What is Anchor Text?

Anchor text is the clickable text of a link: the words you click to go to another page. Anchor text gives visitors and search engines a hint about where the link leads. Relevant, natural anchor text helps both the user experience and your SEO.

Why is anchor text important?

Search engines use anchor text as context: the words you link with say something about the page you point to. Descriptive anchor text helps Google understand the target page better. That applies to internal links as well as backlinks.

Types of anchor text

Common types are exact match anchor texts (exactly the keyword), partial match variants, brand names, bare URLs and generic texts such as “click here”. A natural link profile contains a varied mix; too many identical exact match anchor texts can actually look unnatural.

Best practices for anchor text

Make the anchor text descriptive and relevant to the target page, keep it concise and avoid repeating exact keywords too often. That keeps your link building natural and safe.

Can I always use the keyword as anchor text?

Sometimes, but vary it. A profile with only exact keywords can look unnatural to search engines.

Does the anchor text of internal links count too?

Yes. Internally, descriptive anchor text also helps search engines understand the context.