Anchor Text

Updated by Chima Mmeje — April 4, 2025.

Anchor text is the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink. It is often blue and underlined in modern browsers, such as this link to the image below.

In this example, “crawl budget” is the anchor text.

Anchor text helps users and search engines understand the context of the linked page. It plays a crucial role in SEO strategy, influencing link building, internal linking, and user navigation.

Since anchor text was previously overused for SEO manipulation, search engines now analyze the anchor text, surrounding text, image alt text, and naked URLs to determine relevance. 

In cases where there is no actual anchor text, such as with images, the alternative text (alt text) helps search engines and visually impaired users understand the content.

To human visitors, anchor text appears as blue, underlined, clickable text that displays a URL when hovered over. The visible text, whether a word or phrase, links to another resource, such as a different page on or off the website.

When viewing the code of a webpage, you can identify links by the distinctive a href element.

<a href="https://www.hedghogs.com">hedghogs</a>

For SEO, anchor text should be succinct, relevant to the linked page, and natural. Link text, also known as anchor text, should be concise and match the linked content, enhancing user experience and SEO. 

Avoid excessive keyword use and generic phrases like “click here.” Understanding the target keyword for a page helps in writing compelling anchor text that balances exact or partial keyword matches without over-optimization.

Anchor text plays a crucial role in SEO by helping search engines understand the content of linked pages and distributing ranking power. However, improper use can lead to penalties, especially after algorithm updates like Google Penguin. 

Here’s how anchor text impacts SEO and rankings:

Anchor text helps search engines understand content

Search engines use anchor text to determine the relevance of a linked page. When a link includes descriptive anchor text, it provides context about the destination page, helping search engines rank it for related queries.

Anchor text contributes to link equity (ranking power) 

Anchor text plays a key role in passing link equity, also known as “link juice.” External links, with relevant anchor text, can enhance the credibility of the linked page and influence its rankings. 

Links from authoritative sites with relevant anchor text can boost a page’s authority and rankings. However, the anchor text can have the opposite effect if it is over-optimized.

Diversity in anchor text matters 

Using a variety of anchor text types—branded, exact match, partial match, and generic—creates a natural link profile. 

Using the same anchor text across multiple links can trigger Google's spam detection algorithms and should be avoided. 

If a website relies too heavily on one type, especially exact-match keywords, it may trigger search engine penalties.

Google’s algorithm updates and anchor text

Over time, Google has adjusted how it evaluates anchor text to prevent manipulation:

Penguin update (2012): Targeted over-optimized anchor text and penalized sites with unnatural, keyword-stuffed links.

Ongoing changes: Google now considers context beyond anchor text alone, including surrounding text and overall link quality.

By following best practices for anchor text, websites can build a strong SEO foundation without risking penalties.

To know your options for optimizing anchor text and avoid degrading your online presence with anchor text spam, it helps to know that there are at least eight common types of anchor text:

Branded

Anchor text is usually a brand name. For example, 'Adanola' links to a site called adanola.com. This is a natural and expected landscape of a backlink profile.

Brand + keyword

The anchor text consists of a brand plus additional keywords. For example, “Moz Domain Authority Checker,” where “Moz” is the brand and “Domain Authority Checker” is the keyword.

Exact-match

Anchor text is considered "an exact match" if it includes a keyword that mirrors the page being linked to. 

For example, “running a marathon” links to a page about marathon training.

Partial-match

An anchor text with a keyword variation on the linked-to page is known as 'partial match anchor text.' 

This linking strategy involves using a variation of the target keyword and additional contextual words, creating a more natural and descriptive link. 

For example, ‘user intent' links to a page about search intent. This approach improves relevance and, potentially, search rankings.

Related keywords

A keyword used in the anchor text has a semantic relationship to a similar term. For example, anchor text reading ‘first home scheme‘ could be related to a page about buying a home.

Naked link

A URL is used as the anchor, as in ‘TheToyShop.com' being used to link to TheToyShop.com.

Generic

A generic word or phrase that is used as the anchor. ‘Click here' is a common generic anchor.

Images 

When an image is linked, the alt text is the anchor text, helping search engines and users understand the content.

A natural-looking anchor text profile will likely contain a mix of some or all of the above types. Things appear less natural when all or most of the anchor text is of a single type.

Well-written anchor text benefits both human users and search engines. Effective anchor text should be:

• Succinct
• Relevant to the linked-to page
• Low in keyword density (not overly keyword-heavy)
• Not generic

Using natural anchor text is crucial to avoid overoptimization and enhance user experience. This approach creates a balanced and user-friendly website that is less likely to be penalized by search engines.

Remember that you cannot control how other sites link to your content. These best practices focus on writing anchor text on your website.

Succinct anchor text

While there is no strict length limit, anchor text should be as concise as possible while accurately describing the linked page. When choosing anchor text, consider the following:

• What is the most concise, accurate way to describe the linked-to page?
• What word or phrase would encourage users to click?

Target page relevance

As search engines have matured, they have started identifying more metrics for determining rankings. One metric that stands out is link relevancy, or how related the topic of page A is to page B if one links to the other.

