Link text is the visible, clickable wording that makes up a hyperlink — usually underlined and shown in a distinct color. Also called anchor text, it tells both readers and search engines what to expect on the linked page before anyone clicks, which makes it a small but meaningful ranking and usability signal.
The words you choose carry weight. Compare two links to the same file:
The second version tells search engines the destination is about a technical SEO checklist, and it tells the reader exactly what they'll get. "Click here," "read more," and "this page" waste that opportunity. A useful rule: the link text should still make sense if it were pulled out of the sentence and read on its own.
This is where link text pulls double duty. Screen-reader users often navigate by calling up a list of every link on a page, stripped of surrounding text. A page full of "click here" links becomes a meaningless run of identical entries, while descriptive links form a usable table of contents. Good link text is therefore both an SEO and an accessibility win — the same choice serves both audiences.
For the ranking side of anchor choices, see anchor text, and how it feeds broader on-page SEO.