What does an anchor text look like and how can you improve your link text? Does anchor text impact your website’s performance?
So, what is Anchor text? Anchor text is the clickable text or phrase that appears in a hyperlink. That is the straight answer; nothing more or less!
So, simply put, anchor text are those visible characters or words that hyperlinks display when linking to another document or web link.
In some cases, anchor text is often highlighted, coloured (usually blue), and sometimes underlined, such as this link to the PlatterofGold homepage.
Additionally, anchor text usually looks different and stands out from the rest of the text so that readers will be able to notice it.
The importance of anchor text
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So, what is the importance of anchor text? Anchor text helps navigate the page, grasp what the linked page is about, and enhances content accessibility for users with screen readers.
No doubt, improving your website’s SEO and ranking is quite challenging nowadays. The simple fact is that so many factors are responsible for better Google SERPs and anchor text is one of them.
In other words, anchor text is one of the key factors to consider regarding your website’s SEO. According to experts, anchor text as well as SERP appearance and rankings help make up the user experience.
Also, relevant links and their anchors help keep users on a site longer. If applied correctly, it also helps reduce bounce rates.
However, what are the internal linking benefits of using anchor texts? The fact is that relevant links with clear and appealing anchor texts on your pages can help drive confidence to click.
In essence, anchor texts encourage users to navigate from one page to another which is good for your website user’s experience, SEO, and ranking.
See Also: 5 Best SEO Strategies You Can Use To Acquire Links
Types of anchor text you can use
Anchor text helps add context to links for search engines. However, there are several anchor text types that you can use when building links.
In some cases, some anchor texts are more SEO-friendly than others. Below are some of the anchor text types you can use right now:
#1]. Generic anchor text
Usually, generic anchor text doesn’t include any keywords or points of reference. It’s an anchor text that generally includes non-descriptive words.
In essence, they are common words or phrases that do not describe the linked page such as click here, read more, learn more, this article, etc. Example: Boost your on-page SEO with keyword gap analysis, read more here.#2]. Branded text anchors
Branded anchor text usually includes the brand’s name or some variation of it. It is an important part of a balanced backlink portfolio that helps companies build brand recognition.
In this case, a brand name is used as an anchor. However, some experts believe that branded text anchors don’t necessarily impact page rank. Below are some examples of branded anchor text:
- Build and grow your eCommerce business with JungleScout.
- Melio helps businesses simplify invoice payments with ease.
- Generate performing banner ads with AdsCreativeAi.
- LeadFeeder helps businesses turn pageviews into pipelines.
#3]. Exact-match anchor text
Just like the title says, it’s the anchor text that exactly matches the linked page target keyword. Simply put, exact-match is when the anchor text includes precise keywords of the page you are linking to.
This type of anchor text is good for search engine optimization, however, Google can penalize you for spamming if you overdo it. Example: 5 must-read SEO books you need right now.
#4]. Partial-match or phrase-match:
Partial-match or phrase-match are those text anchors that include other words besides a keyword. It means the anchor text uses a partial match of your target keyword.
According to some SEO experts, this is a more natural way of linking to another website. Example: How to use unique content for natural link building.
#5]. Contextual anchor text
Contextual anchor text is not a keyword-focused anchor, but it’s tied to the context. The basis of contextual links is using key phrases from your content (otherwise known as anchor text) as your link.
In other words, you can easily build trust with contextual text anchors. It provides both search engines and users with relevant contextual information about the content of the link’s destination.
Using contextual anchor text is one of the most effective means of building trust for your brand. As a matter of fact, linking to other helpful, high-quality pages or content is good.
In fact, you can use it to build traffic and authority. Search engines use this information to help rank pages for key phrases used in the anchor text. Example: there are several digital marketing ideas to grow your business.
#6]. Page title anchor text
Page title anchor text is when you use the page’s full title as an anchor. It’s sometimes called the link title attribute and it’s supposed to provide more information about the link destination.
This is often used for providing extra reading, related resources, and others. Example: Here is our article on How To Boost Your Content Performance.
#7]. Naked anchor text
Naked anchors literally offer only the URL itself as the clickable link on the page. Simply put, these are texts or URLs you can paste directly into the browser’s address bar.
This type of link is usually found at the bottom of an article (in data citations) if someone references a website as a source. Example: If you are looking for online business resources, go to onaplatterofgold.com. Below are other examples of naked anchors:
Other anchor link types:
- Call to action: This is when a CTA is used as an anchor. Example: Download website auditor now.
- Related text anchors: They are similar to exact-match anchors, but they don’t contain the targeted keyword phrase.
- Image: It’s not a text but an image’s alt text that serves as an anchor. This is when an external website adds a backlink to your page from an image.
There are also black-hat SEO types of anchor text. You shouldn’t use them but definitely should be aware of:
- Not related: That’s the situation when the context of the anchor text doesn’t correlate with the linked page.
- Hidden links: It’s the link text that is visible only to search engines. It’s considered a manipulative practice – your site may be penalized for hidden links.
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