SEO works on the principle that pages with the best visitor rates deserve greater visibility. That’s why the URLs you find in Google’s SERPs typically stand out for their link building. And a large part of these results come from the use of anchor texts .
So the most logical thing to do is start by answering the following question: What is anchor text ? Also known as anchor text, it’s a fragment of text that links one page to another. To achieve this, simply add a hyperlink to one or a handful of words that refer to the content in the destination URL.
If we try to adapt the meaning of anchor text to marketing, we could say it’s a kind of bait or hook, something that people click on to access more content and keep them engaged with what that website has to offer.
And that’s precisely what they’re designed for: being an excellent tool for promoting SEO, but also for expanding information on a topic. That’s something users appreciate.
Importance of anchor text for SEO
The role of anchor text for SEO is fundamental in many ways. It’s been widely discussed that Google values a website’s optimization on a technical level, but also on the user experience. With good anchor text, you’ll be covering both approaches. That’s what makes them so important!
- Improve User Experience: Imagine you’re a person visiting a website looking for information on a topic you love. Suddenly, you’re reading what you were looking for, and out of nowhere. Surprise! You find a hyperlink that lets you learn even more about that topic. You’ll likely click on it and spend a good while on that website that seems to have everything you were looking for.
- It helps you convey authority: Properly placed anchor text is a very powerful tool for boosting your website’s SEO. To achieve this, you should place hyperlinks on your most popular pages that point to those with less authority. As a result, more people will visit your lesser-known URLs, and your domain’s overall ranking will skyrocket.
Types of anchor text
It would be a mistake to think that all anchor texts are the same. Although their objective is the same, their design may vary. Remember that not all websites are the same when it comes to their SEO needs: In some cases, it will be better to take one path, while in other scenarios, the decision will be completely different.
That said, here are the types of anchor text you should know when planning a backlink strategy:
Exact keyword
You’ll use the keyword you want to reference as is. An example of an exact anchor text for this article could be ” anchor text .” See? Although we warn you not to overuse them, or Google may interpret this as a sign that you’re trying to artificially manipulate your rankings.
Partial keyword
As you may have guessed, a partial keyword is simply a slightly more subtle version of the previous anchor text . In this case, the hyperlink will be assigned to a group of terms that include the keyword, but also other complementary terms. This will give your backlinks a natural look, so Google won’t suspect you.
Long tail
Also known as long-tail keywords, they are a much longer variant of traditional keywords. They can even be short sentences that group five or more terms. This is the best option when you want to gain positioning for topics whose main keywords are heavily dominated by third parties.
Semantic
A good way to leverage the power of keywords while enriching the semantics of your content is through synonyms. This also represents added value for your SEO because it will offer more signals to search engines about the topic you’re discussing. And users won’t have trouble matching these synonyms to the main keyword.
Natural
They are characterized by being applicable to almost any content. They are very generic! Some examples could be “Click here” or “Click here to learn more.” As you can see, they are a full-fledged Call to Action, which makes them quite practical. However, you should keep in mind that due to their lack of specificity, they won’t provide any real semantic value.
Branded
This is a slightly aggressive form of anchor text , but if used wisely, it can be quite beneficial. In this case, the hyperlink will be assigned to a brand name. It’s often used to redirect traffic to a business website or e-commerce site.
Branded with keyword
If the previous method seemed a bit invasive, you can opt for a branded keyword anchor. Basically, you’ll need to include the brand name in your content, followed or preceded by the keyword in question. That way, people will know which company you want to reference, and Google will understand the topic you’re talking about. All covered!
URL
With this method, you eliminate any possibility of people skipping it. They’ll have the link right in front of them! We recommend using a link shortener to make it more user-friendly.
Image
Hyperlinks can be placed in many places besides text, and images are one example. Simply select a graphic resource appropriate for the page you want to link to. And don’t forget to include the “alt” tag so Google recognizes your anchor.
Recommendations for optimizing anchor text
To develop an anchor text strategy, you need to take some considerations into account. And while it’s unlikely to fail with this type of campaign, it’s best to follow these recommendations:
- Conduct an external study of the anchor texts your competitors use. This way, you’ll be able to understand which types of hyperlinks offer the best results.
- Do the same, but this time internally. What topics have you covered that people are most interested in? Is there an obvious path to connecting two or more URLs? Would your anchor texts look natural and coherent?
- Don’t try to force things. Make sure each of these anchors makes sense, as sometimes it won’t be possible to place them.
- Avoid overusing your anchor texts. Sometimes less is more, so don’t overdo it or you’ll end up compromising your visitors’ reading experience.
After reviewing all of the above, we can all agree that anchor texts are an excellent way to boost your website’s SEO. Essentially, they’ll help you connect each of your domain’s URLs, even those from external sources. This way, you can transfer authority from better-ranked sources to others with a long way to go.
