Link Uses javascript: URL

javascript:void(0) links are not crawlable, open in weird ways, and fail when JavaScript is disabled.

Why it matters

javascript:void(0) links are not crawlable, open in weird ways, and fail when JavaScript is disabled. They also block middle-click-to-open-in-new-tab.

Address when convenient — notices usually mark a polish opportunity rather than a defect. Estimated SEO impact: medium — measurable effect on click-through or relevance.

How to fix

• Use a real URL in href and attach the JS handler with addEventListener
• For pure buttons, use <button> instead of <a>

Common causes

If the rule is firing across many pages, the root cause is almost always one of these:

• Old anchor text ("click here", "read more") survives template refactors.
• Migration changes URLs but leaves internal links pointing at the old paths.
• Footer or sidebar widgets reference removed pages that haven't been re-pruned.
• Generated category/tag pages create orphaned link clusters.

Anti-patterns to avoid

Even with the best intentions, these "fixes" make the issue worse — recognise them so you don't ship them:

• Anchor text "click here" / "read more" / "this link".
• Linking the same anchor to multiple destinations within one page.
• Hiding important internal links behind onclick handlers without an href.

Example

Here's a typical instance — the problematic line is highlighted in red:

<a href="javascript:/img/example.jpg">Open</a>

And the fix — the corrected line, highlighted in green:

<a href="/img/example.jpg">Open</a>

How atlookup detects this

Our crawler renders each page with a real headless browser, then normalises every internal href, follows redirects, and grades anchor descriptiveness. Pages where the rule fires for link uses javascript: url are flagged on the report.

If you'd like to see this rule fire on your own site, run a free 60-second audit — every page is reported with the exact lines that triggered it.

Tools to verify the fix

Once you've applied the fix, double-check with these external validators:

• Screaming Frog — Site-wide link audit.
• Google Search Console — Sees Google's view of internal linking.

Frequently asked questions

Related issues