supposed to “name†the link, while the title text provides information about where the link will send the user. (especially with “click here†and “more†anchor text). Look:
<a href=â€/ann-smarty/†title=â€Author’s biographyâ€>Ann Smarty</a>
OR
<a href=â€/ann-smarty/†title=â€More posts by Ann Smartyâ€>Ann Smarty</a>
Let’s first learn why we need to use TITLE attribute at all:
Link TITLE attribute for SEO: title attribute carries no weight on search engines (per my experience and based on other SEO’s opinion).
Ann Smarty has given some of the important guidelines as to how one can use Link TITLE attribute in the best possible way.
She says that
“Do not add link titles to all links: if it is obvious from the link anchor and its surrounding context where the link will lead, then a link title will reduce usability by being one more thing users have to look at.â€
Her second guideline was:
Link TITLE attribute for accessibility.
“…visual browsers frequently display the title as a “tool tip†(a short message that appears when the pointing device pauses over an object). Audio user agents may speak the title information in a similar context. For example, setting the attribute on a link allows user agents (visual and non-visual) to tell users about the nature of the linked resource.â€
“One should bear in mind that very often screen readers won’t read the title attribute, so if you put anything too vital in there, many users won’t hear it.
If the supplementary information provided through the title attribute is something the user should know before following the link, such as a warning, then it should be provided in the link text rather than in the title attribute.â€
THE ESSENCE OF THE WHOLE CRUST IS THAT:
- Use it for your target audience and not for search engines.
- One should never duplicate it with link text.
- Never put too much emphasis or weight on the title attributes.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I really agree with Ann. Links with a clean anchor text do not really need a title anymore.
But often (mostly in blogs) you see that the anchor text is just a simple word or it says something like “check this out, it is hilarious”. In that case, I would put the title tag to show the visitors where the link will lead them to.
It is important that you let visitors know that when they are navigating away from the page, where they will end up. Use the anchor text and surrounding context to make it clear. Title tag is just a secondary option. And for search engine purposes, I think highly overrated.
Interesting post, I thought that the Alt title had more importance in SEO and will have to go and rethink our strategy by researching other posts. keyword rich anchor text can often ruin the user experience by not making the text read well.
I believe I disagree with your thoughts (respectfully of course). If a paragraph has a few linked text snippets in it, I usually find it more interesting and more secure to read as I can know while reading what I can do further research on. Perhaps, subconsciously, the linked areas train my mind to the key parts of the paragraph and increase my reading speed.