What is anchor text? 9 types and how to use each safely
SearchBlueprint · · 9 min read · scored 92/100
What is anchor text? It is the visible, clickable words in a hyperlink, such as "keyword research guide" in a sentence that links to that guide. Search engines read those words as a label for the page on the other end, and readers use them to decide whether the click is worth it.
If you add links to a website, this applies to you. The same rules cover links between your own pages and links from other sites to yours.
What it looks like in HTML
On a page, a link usually shows in a different color, often underlined. Hover over it and your browser shows the destination. In the code, the anchor text sits between the opening and closing <a> tags:
<a href="https://www.example.com/keyword-research-guide">keyword research guide</a>
The href value is where the link goes. The words "keyword research guide" are the anchor text. Change those words and you change what the link says about its destination, even though the URL stays the same.
Two variations are worth knowing. When an image is the link, search engines treat its alt text as the anchor. When the anchor is the address itself, such as "example.com", it is called a naked link. In WordPress, Shopify or Wix you never touch this code: you highlight words, click the link button and paste the URL.
Why anchor text matters for SEO and readers
Links are how search engines find pages and work out how they relate. The anchor adds a short description to each connection. A link that says "wedding dress alterations" tells Google something specific. A link that says "read more" tells it almost nothing.
What search engines take from it
Google reads link text as a clue to what the linked page covers, weighed alongside the words around the link. Google's link best practices documentation asks for anchor text that is descriptive, reasonably concise and relevant to both pages.
Google's John Mueller, quoted by Search Engine Journal, said that with internal links "you're giving us a signal of context." The label that helps a visitor is usually the one that helps search. It is one input among many in how search engines decide who gets found, but on your own site you control it completely.
What readers take from it
People scan. A clear anchor lets them predict the next page before they click. When a link says "pricing" and lands on an unrelated blog post, the reader leaves.
Screen readers can list every link on a page out of context. On a page full of "click here" links, that list is useless.
The 9 types of anchor text
Moz describes at least eight common types, and Semrush lists nine. The difference is mostly naming.
| Anchor type | What it looks like | Best used for | Risk if overused |
|---|---|---|---|
| Branded | The brand name alone, such as "Semrush" | Citing a source or linking to a homepage | Low. It is the most natural anchor a site earns. |
| Exact match | The linked page's target keyword, such as "seo audit" | An occasional link where the phrase fits | High. Piles of identical exact-match anchors are what Penguin targeted in 2012. |
| Partial match | The keyword plus extra words, such as "run a technical SEO audit" | Most everyday links | Low while the wording varies |
| Related | A synonym, such as "structured data" for a schema markup page | Adding context without repeating the keyword | Low |
| Compound | Brand plus keyword, such as "Moz Domain Authority Checker" | A named brand's specific product or page | Medium. Semrush says money and compound anchors look most suspicious. |
| Page title | The linked article's headline, word for word | Linking to a blog post or guide | Low |
| Naked URL | The address itself, such as "example.com" | Footnotes and citations | Low, but it carries little topical meaning |
| Generic | "Click here" or "read more" | Buttons where the sentence explains the destination | Low penalty risk, weak for SEO and screen readers |
| Image | A linked image whose alt text acts as the anchor | Logos, product photos and banners | Low if the alt text describes the linked page |
A healthy profile uses most of these. It looks unnatural when one type dominates, especially exact match. Google has never published a safe percentage for any type, so treat ratios you read online as habits, not rules.
Internal vs external links: who writes the anchor
You write the anchors on your internal links and on your outbound links to other sites. Other sites write the anchors on your backlinks.
Backlinks still carry real weight, and why links still move rankings covers that side in detail. Your influence over their anchors is indirect. If you are earning links through outreach and useful content, don't ask partners for a keyword-rich anchor. A link that uses your brand name or the article title looks natural and still sends readers your way.
Internal links are the opposite. You can rewrite every one in minutes, which makes them the place to start.
How Google treats over-optimized anchors
Anchor text used to be the easiest lever in SEO. In Search Engine Journal in October 2022, Winston Burton described the old playbook. A site that wanted to rank for "outdoor clothing" collected links from related, high-authority sites, all using that exact phrase, and reached page one. He added that the same tactic now triggers a penalty.
