How to Optimize your Anchor Text for SEO
Anchor text is one of those things in SEO that can be quite difficult for anyone to wrap their head around.
Especially when it comes to the nitty gritty in how to properly optimize your anchor text for best results and to avoid over optimization.
Ever since Google’s major update to their algorithm known as the Google Penguin update back in 2012, things have changed a lot since then.
The search results fortunately have gotten cleaner and a lot more helpful to users, but on the other hand, getting results with SEO for website owners has been a more difficult task to accomplish.
Top Anchor Text Categories
- Branded – Your brand name
- Generic – ( e.g. click here, go here, click etc.)
- Website URL – Your website URL
- Naked URL – Your URL
- Website Name – your site’s URL with the anchor text written as “YourWebsite.com” (e.g. empyrealmotions.com)
- Page/Blog post title – a page’s title anchor text with a link on it (e.g. How to Go from Zero to 100 Visitors Per Day!)
- Exact-match keywords – a targeted keyword with a link on it (e.g. Empyreal Motions)
- Partial-match keywords – a targeted keyword plus some other text with a link on it (e.g. Beginner tips for entrepreneurs, tips for entrepreneurs guide)
- LSI Keywords – a keyword anchor text which is related to a targeted keyword (e.g. how to make money online, make money online fast, easy way to make money online)
- No-text – an image with a link on it.
Best Practices for Optimizing Your Anchor Text
As Google points out in their webmaster guidelines. Every website must have content that is actually offering something of value to the user.
Whether it is the content, the links, or the anchor text.
Try to gather information on your competitor’s backlink profile to have a better understanding of what actual percentages you can use to optimize your anchor text for greater success.
I like to use tools such as ahrefs or moz.
By using these tools, you’ll be better equipped with the knowledge necessary to make educated decisions on how to use your anchor text.
It is also recommended to link to high-quality, relevant pages. Getting links from sites with high Domain Authority, Page Authority, and Trust Flow is also key.