Links and Cross References
Unlike printed documentation, online resources are non-linear.
This means that the user can jump to a cross-referenced topic that is not sequential to the topic they are reading at the moment. Anchor text not only helps the user get better oriented, but also helps search engines determine the popularity and relevancy of a given web page, and boosts search engine optimization (SEO) and search results.
In This Article
Anchor Text
- Anchor text is the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink.
- Anchors improve user orientation and facilitate search engines optimization—they enable search engines to determine the popularity and relevancy of a given web page, and boost search results.
Guidelines
- Use descriptive keywords in the anchor text. Keywords have to convey the same topic or keywords of the target page.
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If you refer to an existing article within the Progress official product documentation sites, avoid quoting it exactly.
Titles may change over time because of new factual information, functionality update, or similar. Because titles are not automatically updated in all the places they are referred to, feel free to paraphrase them in the anchor text. For example, "For more information, refer to the article on creating a checkbox-filter menu in the Grid."
When referring to external resources, such as Microsoft's documentation, use HTML syntax to open the link in a new tab (
<a href="https://some-url/" target="_blank">the anchor text</a>). This helps reduce the bounce rate and keep the page visitors engaged with our docs.-
For the anchor text, choose words which clearly identify the purpose of the linked content. In this way, the user understands the purpose of the link even if the link is broken for some reason.
Not that good Much better For more information on how to use the Data Source component of the widget, refer to this article. For more information on how to use the Data Source component of the widget, refer to the article on binding the Grid to data. -
Strive for a variety of link text that enhances the context and usability both for the users and for the search engines. Avoid using the same link (visible) text when you cite the same resource across the documentation because this might trigger spam detectors.
For example, to refer to the data-binding article of the Grid in a couple of different articles, you may use "...refer to the article on binding the Grid to data" in one article and "...refer to the data-binding functionality of the Grid".
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When the anchor text flows inside a sentence, include in it the most appropriate parts of speech. For example, if the sentence is a call to action, include a verb in the anchor text.
If, on the other hand, you are suggesting only a reference topic, the name of the reference article itself makes for a better anchor text. Though "refer to" enhances the call to action, you do not need to include it.
Not that good Much better Ensure that the security of the push notifications is set up to suit your needs. Set up the Security of Push Notifications to suit your needs. To learn more, continue to Sending Push Notifications. To learn more, continue to Sending Push Notifications. -
When you quote external resources, such as blog posts written by the Advocates, cite the exact name of the resource and its author.
Not that good Much better This article is based on the blog post for migrating from AngularJS 1.x to Angular 2. This article is based on the ngMigrate Helps You Move from AngularJS 1.x to Angular 2 blog post by Jim Duffy.