Write links that don't have to be followed
Providing summary information at the link site can convey enough information to save the reader from following links they would otherwise have to follow just to find out a small amount of information.
Last modified: 4/9/98
Following a link is expensive -- don't waste the reader's time
The act of following a link and looking at a page and returning back to the original page is an expensive mental operation. Documents should be structured to minimize the number of links that must be followed that the reader would not want to see. Conversely, the reader should not miss pages that they would want to read. Often different readers will be interested in different pages.

Not wasting readers' time is very important in business web documents. Also, links that you're not sure whether or not you should follow make the document confusing and seem poorly organized. This can be fatiguing to the reader, and makes the document seem much worse than paper.

The link should tell you what you'll find
A way to help the reader is to put information at the link site that helps the reader decide whether or not to follow the link. While this sounds obvious, many documents have "teaser" links ("Surprising conclusion") or vague links ("The Acme Company announced their results" -- is it a link to the company's site or to their announcement?) that don't help the reader. Don't write this way.

Helpful links summarize what the link points to. For example:

"Our conclusion is that the stock is up because of an unusually high beta, not because of earnings growth."
[Tells you exactly what the link points to and summarizes it.]
or
"The Acme Company (www.acmeco.com) announced its improved results."
[Lets you know which link points to Acme's web site, and which to the announcement of improved results.]

Mix titles and summaries
One way of writing the links is to provide a short, descriptive title (which is linked) followed by a sentence or phrase summary. This works great in lists.

Many news sites use this style on their summary pages. For example:

Acme/Zenith lawsuit settled: Acme industries dropped it's patent infringement suit against Zenith Associates and the two companies signed a mutual licensing pact.

See the examples of writing titles and summaries.