Don’t just use title elements in the link attribute; make sure the link has actual visible anchor text.
Using Visible Anchor Text for Links to Provide Context to Search Engines
Google’s John Mueller said he still recommends you have visible anchor text for your links in order to “provide more context for search engines.”
Question on Bluesky on Link Context Signals
This was a response to a question on Bluesky about how Google once relied on the title attribute to understand link context, and whether aria-label can now be seen as a replacement given mobile-first indexing, lack of title support on mobile browsers, and it’s role in accessibility.
A long time ago in a galaxy not so far, far away when indexing Google used anchor + title to understand the context of a hyperlink (I.e. what a user should expect on the other end). Would it be fair to say that aria-label has replaced the title attribute?
Asking due to 1) mobile browsers not supporting title attribute, 2) mobile first indexing and 3) aria-label being an a11y equivalent.
John’s Response to The Question
I’d focus on the visible anchor text, if you want to provide more context for search engines. Make it obvious to everyone what the linked page is for.
John Muller also added that SEOs shouldn’t overthink minor optimisation, and that building sites that work well for users matters most.
In the same response, he pointed to this guide as a useful reference for SEOs: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/links-crawlable#anchor-text-placement
I’ve also written a detailed post on the said guide on linking best practices: Internal Linking Guide for SEOs
I know this isn’t new information, but I wanted to share it to help SEO Marketers confirm that their current approach is on the right track.
