Anchor text is the word or phrase that contains a hyperlink to another webpage. Anchor text is a useful and effective search engine optimization tool because it helps Google and other search engines understand what kind of page the link contained in the anchor text is sending users to. Not only is anchor text useful for artificial intelligence like Google’s algorithms, but it also creates a better experience for real people who are using your website. For example, anchor text that says “Visit our frequently asked questions page to learn more” helps users understand where that link will take them much better than anchor text that simply says “Click here to learn more”. Because good anchor text both helps Google better understand a hyperlink and gives real people a better user experience, Google uses anchor text as a ranking factor for search results.
How Does Anchor Text Affect Rankings On Google?
In this day and age where technology plays such a big part in everyone’s lives, one of the best things a business can strive for is to rank highly on search engines for whatever keywords and phrases that are pertinent to their industry. There are thousands of strategies for optimizing your website to achieve better search result rankings, one of the most straightforward being anchor text. While anchor text may seem like an insignificant portion of the content on your website, Google themselves says that “The better your anchor text is, the easier it is for users to navigate and for Google to understand what the page you’re linking to is about. With appropriate anchor text, users and search engines can easily understand what the linked pages contain” in their SEO Starter Guide. They also go on to give some tips for writing anchor text:
- Anchor text should provide a basic idea of what the linked page is about
- Use short but descriptive text, usually a few words or a phrase
- Tailor your page so that the links are easily recognizable and distinct
- Pay special attention to the anchor text linking to other pages within your own website
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If you have any questions about anchor text or any other search engine optimization strategy, don’t hesitate to contact us! Our SEO specialists help businesses across a wide range of industries achieve higher search results. Give us a call today at (857) 526-0096 or fill out the contact form on our website, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!