Anchor text ( anchor text ) and SEO . Let’s discover the SEO link building , the most important practice to climb the top of the Google SERP .
RELATED TOPICS
Organic SEO Mistakes. What are the most common mistakes in on-page SEO?
Article | 23 September 2019
In terms of OFF-SITE SEO , by SEO link building we mean all those practices that are used to generate (the) a network of internal or external links in a Website.
For instance, the classic HTML hyperlink bearing in mind, though, that always SEO perspective should follow some strict guidelines to define correctly what is called the Anchor Text ( Anchor Text ).
What is Anchor Text?
As I told you above, Anchor Text means the classic HTML hyperlink .
This is an anchor text whose HTML code is as follows:
< A href = “#” > This is an anchor text. </ a >
# indicates the URL where the link will point and ” This is anchor text ” is the actual Anchor Text and will not only be what the user will see and click to open the link but will also be the fundamental input that it will be used by Google to understand the link building of your website .
It therefore becomes strategic to understand which words to choose, how to set the link and how to make it point.
Often underestimated, the Anchor Text ( Anchor Text ) is extremely important because it indicates , and must state exactly what you will find by clicking on it .
It must therefore be as clear , precise and detailed as possible and, also for this reason, Google considers it fundamental.
Anchor Text and Backlinks.
A link from your website to an external website is considered a backlink , as is a link from an external website to yours .
The backlinks can, therefore, be used for a variety of reasons generating different types of connections :
- External sources;
- Affiliations;
- Guides and tutorials;
- Documents and media;
Google , to that effect, pays great attention to both the Anchor Text is the ” value ” of the Web site to which it points. This is why it is important to use the do-follow and no-follow attributes correctly in order not to be penalized for having ” linked ” a website that is not authoritative or, worse, a spammer .
These indicate to Google the precise directive on how to behave in the analysis phase of the SEO link building and must be inserted correctly within the HTML code that general the link.
DO-FOLLOW: the attribute that says “follow”
The attribute do-follow suggests Google to give credit to the website it points to your connection and, therefore, to consider it during the scan of the links of your website.
Actually the do-follow attribute has no html directive to insert into the code because it is implicit in it.
< A href = “#” > This is an anchor text </ a >
NO-FOLLOW: the attribute that says “do not follow”
On the contrary, the attribute no-follow suggests Google to not give credit to the website it points to your connection and, therefore, not to take it into account when scanning the links of your website.
No-follow links can be:
- Sponsoredwhen they are affiliate or commercial;
- UGC( User Generated Content ) when the link (and content) has been posted on this page by users.
The no-follow , on the other hand, must be explicitly declared by the rel = “nofollow” code .
< A href = “#” rel = “nofollow” > This is an anchor text < / a >
What TYPES of Anchor Text are possible?
The Anchor Text depends a lot on the SEO factor and what we want to link . There can be various types , more or less, all important but, it is clear, that they must be used correctly , intelligently and strategically .
# 01 Generic Anchors
They are generic texts that often lead to an action such as a CALL-TO-ACTION and that, generally, are used within the Website itself .
- Click here;
- Click here;
- Read this;
- More information;
- Read more;
- Find out more;
- Download;
- Here;
- .
# 02 Branded Anchors
The anchors Brand are those who use the name of the brand as the link text, but can also include products and services , claims or slogans , the influential names in the Brand etc.
- Ducati;
- com;
- Ducati Motor Holding;
- Ducati Hypermotard 950;
- .
# 03 Exact Match Anchors
They are anchors that include (the) an SEO keyword . Be careful not to overdo it because Google does not like excesses and could penalize the Website if it finds several links that use the same Anchor Text.
Considering this article and its content, the Anchor Texts (SEO keys) could be:
- Anchor Text;
- SEO OFF-SITE;
- Link building;
- Backlinks;
- .
# 04 Partial Match Anchors
These anchors include the SEO keyword and other more or less related words .
Considering this article and its content, the Anchor Texts (SEO keys) could be:
- Guide to Anchor Texts;
- Find out what backlinks are;
- Why link building is important;
- .
# 05 Related Anchors
They are anchors that include variations of an SEO keyword .
Considering the keys of point # 3 , the Anchor Texts (SEO keys) could be:
- Anchor Text;
- SEO ON-PAGE;
- SEO strategies for links;
- Related links;
- .
