SEO is full of moving parts with a bunch of useful strategies that can pull in big wins for your search engine rankings. One of these moving parts is writing effective, optimized anchor text. But what is anchor text and how will it affect your SEO campaign? Today we’ll tell you. 

The Anchor Text Basics

Anchor text is the clickable copy that takes you from your current webpage to another webpage (usually within the same website, but not always), a PDF, or a file. Your anchor text should tell the user where they’re going when they click it, so it’s important to write an accurate, honest description. 

However, your anchor text is also read by Google, allowing it to understand where you’re sending your users. And, as we all know, Google likes to understand what you’re doing, if it’s relative, and if it’s high-quality. 

Kinds of Anchor Text

There are six kinds of anchor text we’re going to discuss and all will support your SEO efforts, some more than others. 

Branded Anchor Text

Everyone loves using branded anchor text because it displays your business’s name and that furthers your brand awareness goals. 

For example: If you’re looking for more insight on The Great Online’s digital marketing services, we’d be happy to help.

Exact-Match Anchor Text 

These links exactly match the keyword target of the page you’re linking to. 

For example: Is your engagement strategy paying off? 

Which would link to a page about engagement strategy.

Partial-Match Anchor Text 

These links use part of the keyword phrase, along with other relevant words to your content. 

For example: Find out more about the rules of link building. 

Which would then link to a page about link building. 

Generic Anchor Text

This is commonly used when a preceding statement discusses a topic, followed by something like, “click here” or “find out more”, etc.

For example: You hear a lot about how H1 headings can affect your SEO. 

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, using generic anchor text provides no details to Google about where the page is going to land, but it may be a more active way to get your reader to participate.

Related Anchor Text

This is done when you use keyword variations in your link and it will help Google better understand what your linked-to page(s) are about. It also creates a more natural, conversational, less-spammy tone. 

If used the keywords “website traffic” several times within your content, you may want to change it up some.

For example: Getting people to visit your website has never been easier. 

Naked Link Anchor Text

When a plain URL is used as the link text, it’s a naked link. 

For example: Check out www.thegreatonline.com to find out more. 

How Anchor Text Will Affect Your SEO

Google likes anchor text because when done correctly it provides information about where you’re sending your readers. But it also provides Google with some details on what kind of content you provide. 

Google likes authoritative, knowledgeable content, and offering relevant links to your audience is a great way to show your page’s value to both users and Google. When your users find your pages to be truthful and engaging, they generally come back for more, and the better your odds of getting new, loyal users. 

All of these things are great (and necessary) for your successful SEO strategy.

The Takeaway 

Your anchor text matters to your audience and your search engines, so make them count, without being spammy. Check out how trusted industry leaders use anchor text throughout their content for some ideas. 

Creating smart anchor text may take a bit of practice, but once you’re utilizing them correctly, it’ll come second nature. 

If you have any questions or comments about your digital marketing needs, contact The Great Online, we’d love to talk with you.