The way you employ anchor text in your content can have a major impact on both readers and search engines.
As a content marketer, you want all parts of your material to please your readers. This includes the links you include. When your readers click a link in your material, they spend time and energy. The anchor text you employ in your links has an impact on this decision. It can influence whether they feel rewarded — or frustrated — when they arrive at the web page you directed them to.
Importantly, search engines use link text to help them index and rank pages. And, in order to influence those outcomes, SEO professionals have studied anchor text. Some even target various sorts of anchor text based on the words used.
We show you everything you need to know about using anchor text properly. We also have plenty of examples, so let’s get started!
What Exactly Is Anchor Text?
The words that you click to follow a link are referred to as anchor text. By clicking on these words, you will be sent to the connected page or document. Some people refer to it as “link text.”
You’ve probably seen the popular blue hue of anchor text, which is occasionally underlined.
What Is the Importance of Anchor Text?
Anchor text is significant for both search engines and humans because it provides “hints” about the content to which it is linked.
Anchor text is used by search engines to determine what the linked page is about and to help index and rank that page. They are now evaluating material based on the context of a link (the words around it) rather than solely on the anchor text.
A well-thought-out use of anchor text will also make your content more reader-friendly, which can improve your search rankings. Anchor text informs readers on what to expect when they click, allowing them to select whether or not to go to the page. When scanning, it helps to draw the reader’s eye through the page, encouraging them to keep scrolling.
Even if not clicked, anchor text can convey a subtle message, implying that the text used as an anchor is supported by evidence on the other site.
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It is worthwhile to learn how to use anchor text effectively.
5 Anchor Text Best Practices
Many authors and content marketers create their own system for composing anchor text to introduce a link. This is frequently developed as a result of observing how others do it. Furthermore, some SEO firms may modify anchor text in their efforts to increase organic search traffic.
1. Don’t fall into SEO misconceptions
As SEO professionals look for ways to get an advantage in organic results, they may become enamored with concepts that, in the end, perpetuate misconceptions. The two most popular anchor text myths relate to the use of keywords.
SEO Myth 1: Always strive to incorporate the keywords for the website you’re linking to in your anchor text.
Best practice: Write natural, descriptive content over modifying anchor text to fit desired keywords.
When determining the information on the page linked to, search engines analyze the surrounding text and topic of the page. They are now clever enough that they do not require exact keyword matches to determine whether a page is about a specific topic. Furthermore, Google’s Penguin update penalized SEO efforts that attempted to manipulate the impact of anchor text by utilizing the same text in every linking occurrence.
SEO Myth 2: The anchor text referring TO your site’s pages should have an appropriate mix of anchor text kinds.
Best practice: The best blend is one that emerges organically.
The language used in anchor text pointing to a page should vary naturally. Several sorts of anchor text have been named by SEO practitioners throughout the years based on how a page is referenced using keywords (branded, naked, exact match, partial match, etc.) However, if your link-building strategies are working, you shouldn’t be concerned with quantities. You should spend your time and money on actions that will raise the value of your material.
2. Make use of descriptive words
Using descriptive phrases shortens your readers’ processing time and increases their engagement with your information.
Example 1:
If the writer did not include the topic as anchor text and instead merely connected the words “read more,” the reader would have to exert a little more effort determining “about what?”
Example 2:
As anchor text, use the figure from the report to which you are linking. This makes it clear to the reader that the figure is supported on the other end.
Take a look at what your competitors are doing. What appears to be effective? Is there anything that no one else is doing that you believe would be popular with your target audience? (At the moment, only 5% of content creation expenses are allocated to podcasts; is this a market potential in your industry?)
Example 3:
For a generic reference to the organization or website, use a simple branded link.
MR PORTER, an online retailer that sells men’s premium clothes and personal care products, has launched The Journal, a digital journal that delivers value in addition to the company’s products.
However, if you’re referring to an opinion rather than the home page, when possible, include the opinion in the anchor text.
Google favors short URLs. Make sure your staff remembers these points anytime they develop a new website or blog post…
3. Remove any surprises from the reader’s experience
When someone clicks through, make sure the words you provide as anchor text make sense.
Example:
Because demographic information is statistical and real, it is usually quite straightforward to discover while conducting market research on numerous websites.
When the reader clicks through, he or she can notice immediately that the article linked is about the topic in the anchor text:
Indicate the type of page on the other end if it is not a standard web page, for as when linking to a PDF or a report that requires payment or registration. You have the option of indicating this within the anchor text or outside of it.
Example:
More information can be found in Gartner Research’s report (registration required).
Or…
More information can be found in Gartner Research’s report (registration required).
Similarly, if clicking a link will result in more than just opening a new web page, you should make it obvious what will happen. If clicking “contact us” creates an email window, you could instead say “click to open an email window.”
4. Aim for the duration that will most benefit the reader.
The appropriate length of anchor text is determined by what it wants to express. Consider whether it enhances or detracts from the reading experience.
Unnecessary length:
Use our complete guide to off-page SEO approaches to lay out your strategies.
A more appropriate duration for informing the reader:
Use our complete guide to off-page SEO approaches to lay out your strategies.
Make the anchor text stand out
Make sure your content’s links are immediately visible to readers. The traditional blue underlined text is arguably the most easily recognizable, but websites today utilize a variety of methods to convey to users that they can click on clickable anchor text.
Example :
- Source: animals.co
The color set in the site’s design template is used on the majority of web pages. When you add a link through an editor interface, it is shown in the site’s programmed style. However, there may be instances when you need to glance at the code or include an HTML link.
What Does HTML Anchor Text Code Look Like?
The anchor text of a page is defined in the code between the anchor element tags anchor text.
Here’s an example of this anchor text in the code on one of our sites that has been highlighted in blue:
Allow a reader-first mentality to guide you
When creating content, there is a lot to think about, and anchor text is a crucial component. Don’t get caught up in myths or try to scam the system by manipulating anchor text. You’re better off making it natural and helpful to the reader, and approaching it from a reader-first perspective. Then you can devote your energy to more impactful actions such as increasing awareness and linking to your content.
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