Short and concise: What is an anchor text?
An anchor text (also known as anchor text) is the clickable, visible text of a hyperlink that Redirects site visitors to another page.
It plays an important role in SEO as it helps search engines & site visitors to To better understand the content of the linked page. Ideally, the anchor text is relevant to the content of the landing page and helps improve search engine optimization (SEO). A well-chosen anchor text positively improves a website's ranking, increases usability and organic traffic.
What types of anchor text are there?
Anchor texts can be divided into several categories:
- Branded anchor text: Includes the brand name or URL, such as “Adidas.”
- Money Anchor Text: Includes keywords with high search volume, such as “buy cheap shoes.”
- Compound anchor text: Combination of brand name and keyword, such as “buy Adidas sports shoes.”
- Image anchor text: An image that is linked with the alt attribute as anchor text.
The significance of the Penguin update for anchor text
With the Penguin update in April 2012, Google began punishing websites that rely excessively on Money Anchor texts. The aim was to reduce the misuse of keyword-optimized links and to promote a more natural linking strategy.
Best practices for optimization
- Relevance: Use anchor texts that clearly describe the linked content.
- Variations: Avoid repeating the same texts over and over to avoid unnatural patterns.
- Be careful with money keywords: Use them sparingly and only in a natural context to avoid penalties.
A good mix of different anchor texts ensures a natural link profile and supports the SEO strategy.
