Actually, it doesn't select the first instance in the document but rather the first after your cursor. And you can use ' instead of / to select only links. It

Actually, it doesn't select the first instance in the document but rather the first after your cursor. And you can use ' instead of / to select only links. It allows you to open links without using the mouse, so saying it is not exactly the same thing would be more accurate than saying it is "not even remotely the same thing."