# 06 Random Anchors
They are non-generic anchors and not closely related to the SEO strategy for a given keyword .
- Optimization of a Website;
- Professional Website;
- .
# 07 Naked Link Anchors
Such anchors are defined as those that use the URL of the link itself as Anchor Text . In some cases they can also be considered as Brand Anchors .
- https://www.ducati.com/;
- https://www.ducati.com/it/;
- https://www.ducati.com/it/it/moto/hypermotard/hypermotard-950.
# 08 Keyword Anchors + Brand (Brand + Keyword Anchors)
These anchors include the name of the Brand , Brand or Company but also a specific search key for that destination.
- Ducati Italian motorcycles;
- Desmo Ducati engine;
- Ride the bike of your dreams with Ducati;
- .
# 09 Image Anchors
Not only texts can act as connecting anchors. Also images and media in general. In this case the ALT attribute of an image (mandatory always) becomes the Anchor Text of the link.
Also remember that the ALT attribute must always be descriptive and related to the image itself and must always include at least one strategically defined keyword.
< A href = “https://www.ducati.com/it/it/moto/hypermotard/hypermotard-950” target = “_blank” > < img src = “/ wp-content / uploads / ducats-hypermotard-950 .png ” width = ” xxx ” height = ” xxx ” alt = ” Ducati Motor Holding | Ducati Hypermotard 950 | Discover the new Hypermotard 950 RVE ” > </ a >
# 10 Long-Tail Anchors
Anchors that include a fairly long text and containing the keyword strategically designed for SEO.
Assuming the keyword link buildings , the resulting link could be:
- What does it mean to make link buildings? ;
- Why does link building help SEO? ;
- .
For Google, the Anchor Tense is important but how does it affect SEO?
In short, Google uses Anchor Texts to understand the actual “ value ” of a Website, determining its authority and competence. Based on these parameters, it will affect or not the ranking of the Website on its SERP .
In practice, if Google detects many links from your Website to Websites that are more than reliable and / or vice versa , it will consider your Website to be very authoritative and therefore deserving of a better ranking.
But BigG’s work doesn’t stop there . Through Anchor Texts you can also learn and understand these contents, such as documents , PDFs etc, which cannot be scanned normally.
How to optimize the Anchor Text for a correct SEO strategy?
Summarizing a little bit what we have seen so far, it is clear that Anchor Texts are fundamental for your SEO strategy as well as, it is clear that they must be used in a way .
Let’s see some important considerations:
# 01 Avoid links from / to toxic websites
- Before creating a link to a website, always try to check the goodness of the ranking;
- Absolutely avoid linking to dubious or low quality Websites. These are defined as toxic and in any case, if acquired the same, they can be ” rejected ” or ” removed ” through the tools of Google Search Console .
# 02 Be certain of the relevance of the Anchor Texts.
- The Anchor Text mustalways best describe what the user will find by clicking on it;
- The more you detail the type of link, thebetter Google will understand what you are talking about.
# 03 Avoid using anchors with a lot of keywords for your internal links.
- Unlike external links that you can’t control, you can clearly manage your internal links however you want and, therefore, don’t overdo it;
- Beware of using internaldirect match anchors that may be considered and / or appear to Google as spam .
# 04 Use different types of anchor texts but do it wisely.
- Brandor Naked Anchor Text types are the safest and most recommended forms ;
- The exact match anchorscan increase significantly the risk of penalization .
# 05 Optimize textual content around links.
- Create valid content around your Anchor Text; in this way you will not only facilitate the user to understand whether or not he should click on it but, in this sense, you will also help Google.
# 06 Always use ALT attribute for images.
- The ALT attributefor images, as well as the TITLE one for classic links, are used not only for the user who browses the Website but also and above all for SEO and for Google to easily understand its content;
- In the case of links on images, in fact, Google reads the content of the ALT attributeas if it were the Anchor Text.
# 07 Always follow the canonical rules of guest blogging.
- Avoid using exact match anchor types;
- Use the types of anchors to Brand or related keywords;
- Only guest blogging on reputable and authoritative websites.
Conclusions
So many words but, in the end, it’s very easy to use the correct types of links in a link building SEO process .
The trick is always to understand the question well and NEVER overdo it , especially in the SEO field where there are many techniques and making mistakes is really very easy .
So, all you have to do is link the right way and… good connection
