Anchor text is the visible, clickable wording in a link. It tells a reader what to expect on the other side, while it tells search engines what the linked page is about. It’s one of the oldest ranking signals still doing real work.
Where the term comes from
A link in HTML is an anchor element. The words sitting between the opening and closing tags are the anchor text. Google’s founders wrote about this in 1998, pointing out that anchors often describe a page more accurately than the page describes itself. A site that never uses the phrase “SEO agency” on its homepage can still rank for it if enough people link to it with those words.
Anchors fall into six recognisable shapes. Exact match repeats the target keyword word for word. Partial match wraps it inside a longer phrase. Branded anchors use the company name. Naked anchors show the raw URL. Generic anchors say “read more” or “click here”. And image links use the alt attribute as their anchor.
Why it matters
Anchor text does two jobs at once. It passes a relevance signal between pages, and it sets expectations before the click. Those two pull in the same direction far more often than people assume, which is why the best anchor is usually just an honest description of the destination.
The risk sits at the other end. Google’s Penguin update in 2012 went after sites with unnatural anchor patterns, and the logic behind it never went away. If 40% of the links pointing at your service page use the same commercial phrase, that did not happen by accident and it does not look like it did. Real link profiles are messy. They are mostly branded anchors and naked URLs with the odd descriptive phrase mixed in.
How to handle anchors in practice
- Let the publisher choose the wording. On earned coverage, ask for a link, not a specific phrase. A journalist writing their own sentence produces a healthier profile than a spreadsheet of demands, and they are far more likely to say yes.
- Be descriptive internally. You control every internal link on your own site, so name the destination. “Our technical audit process” beats “here” every time.
- Audit the distribution, not single links. Pull the anchor report for a page and look at percentages. One exact match anchor is nothing. Forty of them aimed at one page is a pattern.
- Read the sentence around the link. Google uses surrounding copy as context. A plainly worded link inside relevant text beats a keyword-stuffed anchor buried in a footer.
Most of this work happens inside a digital PR programme, where anchors are a by-product of coverage rather than something you dictate up front.
Common questions
Does exact match anchor text still work?
Yes, but with a low ceiling. A few exact match anchors from relevant sites will help a page rank for that term. Push past roughly 10% to 15% of that page’s profile and the returns flatten, then turn negative. The signal works because it is rare, so manufacturing it at scale defeats the point.
What anchor text should internal links use?
Whatever describes the target page most clearly. Internal anchors carry no realistic spam risk, so be specific and be consistent. If three pages link to your pricing page, calling it “pricing” on all three is fine and genuinely useful.
Do image links have anchor text?
Effectively, yes. Google treats the alt attribute of a linked image as its anchor text. If you link a logo or banner and leave the alt empty, you have handed over a link with no context attached.
Can I change anchors on links I already have?
Only by asking the site owner, and it is rarely worth the email. Fixing a genuinely misleading anchor is reasonable. Chasing publishers to swap branded anchors for commercial ones looks exactly like what it is.
See our glossary entry for anchor text.
