What is an 'Anchor Text' and does it have any SEO Benefit?
-
Hi - we have been building as SEO strategy but need clarification on what benefit 'anchor text' has for SEO rankings?
For example - we have been creating links from external sites to ours, but the anchor text is not our main search term. I.E - the Anchor Text reads 'web design', but the ALT TAG reads 'web design birmingham'.
Question is - if we wish to achieve maximum SEO rankings for the term 'web design birmingham', where should it appear....in the ALT TAG or the Annchor text'?
Many thanks!
Phil
-
_After the penguin update you have to be careful while linking with anchor text. It is now like following a middle path and this is the kind of anchor text policy I would like you to implement -
Natural Anchor Text: 25%
Click Here
More Info
Click to Know MoreBranded Keyword and Long tail keyword 30**%**
Example.com web design company in Birmingham
Example.com – best web design company in Birmingham_Example.com Birmingham
Related keyword 30% One of the best web design companies in Birmingham
Award winning Birmingham based web design company
Creative web Design Company in
Targeted keyword 15% web design Birmingham
-
Since the Penguin update this year, the anchor text portion of a link will matter less going forward. Without getting too technical they basically turned off part of their algorithm to see if the results were better when they didn't account for anchor text. It got better, "more robust" results so they changed the algorithm to interpret and use anchor text to better determine how relevant a given anchor might be for a given query and website. (Sorry, I got a little technical there.)
Bottom line is link structure, quality of the link and relevancy of the link matter more than the actual anchor text. Keep to relevant sites with good page and domain authority (use SEOMoz Toolbar to determine this) and you'll be fine.
-
The alt tag in links has no impact on SEO. So the answer is Anchor Text
Be careful though. I would suggest alternating the anchor text you target in your link building efforts.
Go for some naked urls and some branded anchor text in addition to the targeted keyword anchor text as this will make your link profile look more natural to google
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
What's the best way to go about making Duplicate Content Pages on my domain for affiliates?
Hello, I would like to make a bunch of duplicate pages of my site's Home Page, that way affiliates of mine can have a page of their own with links specialized to themselves littered throughout the page. What's the best practice going about this without jeopardizing domain authority from tons of duplicate content signals firing off?
Affiliate Marketing | | Benavest0 -
Choosing an Affiliate Software & Link SEO-Value
Hello everyone. I'm looking for recommendations for affiliate software. I'm also curious if there is any truth in the "SEO-value" that some softwares are touting as a benefit. Choosing a Software: This Moz Blog Article says to build it yourself. However, I'm inclined to use an out-of-the-box software for advanced features such as real-time analytics for the affiliate, w-9/1099 processing, etc. MozPerks promotes hasoffers.com which seems overly pricey ($230/month with perk discount) and OMNISTAR who just left me on hold for 10 minutes (and still no anwer from their sales department). So I'm still looking. Any recommendations? SEO-value of Links from Affiliates: Here's an example of what OMNISTAR claims about the SEO value of the way they structure the links from affiliate sites to my site. I hear a variation on this pitch from each software and none of them seem to agree. Does Google want me to clearly tag promotional vs. editorial links? Is there SEO-value in promotional links on affiliate sites or is that a load of bologna? Thanks a bunch!
Affiliate Marketing | | Harbor_Compliance0 -
Any Ideas for SEO opportunities at an electronics convention (CES)?
Hello All, I'm currently helping someone that sells a unique 35mm slide scanner with his digital presence. For a quick explanation, it scans much faster than it's competition and targets photography/scanning businesses. The owner will have part of a booth at CES (large electronics convention) to display the product, and will also have time to network with others within this industry and many others. At last years convention, there was a good in-person response and a few articles written about the product, but that is about it. I would like to send him to the show with a more digital mindset, so I am wondering if anyone has any ideas for link-bait, promotions, or really anything that will help the website rank higher/get more traffic. We have tons of content ideas and other ideas that are "online" to drive traffic, but when it comes to a in-person event I am drawing a big old blank (but I feel there must be some opportunities that I am missing). If you have any ideas and would like to share, it would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks! Eric
Affiliate Marketing | | EHuhn30 -
New site started doing well, now it's tanking
Im confused by activity from a site I opened less than a month ago. I ranked in the top ten for the local version of my primary phrase. Within two weeks I was up to number two. I created a few new pages without content in order to build age. I also paid for a pair of clearly marked classified ads at trusted sites thatprovide traffic from potential clients. Next, I stated revamping my pages by revising and editing content. my site has dropped like a brick. My content is the best it's been and improving daily. Im not sure what to do. Should I start over? Do I keep improving my site and give it a few months? Would anyone be willing to review my site and provide a few tips? Fyi, I understand some of my pages need more content. my formatting is a mess with iOS 7 on iPad.
Affiliate Marketing | | youngmaster0 -
Which affiliate programs pass the best SEO value through their links?
How good is Google at detecting the affiliate nature of those links? How does this rate as a linkbuilding strategy?
Affiliate Marketing | | menachemp0 -
How much SEO benefit am I getting from 'affiliate' links?
Hi all, We run lots of different campaigns with affiliates and as such they have links on their websites pointing back to ours. I was keen to know how much 'link-juice' these kinds of links are passing back to our websites or how much SEO benefit we are getting from them. The links have "?=affiliate" in them. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!! Many thanks! Rob
Affiliate Marketing | | RobertHill0 -
Casino SEO
I'm considering entering the online casino arena with an affiliate site. These keywords such as 'online roulette', 'online blackjack' are massively competitive with high page and domain authority sites on page one. Does anyone have any experience of this area and is it possible to compete in it? Apparently long tail keywords don't really convert in this area so I may have to go for these highly competitive keywords. Any thoughts?
Affiliate Marketing | | SamCUK0 -
Does an affiliate link bring the same SEO juice as a standard link?
I wonder if affiliate links, like the ones offered by Amazon Associates program bring the same SEO as would a link to the same page without this additional "ref=..."?
Affiliate Marketing | | maciek-0
