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Anchor texts

Not sure how to write your anchor texts? Even though anchor texts don't contain many words, they still have a big impact on your SEO.

Learn more about anchor texts in this guide and contact Webamp if you want help with anchor texts from a professional SEO agency.

Webamp The team
Last updated: 5. dec. 2022

The importance of anchor texts for SEO

Anchor texts have an impact on how Google understands the page content. Therefore, it is important to consider which anchor texts are used in your internal and external link building. You need to make sure that your anchor texts are as natural and organic as possible, as Google may find itself penalising the page if it is too over-optimised and mechanical.

As always in search engine optimisation, you should therefore write for the human rather than the machine. Your anchor texts should be descriptive and make it easy for the user to understand what they are getting from the page.

The different types of anchor texts

When you're link building, variety is key. A deliberate and mechanical use of keywords in anchor texts is against Google's guidelines and may be penalised. There are typically 6 different types of anchor texts.

  1. Brand name: Your company name
  2. Web address: Your domain name
  3. Keyword: Keyword combined with another text consisting of at least two words
  4. Generic: A generic text like "click here"
  5. Image: image link without text e.g. a logo
  6. Spam: Meaningless text and text of a sexual nature.

Internal and external anchor texts

There are both external links (backlinks) and internal links. The external links come from one domain, which links to another domain. Internal links are when you link from your own domain to other content on the same domain.

In external anchor texts, there has been a tendency in the past that too hard optimization of the anchor text itself will be penalized by Google. In internal anchor texts, you can usually be a bit more aggressive with keyword usage.

Frequently asked questions

What is an anchor text?

An anchor text is the clickable part of a hyperlink. It can be a word or phrase that links you to a new page.

Why make an anchor text?

Google uses the words in the anchor text to understand what the page is about. Therefore, anchor texts are important for your SEO and thus your website's ranking on Google.

Why should you vary your anchor texts?

Google penalises pages that have a mechanical and unnatural use of keywords. Therefore, your anchor texts should be varied and provide context on their own.

Get even smarter and increase your online presence

Whether you're a generalist or a marketing specialist, our specialists have put together some great advice for you on our blog.

Learn more at Webamp Academy.

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