The turning point was Google's Penguin update in 2012. It targeted over-optimized anchor text and penalized sites with unnatural, keyword-stuffed links. Google now leans harder on context: the text around a link, the topic of the linking page and the quality of the site it comes from.
What anchor text spam looks like
Moz names three patterns:
- Exact-match overuse: many links using the precise phrase a site wants to rank for.
- Stuffed anchors: stacked keywords and modifiers crammed into one link.
- Irrelevant anchors: words unrelated to the destination, such as "office furniture" linking to a diet pill store.
In a 2023 Google SEO Office Hours session, quoted by Moz, a Google representative said: "In general, yes, we don't trust links from sites we know are spam. This helps us maintain the quality of our anchor signals." Most spammy links are simply ignored. Where the pattern is widespread, both the linking and linked sites can be flagged. Google's spam policies define what counts as a link scheme.
Stuffed anchors belong on any list of common SEO mistakes to fix. They take seconds to create and much longer to clean up.
What to do about spammy backlinks
Most sites collect some low-quality links, and Google usually ignores them. Semrush advises acting only when you see a long list of suspicious links and Google Search Console's Manual Actions report shows a penalty for unnatural links. Then removal requests or a disavow file are worth the effort. Without a manual action, there is usually nothing to fix.
How to write good anchor text: 7 rules
Choosing the words
- Describe the destination. A reader should be able to guess the linked page from the anchor alone, so "meta description" should lead to a page about meta descriptions.
- Keep it short. Semrush recommends five words or fewer: "SEO tips", not "a comprehensive list of SEO tips and strategies".
- Vary the wording across links to one page. Moz cites Cyrus Shepard's study of 23 million internal links, which found that URLs with more anchor text variations tended to earn more Google search traffic.
- Don't send your own keyword somewhere else. Yoast calls these competing links. If your page targets "potato chips" and uses that phrase to link to a different page, you blur which one should rank.
Placing and formatting the link
- Let the sentence carry the link. If it feels forced, it probably does not belong.
- Make links look like links. Google's SEO Starter Guide, as quoted by Search Engine Journal, advises against styling that makes links look like regular text.
- Use nofollow when you don't want to vouch for a page. A link passes some of your reputation to its destination, and Search Engine Journal recommends nofollow when you don't want to pass it.
Link wording belongs on your on-page SEO checklist, reviewed whenever you edit a page's titles and headings.
Can you check your anchor text yourself?
Yes. For internal links, crawl your site with an SEO crawler, export the links with their anchors, and sort by anchor. Look for generic labels like "read more", for one anchor pointing to several different pages, and for the same exact-match phrase repeated on many links to one page.
For backlinks, Moz Link Explorer and Semrush's Backlink Audit list the anchors other sites use. Semrush gives each backlink a Toxicity Score from 0 to 100 and lets you filter by anchor type.
Bring in help when Search Console shows a manual action, or when a site migration is about to change most of your internal links.
FAQs
What is anchor text in simple terms?
It is the clickable text of a link. If the words "keyword research guide" are linked, those words are the anchor text, and they describe where the link goes.
Is anchor text still a ranking factor?
Yes, as a relevance signal. Google uses the words in a link, and the text around it, to understand the linked page. Since the 2012 Penguin update, keyword-stuffed anchors are more likely to be discounted than rewarded.
How long should anchor text be?
As short as it can be while still describing the page. Semrush suggests five words or fewer. Long anchors read awkwardly and often slide into keyword stuffing.
Should you use exact-match anchor text?
Sparingly. It is fine where the phrase fits the sentence, especially on internal links. Trouble starts when most links to one page repeat the identical keyword.
Is "click here" bad for SEO?
It is weak rather than harmful. It tells search engines and screen reader users nothing about the destination. If a button uses it, make sure the sentence beside it explains where it leads.
Rewrite the anchors on your top five pages
Open your five most important pages and read only the linked words on each. Rewrite any anchor a stranger could not use to predict the destination, since that test is the working answer to "what is anchor text" on your own site. Then talk to the team: start with a sample SEO report to see what a full SearchBlueprint audit hands you.
Resources / References
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About the author
SearchBlueprint researched, wrote and scored this article with the content pipeline our customers run on their own sites. The score in the byline is what our content engine gave this page before it published. Nothing here is reviewed by hand, which is the point: it is the product's output, published where anyone can check it.