Why use anchor text?
Introduction
Search engines like Google use anchor text to understand the context of a link. But what is anchor text, and why should you care?
Anchor text is the clickable text in links
Anchor text is the clickable text in links. It’s what appears in your browser address bar when you click on a link, and it’s also what appears in search results—not just Google’s, but any search engine.
The words that appear in your anchor text can make all the difference when it comes to getting noticed by search engines and improving your ranking on those pages.
Links use anchor text to describe the destination to search engines and users
Links use anchor text to describe the destination to search engines and users. Google uses a link’s anchor text as one of the key factors in determining how relevant that page is for a given query.
When you click on a link, it’s important that your eyes immediately know where you are going. With no search engine ranking value and no user experience enhancements, most links are just plain ugly. A good way around this is by using anchor text in your links—it gives them meaning and makes them stand out from the rest of your content.
Anchor text provides a vital clue about the destination of a link to search engines, including Google
Anchor text is the visible text in a hyperlink (the blue underlined word or phrase that you click to go to another site). It is a vital clue about the destination of a link to search engines, including Google. Here are some tips on how you can use anchor text:
- Use keywords in the anchor text. Search engines use keywords as clues when they decide which page should appear first in their results for certain queries. So make sure your keyword is included in both the linked target web page and its surrounding context.
- Use exact words from your webpage title or description as your anchor text (but don’t overdo it). Keywords that differentiate one page from another often work best when used together with other contextual words like “best”, “top”, “reviews”, etc., so be sure to include those too – but don’t repeat them more than once per sentence!
Since anchor text explains what a link is about, it’s important to not overuse it with target keywords
You should also keep in mind that using over-optimized anchor text can make your site look spammy. Just because you’re trying to rank for a keyword doesn’t mean you should use it all over the place. Your website will look more natural if you vary the keywords in your anchor text, rather than just using one or two repeatedly throughout each page of information. For example, instead of saying “SEO agency Brisbane” every time you link to an article about SEO agencies in Brisbane, try saying something like “This is why companies like ours are so valuable for small businesses looking for help with their online marketing strategy.”
Any mention of a brand or product name should use an anchor with the exact words
You should always use an exact match text if you want to rank for a particular brand or product name.
For example, if you’re selling Vans shoes, then the anchor text of “Vans” will be much more effective than “Shoes”. It’s better to focus on getting those pages ranked in Google than having them in your internal linking structure.
This is the same with most brands and products: they have multiple variations that people use when searching for them (think about how many times you’ve seen “Starbucks” written as “Starbucks Coffee”).
Broad keywords can help build context for search engines, but using too many could hurt rankings
Anchor text, which appears in a blue underlined link, is meant to help search engines understand what your page is about. If you use too many of them, however, it can hurt your rankings.
- Use keywords in anchor text to help search engines understand the page — but don’t overdo it! Search engines look at each of these aspects when deciding how relevant something is:
- Don’t use keywords that are not relevant to the page. For example: if someone searches “red shoes” and clicks on a link titled “purple shoes?” That user might get confused when they land on an article about purple shoes instead of red ones!
- Don’t use keywords that are too broad or too specific. For example: if someone searches “red shoes” and clicks on a link titled “women’s Uggs size 10M sold by Amazon Marketplace seller Ruben’s Shoes?” This might lead people interested in purchasing Uggs instead finding out why their order didn’t arrive yet despite being paid for 2 weeks ago…
Since anchor text is so important for understanding a page’s relevance, it should be used as descriptively as possible
Since anchor text is so important for understanding a page’s relevance, it should be used as descriptively as possible. For example, instead of using the generic ‘Click here’ text in your link, try using something like “Learn more about our services.”
This also means that you shouldn’t overuse your target keywords in the anchor text. If you are trying to rank for [SEO Services] but use that word too often in your links, Google will know what you’re up to and penalize you for it. Plus, if someone else has a link from their site pointing back at yours with exactly the same anchor text as yours (exact match) then Google won’t really see much difference between the two pages and may not rank either of them very well because they’re essentially duplicates.
As far as brand mentions go: if there are any specific products or services mentioned on a page then use those exact words in your links—for example “Our SEO software is designed specifically for small businesses” could become “Our SEO software designed specifically for small businesses”.
Conclusion
In conclusion, anchor text is an important part of SEO that can be used as a keyword tool. The key is to use it sparingly and be descriptive with your choice of words.
