And more than only read a link before clicking on it, it's always better to check it BEFORE ... pointing it :

Because, if we are not careful, we can think that we are on a particular site and may be we are on another one.
One glaring example :
https//bitcointalk.org. Text here shows "BitcoinTalk" link leads to "Google".
It's a glaring example but it can be more malicious, with only one different character in URL to lead in into a phishing site for example. Paypal > PaypaI or such things.