Anchor Text – Short Conceptual Explanation

Anchor text is the highlighted portion of website content that leads to another web page when clicked. There are many different types of text that can be highlighted, and they can link to interior pages as well as exterior pages on the Internet. Any text can be linked, but when the text is chosen carefully, it can contribute to search engine optimization.

What anchor text looks like

Anchor text looks different than the text on the rest of the page. Although the size and font of the text remains the same, it is highlighted to differentiate it from the rest of the content.

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Traditionally, links are blue, but the color can be changed. In addition, links are sometimes underlined to further differentiate them from the rest of the text on the page. They can be included within the content, in the middle of a sentence, or they can be listed separately at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of a webpage.

Anchor Text
Anchor Text

Types of anchor text

There are different types of anchor text. They can be used interchangeably within a webpage to make linking on the page more interesting. The different types include:

  • Exact-Match: This type of link includes text that matches the primary keyword that’s being used on the page. “Anchor text” linked on this page would be an exact-match example.
  • Partial-Match: Instead of using the exact keyword being used on the page, this text utilizes a variation of the main keyword on the page. “Anchor text strategies” linked on this page would be a partial-match example.
  • Branded: A branded link uses text that includes the name of a business or organization.
  • Naked Link: This link uses the webpage address as the highlighted portion of the text.
  • Generic: General phrases, like “click here” are common generic links.
  • Images: Readers aren’t likely to click a link on an image, but Google uses it to identify it.

Choosing the right anchor text for SEO

Link building within a website or webpage can contribute positively to search engine optimization, but it’s important to choose the text that is linked carefully.

Choose a reasonable length of text. Keep it as succinct as possible, and focus on words and phrases that will encourage readers to click the link.

Use keywords in the anchor text, but don’t overdo it. Links should appear as natural as possible to avoid raising red flags with Google.

It is extremely important to make sure the link is relevant. Search engines, like Google, pay attention to the links that are being used. They use them to determine exactly what can be found on that page, as well as the page that’s being linked to, and even the website where those links can be found. That information is used to determine a page’s ranking. Highly relevant links improve the likelihood of both pages getting ranked well for queries on search engines.

Both internal and external links can be used with anchor text. Using internal links is a great way to support the hierarchy of a website. Quality external links are a great way to increase a page’s ranking on the search results page of a search engine.