Anchor Text: What Is It and What Is It For?
Links are one of the most relevant factors in positioning. For a good link strategy, there are several points to consider...
David Carrasco
2 years ago
Links are one of the most relevant factors in positioning. For a good link strategy, there are several points to consider, one of which is the choice of a good anchor text. To do this, it is first necessary to know what the anchor text is.
Also known as anchor text, it is the text in which we insert a link, and therefore we can click on it. These phrases or words serve to explain to the user where they will be redirected if they click on them.
Throughout this article, you will find everything you need to know about anchor texts, what they are for, how to optimize them, and many tips for choosing the ideal one.
What is anchor text?
Anchor text or link text is the word or phrase used as a link to connect two different web pages. It provides information to the user about the destination of a link.
For both search engine bots and users, it is essential to provide anchor texts with context so they understand what they will find on the linked page.
A link is one of the basic elements that make up a web page, so it is included in the HTML tag language, with the following structure:
<a href="destination_page.html">link text</a>
In this HTML statement, we can recognize:
- <a></a>: these are the HTML tags used to create a link.
- href: specifies the page where the user will be taken once they click on the anchor text.
- text contained between the <a> tags: is the information given to the user regarding the page they will be taken to.
Let's see an example: <a href="https://www.unancor.com/en/blog/">Unancor Blog</a>
As you can see, a link serves to connect two websites, while the anchor text explains to the user where they will be redirected.
Why is anchor text important for SEO?
During an online session with website owners, John Mueller, Senior Trends Analyst for Webmasters at Google, explained that anchor texts are still important for positioning. This means that Google still considers anchor texts when deciding which pages to display in search results.
Anchor text helps Google's search algorithm identify that the link is closely related to the topic, which means it can provide useful information to the user. As a result, your page receives a higher rating in keyword relevance and, therefore, better positioning in search results.
Ultimately, it is an element that strengthens the SEO of the page, as it provides more context to the content of the website. However, this only happens if you use it correctly.
Let us explain.
With each update of Google's algorithms, the search engine can understand the content and its context even better. Therefore, it is not advisable to use many anchor texts rich in keywords, as this can be classified as spam by Google's quality team.
On the other hand, it is essential to understand that the context of the URL being linked adds naturalness to that link. The more related the entities presented in the source and target URLs are, the more sense that link will have.
Conversely, the more distant the themes of both URLs are, the less semantic strength one URL will transfer to the other. This link may even be ignored by Google.
For its part, anchor text is used by Google as a signal of semantic relevance about the URL it points to. It will add value to the target URL in its authority regarding the keyword used, which will help Google understand the theme of the target page and, therefore, its own positioning.
In summary, currently, choosing anchor texts is a fundamental part of the link strategy if you are doing SEO.
Types of anchor text in SEO
When analyzing the link profile of any website, we can distinguish seven main types of anchor texts, which helps us classify, maintain control, and balance the overall context:
- Branded or brand: will link to the following URL through a keyword that is a reference to the brand
- Keyword: focused on the keyword we want to position. Example: “best link building agency”
- Keyword + brand: combines both the keyword we are interested in with our website's brand. This will allow us to gain relevance without falling into excessive keyword use.
- URL: will link directly to the target page's URL. For example: https://www.unancor.com
- Entity: consists of referencing the target page through entities (usually people) related to the target URL. These entities must belong to the brand of the target URL to give this page relevance. In the case of Unancor, we could reference our website with a link text mentioning our CEO “David Carrasco”.
This type of link is becoming more common thanks to Google's EEAT update, as it rewards the most reliable websites for their authority, experience, and expertise.
- Generic: is the most natural way to link between different web pages. We recognize them because they do not convey any semantic signal, using vague and casual terms. For example: click here, this link…
- Image: this type of link is recognized because in SEO analysis tools they appear empty, like <a></a>.
It is important to know these types of anchor texts to use them appropriately. We encourage you to review the linking strategy of various websites to see them in practice.
How to optimize anchor text to improve positioning?
There is no magic formula or specific number or type of anchor text you should have on your web pages. Be wary of such messages.
As is often the case in SEO, it depends is the most accurate answer. Developing an appropriate strategy will depend on the sector to which the website we are working on belongs and its competition.
Use specific tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, or Sistrix to find out which competitor websites are ranking for the most keywords similar to yours.
Once you have identified the five or ten domains, what we will do is check the types of anchor text they use. This way, we can get an idea of what predominates in the sector.
In this analysis, we may find sectors where the primary factor is to provide naturalness to the anchor texts we obtain. While in other sectors, being more aggressive, and allowing it by Google, we can directly target the keywords we want to position.
Of course, this is an initial step that will allow you to start developing the strategy. It is good to know what the industry average is, but this does not mean that their practices are the only or the most correct ones. As all cases are not the same, it is necessary to analyze your own link profile to determine what strategy you can follow.
Anchor texts for internal links
In the case of links that connect the different URLs that make up our website, we should always use the most important keyword for the target page.
Search engines will not interpret this type of anchor text as over-optimization, and just like with external links, it will help position these URLs through the transfer of semantic value.
