What is Anchor Text: A Complete Guide for Marketers

You’ve heard of keywords in SEO – those shiny phrases we sprinkle into our content like magic dust, hoping to rank higher on Google. But did you know those keywords become even more powerful when paired with another SEO element called anchor text? What is anchor text? It’s the clickable text within a hyperlink that visitors click on to navigate your site. Today, we will learn about the power of anchor text, its relationship with keywords, and how you can use both elements strategically to drive more organic traffic to your website.

Table of Contents:

• What is Anchor Text and How Does it Impact SEO?
  • Types of Anchor Text
• The Importance of a Natural Backlink Profile
  • Creating Natural Looking Backlinks With Varied Anchor Text
  • Don’t Forget Internal Links.
• Anchor Text Mistakes To Avoid
  • Avoid Irrelevant Anchor Text
  • Beware of Toxic Backlinks.
• How SearchEye Ensures Strategic Anchor Text Placement for Brands
• FAQs about What is Anchor Text
  • What is an example of an anchor text?
  • What does anchors mean in text?
  • What is the most common anchor text?
  • What do you mean by text anchoring?
• Conclusion

What is Anchor Text and How Does it Impact SEO?

Let’s get real: a big part of SEO comes down to Google understanding what your webpage is about. Anchor text is a ranking factor that plays a pivotal role in conveying that information to search engine bots.

When you use specific keywords within your anchor text that align with the page it’s linking to, you give Google and other search engines a strong signal about the relevance and content of that page. The more websites that link to your page using similar relevant keywords in the anchor text, the higher your page is likely to rank for those search terms.

Types of Anchor Text

We are not going to delve into every single type of anchor text. Frankly, you’ll likely find yourself using a combination of these:

• Branded: The anchor text is your brand name. Example: SearchEye.
• Exact Match: The anchor text uses the exact keyword phrase the linked page targets. For instance, you could use “AI Content Marketing Platform.”
• Partial Match: Using variations of your target keywords for a more natural, reader-friendly feel.
• Generic: Commonly used phrases like “click here” or “learn more,” which don’t hold much SEO value on their own.
• Naked Link: Using the bare URL as the anchor, which is helpful in certain contexts but generally less effective for SEO.

The Importance of a Natural Backlink Profile

Let’s be honest: stuffing keywords into anchor text will do you more harm than good. Just like keyword stuffing on your website can hurt your rankings, manipulating anchor text to appear artificial can trigger Google penalties. It’s 2024, and Google has gotten pretty smart. Google’s Penguin algorithm update in 2012 specifically targeted websites that engaged in spammy link-building practices, including over-optimized anchor text. Their goal? A better, more helpful internet for all.

This means it’s crucial to have a natural backlink profile for strong and sustained SEO. A Penguin algorithm is a Google algorithm update that penalizes websites that try to manipulate their search engine rankings with spammy tactics.

Creating Natural Looking Backlinks With Varied Anchor Text

You’re aiming for variety that tells Google your links were earned because your content is noteworthy and share-worthy—not because you gamed the system. One study that analyzed over 23 million internal links found that diverse anchor text correlated strongly with higher Google search rankings. Why?

Because websites that rank organically often have numerous websites linking to their content from a diverse range of sources, using a variety of language in the body text where the link is embedded. All naturally pointing to that website as being a helpful and relevant resource. But achieving a natural backlink profile goes beyond variety. It involves getting backlinks from high-authority, trustworthy websites in your industry, using anchor text that flows seamlessly within the linking content.

Here’s where it gets even more interesting: not only does this improve your chances of ranking higher, but Edge of the Web’s case study revealed an 88% increase in user engagement on a client’s blog simply by optimizing their anchor text. They were even able to increase page views on key pages within that section by more than 500%. This is a prime example of how text variation can lead to better results. Their results? An 88% surge in user engagement simply by tweaking their anchor text.

Don’t Forget Internal Links.

Think of anchor text within internal links (those linking to other pages within your own website) as little maps guiding both Google and your readers through your website. Internal linking is an important SEO basics practice that can help improve a page’s ranking for a specific focus keyword. Smartly using internal links is crucial to providing a better user experience, which ultimately signals Google to reward your website with higher search rankings.

Anchor Text Mistakes To Avoid

What is anchor text in SEO? To put it simply, it’s an opportunity to be strategic and show Google exactly what your website offers. And that’s why it’s so easy to get it wrong. Over-optimization and manipulative tactics will land your site on Google’s naughty list, and we want to avoid that at all costs. Let’s delve deeper.

Avoid Irrelevant Anchor Text

It’s tempting to use any opportunity to stuff a keyword within a link. But, if you have an opportunity to naturally link to other helpful content within your website, don’t use irrelevant anchor text.

For instance, using the anchor text “best dog toys” for a link leading to a page about cat food wouldn’t make sense and would confuse readers and search engines alike. Focus on creating a positive experience for your readers, and only use anchor text if it truly adds value to the user.

Beware of Toxic Backlinks.

It’s not uncommon for websites to have toxic backlinks pointing to them from suspicious or spammy sources. These could be websites you didn’t even know linked to your site. While most of the time, it doesn’t require any action from you, consistently receiving low-quality or harmful backlinks could ultimately hurt your rankings, which no one wants.

If Google starts to see too many low-quality sites pointing to your website, it can penalize your website, causing it to display lower in search engine results or even get completely removed. This could also happen as a result of unnatural anchor text. This means you need to audit your backlinks from time to time and take action on those suspicious backlinks by asking the linking site to remove the link or disavow them altogether.

But, don’t worry. Unless Google hits your site with a manual action penalty this type of stuff happens all the time. If it does happen, though, Google will let you know in your Google Search Console account under the Manual Actions tab. From there, you’ll need to fix the issue, then request Google re-index your website for review.

How SearchEye Ensures Strategic Anchor Text Placement for Brands

SearchEye recognizes the challenges of anchor text optimization and uses sophisticated AI to do the heavy lifting. Our platform connects your brand with a network of high-authority publishers actively seeking relevant content to reference within their own existing posts, using a natural mix of anchor text and internal links relevant to your specified target keywords.

Conclusion

So, what is anchor text? It’s more than just clickable words — it’s a strategic tool. Use it thoughtfully to help boost your search rankings and provide a better user experience. When done correctly, you can ensure a natural flow of writing and improve your site architecture for both users and search engines.