What Are Empty Links?

Empty links, also known as empty hyperlinks, are web links that lack associated descriptive content, making their purpose unclear to users and search engines alike. Essentially, an empty hyperlink is one that does not have text explaining what will happen if the user selects the link, nor an image with a text alternative (like alt text) that clearly describes the link's function.

Understanding Empty Links

An empty link occurs when an HTML anchor tag (<a>) is present but contains no visible or programmatic content that describes its destination or action. This can manifest in several ways, such as an <a> tag with no text between its opening and closing tags, or an image link where the alt attribute of the <img> tag is missing, empty, or non-descriptive, despite the image itself being functional.

These links are problematic because they fail to provide essential context. A user might encounter a clickable area, but without text or a meaningful image description, they have no idea where the link leads or what action it performs.

Why Empty Links Are Problematic

Empty links pose significant challenges for website accessibility, user experience, and search engine optimization.

Accessibility Issues

For users relying on assistive technologies like screen readers, empty links are particularly problematic. A screen reader will announce "link" but provide no further information, leaving the user confused and unable to make an informed decision about interacting with it.

Confusion and Frustration: Users who cannot visually scan the page to infer link purpose are left guessing, leading to a frustrating and inefficient browsing experience.
Navigation Difficulties: It becomes nearly impossible for users to navigate a site effectively if they cannot understand the purpose of interactive elements.
WCAG Non-Compliance: Empty links often violate Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), specifically guidelines related to providing meaningful, accessible names for interactive elements (Success Criterion 2.4.4: Link Purpose (In Context)).

User Experience (UX) Impact

Beyond accessibility, empty links degrade the overall user experience for everyone.

Lack of Clarity: All users benefit from clear, descriptive links that set expectations. An empty link creates uncertainty and can lead to accidental clicks or users abandoning the page.
Increased Cognitive Load: Users have to expend more mental effort trying to decipher the purpose of a link, which detracts from their ability to process the main content.
Reduced Trust: A website riddled with ambiguous or non-functional elements can erode user trust and perceived professionalism.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Implications

Search engines analyze link text and alt attributes to understand the context and relevance of a link's destination. Empty links hinder this process.

Diminished Relevance: Without descriptive anchor text or alt text, search engines struggle to understand what the linked page is about, potentially undermining its relevance for specific queries.
Wasted Crawl Budget: If a crawler encounters many empty links, it may not efficiently allocate its "crawl budget" to properly index more valuable content on your site.
Negative Signals: While not a direct penalty, a poorly optimized internal linking structure due to empty links can send negative signals about site quality and user-friendliness.

Common Scenarios Leading to Empty Links

Empty links can inadvertently arise from various development or content management practices:

Missing Text Content: The most common scenario where an <a> tag is created but no text is placed between <a> and </a> (e.g., <a href="/products"></a>).
Empty or Missing Image Alt Text: When an image serves as a link, but its alt attribute is empty or absent (e.g., <a href="/home"><img src="home.png" alt=""></a> or <a href="/home"><img src="home.png"></a>). The alt text for an image that is a link should describe the action or destination of the link, not just the image itself.
CSS Hiding Content: Text content exists within the link, but it's hidden using CSS properties like display: none; or visibility: hidden; without providing an accessible alternative.
JavaScript Loading Failures: Links whose descriptive content is dynamically loaded via JavaScript may appear empty if the script fails to execute or loads too slowly.
Icon-Only Links Without Labels: Using an icon (e.g., a font icon or SVG) as a link without providing a text label or an aria-label for assistive technologies (e.g., <a href="/search"></a>).

Identifying Empty Links

Regular auditing is crucial to catch and rectify empty links.

Manual Inspection: Navigate your website and visually identify clickable areas without clear labels.
Browser Developer Tools: Use your browser's inspect element tool (usually by right-clicking on a link and selecting "Inspect") to examine the HTML structure of links and check for content or alt attributes.
Accessibility Checkers: Tools like WAVE or Axe DevTools can automatically scan web pages and report accessibility issues, including empty links.
SEO Crawlers: Website crawlers (e.g., Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, SEMrush) can identify links lacking anchor text or proper image alt text.

Solutions and Best Practices to Prevent Empty Links

Preventing empty links involves careful attention to HTML structure and content provisioning.

Providing Descriptive Link Text

Always ensure that every link has clear, concise, and descriptive text that accurately informs the user about its destination or action.

Bad Example: <a href="/learn-more">Click Here</a>
Good Example: <a href="/learn-more-about-services">Learn more about our services</a>

Utilizing Image Alt Text Appropriately

For image-based links, the alt attribute of the <img> tag is critical. It should describe the purpose or destination of the link, not just what the image looks like.

Bad Example (Image Link): <a href="/cart"><img src="cart-icon.png" alt="A shopping cart image"></a> (if the image is purely decorative, it might be fine, but if it's a link, it needs to describe the action).
Good Example (Image Link): <a href="/checkout"><img src="cart-icon.png" alt="Go to Shopping Cart"></a>

Employing ARIA Attributes for Context

When visual text is not feasible (e.g., for purely icon-based buttons), ARIA attributes like aria-label or aria-labelledby can provide a programmatic name for screen readers.

Bad Example (Icon Link): <a href="/search"></a>
Good Example (Icon Link): <a href="/search" aria-label="Search"></a>

Regular Audits and Testing

Implement a routine process for checking your website for accessibility issues, including empty links.

Automated Tools: Integrate accessibility checkers into your development workflow.
Manual Accessibility Testing: Regularly perform manual checks, ideally with actual screen reader users, to catch issues automated tools might miss.
User Testing: Observe real users interacting with your website to identify points of confusion related to links.

Summary of Solutions

The table below illustrates common empty link issues and their effective solutions:

Problematic Empty Link HTML	Corrected HTML Example	Explanation of Solution
`<a href="/contact"></a>`	`<a href="/contact">Contact Us</a>`	Provides clear, descriptive text within the link.
`<a href="/blog"><img src="read.png" alt=""></a>`	`<a href="/blog"><img src="read.png" alt="Read Our Blog"></a>`	`alt` text describes the link's purpose, not just the image.
`<a href="#" class="icon-menu"></a>`	`<a href="#" class="icon-menu" aria-label="Open Navigation Menu"></a>`	Uses `aria-label` to provide an accessible name for screen readers.
`<a href="/products"><span></span></a>`	`<a href="/products"><span>View Our Products</span></a>`	Ensures visible or hidden text is present within nested elements.

By addressing empty links, websites can significantly improve their accessibility, user experience, and search engine performance, making them more effective and inclusive for all users.