Relevance is determined by:

• The topic of the source page
• The anchor text used in the link

For example, a page about the best lattes in Seattle that links to a coffee shop’s website sends a stronger relevance signal than a page about baby animal pictures.

Google also analyzes anchor text variations across sites linking to the same page. Keep your anchor text descriptive of the target page to send strong relevance signals.

Anchor text keyword density

With the Penguin algorithm update, Google began scrutinizing keyword usage in anchor text. Too many inbound links with the same exact-match anchor text can appear manipulative.

Best practices include:

• Using keyword and topic-specific anchor text but varying phrasing
• Avoiding keyword-heavy internal links that seem unnatural
• Ensuring internal links do not excessively repeat the same anchor text

If too many links (even within your site) use the same anchor text, Google may flag it as spammy behavior.

Non-generic anchor text

Anchor text acts as a signpost for users. Generic phrases like "click here" give no context about the destination. Instead, anchor text should:

• Describe where the link leads
• Provide context for what users will find
• Relate to the content they are currently reading

By following these best practices, you can create anchor text that is both user-friendly and SEO-optimized.

Here’s how you can analyze anchor text with Moz Link Explorer:

Go to Moz’s Link Explorer and enter your website URL or a competitor’s site.

Navigate to the 'Anchor Text' tab, where you’ll see the most commonly used anchor text pointing to that domain, subdomain, or specific page.

Analyze patterns and variations to understand how your site is being referenced and identify potential optimization opportunities.

According to research Cyrus Shepard conducted on 23 Million Internal Links, URLs with a larger number of anchor text variations from internal links may lead to increased Google search traffic.” 

This study shows that diverse anchor text performs better than exact-match optimization. A natural approach also increases traffic while avoiding penalties. 

A few anchor text best practices to follow include:

• There’s no character limit, but fewer, more helpful words improve clarity
• Anchor text should accurately describe the linked content
• Incorporate keywords naturally without stuffing
• Using a mix of anchor text types helps users and search engines understand the linked content

Anchor text spam occurs when websites manipulate anchor text to boost rankings artificially. This typically includes:

• Overuse of exact-match keywords: Earning many links where the anchor text matches a keyword phrase a site is trying to rank for.
• Keyword stuffing in anchor text: Using excessive keywords, like “best cheapest most amazing hottest hedgehog website in the world.”
• Irrelevant anchor text: Links with anchor text unrelated to the page’s content. For example, “office furniture” linking to a site selling diet pills.

In a Google SEO Office Hours session (2023), a representative stated:

“In general, yes, we don't trust links from sites we know are spam. This helps us maintain the quality of our anchor signals.”

It suggests that Google actively ignores spammy links to preserve the integrity of anchor text signals. If Google detects a widespread pattern of unnatural linking, the linking and linked-to sites may be flagged for spam.

Why avoiding anchor text spam matters

• Google may ignore spammy links, making them ineffective
• In extreme cases, websites can face penalties for manipulative tactics
• It damages trust with search engines and users

To stay compliant, all website owners, SEOs, and marketers should review Google’s Spam Policies to avoid unwanted consequences.

Most content management systems (CMS) have built-in tools for adding anchor text, allowing you to highlight text and embed a destination URL.

Here's how it works across different platforms:

WordPress

• Highlight the text you want to use as anchor text
• Click the link icon in the editor
• Enter the URL and press enter to apply the link

Shopify

• In the rich text editor, select the text you want to link
• Click the insert link button
• Add the destination URL and click apply

Wix

• Highlight the text in your editor
• Click the link icon and choose web address
• Enter the URL and save the changes

Doing it manually with HTML

If your CMS doesn’t have a built-in feature, or you prefer coding, you can manually create anchor text using HTML:

<a href="https://example.com">Your anchor text here</a>

Anchor text plays a key role in internal and external linking, helping users and search engines understand page content. Using natural, relevant, and descriptive anchor text can improve user experience and search rankings.

What are good anchor texts?

Good anchor texts are concise, descriptive, and relevant to the linked page. They help users and search engines understand what the page is about.

Is anchor text important for SEO?

Anchor text matters greatly to SEO, as it can indicate to Google what a page is about. Several Google patents include the use of anchor text as a ranking signal.

How do you optimize an anchor text?

The best way to optimize anchor text is to use descriptive keywords that accurately represent the linked content. However, avoid overusing exact-match keywords, as this can appear manipulative. A natural mix of anchor text variations is ideal.

What is rich anchor text?

Rich anchor text simply means anchor text containing desirable target keywords. These are often keywords you'd like to rank for. Again, don't overdo your rich anchor text, as this isn't how people normally or naturally link and could lead to Google seeing your content as "over-optimized."

What is the difference between internal links and external anchor text?

Internal anchor text links between pages within the same domain. You have full control over these. Meanwhile, external anchor text links from one domain to another. You generally have limited control over how other sites link to you. 

• The Beginner's Guide to Link Building - Everything you need to get started on one of the most important things you can do for your SEO.
• Backlink Basics - Moz Academy
• Internal links
• External links
• Backlinks
• What is off-site SEO?
• The Beginner's Guide to Link Building
• Learn how to use anchor text in Link Explorer
• Webmaster Guidelines - Google's Official Guidelines for Webmasters.