In fact, Google advises against using generic anchor texts, as this type of phrase does not provide enough information about what the linked page is about.
In this regard, another factor to consider is that we do not have control over the anchor texts used to link to our website. This is something we must consider in our internal link building strategy to maintain balance.
Tips to maintain a balance between external and internal anchor texts
For example, if most of the links pointing to your website use your brand name as anchor text, then it is advisable to use keywords as anchor text in the internal links of your website.
Likewise, it is advisable to have a list of related keywords and synonyms to ensure we have a variety of natural and relevant anchor text in the links, without losing coherence between the contents.
Keep in mind that if there are many internal links pointing to the same URL and using the same keyword anchor text, Google may interpret it as an attempt to force the transfer of authority, which can negatively affect the page's positioning in search results.
Choosing the ideal anchor text
As we mentioned earlier, there is no single formula that allows you to choose the most appropriate anchor text for each link. However, there are some parameters to consider to make the choice optimal.
Semantics
It is important to choose anchor text that is relevant and closely related to the content of the web page being linked to. This helps search engines better understand the content of the URL and improves its relevance concerning a specific query.
In this sense, the ideal choice depends on the nature of the link. If you are linking to a generic site, it is recommended to use brand anchor text. On the other hand, if the link is given by the theme, then the anchor text should also be thematic, taking the opportunity to include a secondary or related keyword.
Naturalness
The naturalness of anchor texts is a very relevant factor for their optimization. Therefore, it is advisable to avoid excessive use of keywords in the anchor text, as this can be interpreted as over-optimization, a practice penalized by search engines.
Instead, a natural and varied language should be used to make the anchor text appear more organic and authentic. Hence the advice we gave you earlier about making a list of synonyms and related keywords.
Context
The anchor text must be coherent with the content and theme of the destination page. Likewise, it should align with the purpose of the link. For example, a link pointing to a product page should have anchor text that describes the product in question, rather than using generic or irrelevant anchor text.
Link profile analysis
Similarly, analyzing the anchor profile you have so far and how it has performed will allow you to determine what the next actions will be.
For example, we may find that the main keyword has been used many times, something that could be penalized or, on the contrary, we notice that there is still room to use the keyword as anchor text.
How to determine if the link profile is optimal?
We should address the percentage of each type of anchor we have in our project and compare it with the average used by our competitors.
With this data, we can know if in the sector we are addressing it is allowed to abuse certain types of anchor texts, the average of each type of link, or if the work done so far is ideal.
As an average data point, we can say that a good strategy is to try, as we obtain links, to approach the industry average.
While we cannot overlook the fact that in certain situations, if we look at our project from a logical point of view, we may discover opportunities that deviate from that average. Although this reasoning will come from experience and observation.
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Contact us nowRecommendations for writing anchor text.
Although there is no magic formula, there are certain rules that generally apply when optimizing anchor texts:
They should be brief and precise
If you write an anchor text that is too long, you may confuse users, as they will not know exactly where they are heading. Additionally, search engines use anchor texts to determine the content of the linked page, so if they are not precise, they can negatively affect positioning in search results.
They should be related to the content being linked
If your anchor text leads the user to content that is not related or relevant to the topic, it may be penalized by Google. Furthermore, you will negatively affect the user browsing experience, which has a significant impact on positioning.
Avoid keyword abuse
Abusing main or related keywords in anchor texts is a practice penalized by Google. Additionally, it offers a poor user experience, another element that can harm positioning.
Instead of using a large number of keywords in anchor texts, it is advisable to use variations of keywords and related phrases with the content of the page being linked to.
We recommend checking Search Console for ideas on keywords and related phrases you can use as anchor text.
Avoid using generic anchor texts
Google discourages the use of generic anchor texts such as “this link” or “click here.” These are anchors that do not provide any information to the user about the linked content, which can leave them feeling lost, harming their browsing experience.
Similarly, search engines use anchor texts to determine the content of the linked page, so if they are not descriptive, they can negatively affect positioning in search results.
Eye-catching anchor text without punctuation marks
Anchor text should visually stand out so that the user understands it is a link. Therefore, we must ensure it catches attention with a different color or format from the rest of the text. In this regard, we can underline it or use visual resources like bold or italic.
Additionally, if the anchor text is underlined or italicized, it indicates to Google that it is an important and relevant element for the content of the page, something that can help improve positioning in search results.
Similarly, the use of punctuation marks in anchors is not recommended, as they hinder the user's understanding and readability of the links.
Conclusion
Anchor text has a significant impact on the overall user experience and the positioning of a website in search results.
Well-chosen and strategically placed anchor texts help users navigate a website's content optimally. Moreover, they are a powerful tool for increasing a website's visibility and traffic.
Therefore, make sure to choose the most appropriate anchor texts to contribute to your website's positioning through good SEO practices and an optimal user experience.
We hope this article has been helpful, and we leave you with Google's recommendations on the subject in case you want to delve deeper:
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/links-crawlable
And if you prefer videos, here’s one from A Vista de Click that summarizes very well what we have explained above:
