The text should start with a clear definition of what anchor text is. It is the visible and clickable part of a link🔗. One example is the most commonly used anchor text in the Czech Republic, zde (here).
In the code, this link looks like this:
<a href=”https://www.webychytre.cz/jak-napsat-uspesny-clanek-na-blog/“>zde</a>
How to write anchor text correctly
One idea behind linking is to direct users to additional content on a related topic that we do not want to cover in depth in the article, for example.
From the link text (the anchor text), users should be able to tell roughly what they will find on the page they click through to. If we want to link to an article on how to choose the ideal mattress, we can use anchor text such as:
- how to choose a mattress
- choosing a mattress
- tips for choosing a mattress
The most used anchor text, “here”, does not meet this requirement, but link builders often use it when buying links too. Why? Simply because they want to at least partly simulate an ordinary user.
TIP: Users should be able to clearly tell a link apart from the rest of the text. Many websites colour their links only slightly, so readers only spot them when they hover the cursor over the anchor text. Blue colouring and underlining clearly tell users that a link is there.
From an SEO point of view, good anchor text is always, above all:
- Relevant to the page (you can picture the content you will see after clicking)
- Not generic
- Concise (2-3 words)
Internal linking and anchor text
With internal linking, we can drop the anchor text “here” and try to make the text more readable for users. If you are writing an article on how to earn money with PPC, for example, this is not a great choice:
You can read my previous articles here and there.
It is better to use anchor texts that describe the content of the target pages:
In previous articles, I covered AdSense optimisation and tips for earning money online.
How long should anchor text be?
If you want SEO-friendly anchor texts, the optimal length is 2-3 words. If, for example, you want to link to a page offering split firewood, the anchor text “wood” on its own is not descriptive enough. A better anchor text is “split firewood for sale”.
Linking through whole sentences, let alone compound sentences, is not recommended. Linking through a single keyword is not really recommended either, because it makes it very hard to capture the exact essence of the target page. In some cases, of course, it is possible (brands, for example).
The ideal anchor text should answer the following question:
What is the most accurate and concise way to describe the linked page?
Anchor text and SEO
Search engines also use the anchor texts pointing to particular websites to determine what those websites are about and what they focus on. Website owners can easily control internal links (anchor texts) on their site, but they can hardly influence external links, unless these are paid PR articles with links agreed in advance.
External links are a hugely powerful SEO factor, so a website may rank for certain keywords even if those phrases hardly appear in its text.
Types of anchor text
The most common type of anchor text, and the first choice, is exact match. This means that the anchor text almost exactly mirrors the heading and title of the target page.
1/ Exact match
For example, for the page https://zijuspesne.cz/recenze/netflix-recenze/, where both the title and the main heading are “Netflix recenze” (Netflix review), the anchor text would, unsurprisingly, be “Netflix recenze”.
2/ Brand
Brand anchor text is often used in external link building, for example: you can read more in “an article on the XY website”. In internal link building, it is used by large portals such as iDnes, which links through brand names to tags or profiles that group content about that brand. In this article about drugstores, we can see four brand anchor texts, all with internal target pages.
3/ Generic anchor texts
This category includes the most common anchor texts already mentioned, such as here, there, download or PDF. Internally, I would recommend not using these anchor texts at all. When buying or exchanging links in large volumes, you can also include these generic anchor texts in your portfolio so that your link building looks more credible to search engines.
4/ URL
A URL is very rarely used as anchor text on purpose. It is mainly used when we want to highlight something in the URL.
5/ Images
If a link is attached to an image, we can treat the image’s ALT text as the anchor text.
6/ Partial match
Partial match anchor text contains part of the main phrase of the target page, a variation of it or a close synonym. It reads more naturally than exact match and lets you fit the link into the sentence without forcing the wording.
Anchor text examples for one target page
To see how the types differ, imagine a page selling handmade leather wallets on a fictional website called Northfield Leather. You could link to it in any of these ways:
- Exact match handmade leather wallets
- Partial match wallets crafted by hand from leather
- Brand Northfield Leather
- Generic click here
- URL northfieldleather.com
- Image a product photo with the ALT text brown handmade leather wallet
All six point to the same page, but each tells the reader something different. The exact and partial match versions describe the content, the brand version tells you who is behind it, and the generic version tells you almost nothing.
How backlink anchor text should look
Backlink anchor text is the clickable text of a link that points to your website from another website. You rarely control it fully, and that is fine. When people mention a business on their own, they mostly use its name or web address, so a natural set of links from other sites is usually dominated by brand and URL anchors.
Problems start when dozens of external links use the same commercial phrase. Such a pattern looks arranged rather than earned, and it can harm the visibility of your website. Aim for a varied mix instead.
- When you write a guest article, suggest a descriptive phrase that fits the sentence, not a forced one.
- Accept that the editor of the other site may change your proposed wording.
- Pay attention to the surrounding sentence as well, because it gives the link context.
Common anchor text mistakes
- Using one phrase for two different pages. If the same words on your site lead to different places, readers cannot predict where they will land.
- Promising something the page does not deliver. A link reading free guide that leads to a sales page breaks the reader’s trust.
- Packing many links into one paragraph. Too many links make the text hard to read and dilute the meaning of each one.
- Bending grammar to fit a phrase. If the link text does not sit naturally in the sentence, rewrite the sentence rather than keep the awkward wording.
- Repeating identical anchors from other sites. A link profile with one repeated phrase looks unnatural.
Frequently asked questions about anchor text
What is anchor text?
Anchor text is the visible, clickable text of a link. It tells the reader what to expect on the page behind the link. In the HTML code, it is the text placed between the opening and closing a tags.
What does anchor text mean in simple terms?
It means the words you click on to go to another page. Instead of showing a long web address, a link shows short, readable text such as tips for choosing a mattress. Good anchor text describes the destination clearly.
What is an example of anchor text?
In the sentence Read our guide to choosing running shoes, the words guide to choosing running shoes could be the anchor text. Clicking them would take you to that guide. Other examples include a brand name, a URL or the ALT text of a linked image.
What is backlink anchor text?
Backlink anchor text is the clickable text of a link on another website that points to your site. It helps describe your page to anyone who follows the link. A healthy set of backlinks uses varied anchors, mostly brand names and URLs, rather than one repeated phrase.
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