SEO: Understanding Anchor Text

Search engine optimization often gets mired in too much jargon. And SEOs assume that every client understands the minutia of every term and abbreviation that we use. One of those terms that gets thrown around without being defined is Anchor Text.

Today we’ll not only define anchor text but also look at its importance and cover a few best practices.

What is Anchor Text

Anchor text isn’t an overly complicated concept – the basic idea is that anchor text is the clickable text that forms a link. Usually, these are blue, sometimes they are underlined. On our blog, they are purple because that is one of our brand colors and we think we’re special.

Anchor text is a consideration for both internal and external links. And while external anchor text matters more, there is often nothing you can do about it, so internal anchor link definitely should not be ignored. That’s it – anchor text is one of those things that everybody understands, even if they didn’t know the technical name.

Anchor Text Practices

Determining the right anchor text isn’t brain surgery. You shouldn’t lose any sleep over it, but there are a few simple rules to follow when considering your anchor text SEO strategy. According to Google, your anchor text should be useful, descriptive, and relevant.

Basically, that means you should avoid keyword stuffing-type practices when building anchor text. The link should be relevant to the page, the anchor text should be descriptive of the linked page, and the link should provide useful information to visitors.

One additional factor to consider is keeping your link profile organic. If you’re working on a link building campaign, it is important to make sure everything looks natural to the Google bots. So, if you have any control over the anchor text used, make sure to vary the anchor text between links. We recommend a combination of branded, exact match, and partial match anchor text (see below for what those terms mean).

Anchor Text Types

There are different types of anchor text, and choosing the right one depends on your SEO goals and strategies. At the basic level, there are five types of anchor text:

  1. Naked Link – these aren’t as exciting as they sound. Naked anchor text is just a clickable URL that is not wrapping in some other text. They’re the most basic form of links and are a safe, reliable bet.
  2. Generic – The traditional ‘click here’ link is generic anchor text. They are not horrible, but they have the least SEO value of all the anchor texts.
  3. Branded – Branded anchor texts use your brand name – surprise! An example would be using Fusion Group USA to link to our blog. It’s simple and concise, so not a bad option for SEO.
  4. Exact Match – This anchor text style involves using your exact targeted keywords for the page as anchor text. This is the best option for SEO – as long as you’re not overdoing it and risking a Google penalty.
  5. Partial Match – Very similar to exact match anchor text, partial match anchor text uses a variation of your targeted keywords. If you’re aggressively building links, it is advisable to use partial match keywords to keep your link profile looking organic and natural.

SEO Services

Fusion Group USA (look at that branded anchor text!) offers SEO services to businesses of all sizes. We have a range of monthly packages that fit any business on any budget. We’ll meticulously comb your website, link profile, and search engine results to make sure that your ranking for the keywords that matter to your business.

If you need help getting your site optimized for search engine success, contact us today for a totally free, no-obligation consultation.

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