SEO success depends on so many factors. As Google has been developing in recent years, SEO strategies also had to change to adapt to Google’s alterations. One of the main factors of every successful SEO tactics is anchor optimization. However, the power of anchor text is often underestimated and overlooked. As this easy and simple approach to SEO can really help your rankings go high, you should pay special attention to it. In this article, Link Department experts help you get the most out of your links with some of the best anchor strategies of the year. Let the optimization begin!
What’s anchor text?
For all the beginners out there, let’s start with the explanation of the anchor text basics. Anchor text is part of a page that is underlined or in a different color. Furthermore, this piece of text is clickable and carries a certain hyperlink. It can lead you to another page on the website, or anywhere else on the web.
As this piece of text connects a page to another page or website, it is an important factor of Google recognition and evaluation. Anchor text helps Google to recognize authoritative, as well as spam sites, and rank a page depending on the relevance and importance of the links behind the anchor text.
Several types of anchor text
To help you understand the anchor text better, let’s go through the main types. You can find several types of anchor text on the internet:
- exact match anchor text contains the exact keyword phrase;
- partial-match anchor text contains a variation of a keyword phrase;
- the naked link shows the exact website address of the link;
- images – you can use clickable images, but make sure to use alt tag in them. This way Google can recognize them properly;
- branded anchor text shows the name of the company/brand your linking to;
- generic anchor text is a phrase or word that are the least informative to the reader, and usually include the words such as click here, website, info, read more, etc.
These are just the main types, so be sure to read more on anchor text types so you can truly understand their importance in SEO strategies.
What are the best anchor strategies so you can get the most out of your links?
As we established the importance of anchor text in your content, you need to learn how to use it properly. This way, you can get the most out of your links. In the following text, we’ll share some of the best anchor strategies to help you boost your content and reach higher rankings in Google searches.
Concise, yet informative anchor text gives the best results
As the text you’ll put as an anchor should tell the reader to click and get redirected, it should be informative enough. However, making an anchor too long can drive the reader away and make the text sound dull. Even though there’s no limit, you should always be as concise as possible when writing anchor text. The phrases you use should inform the reader about the link, but also be attractive and ‘lure’ the reader to click on it. One of the most common anchor text length that proved to be successful is 6 to 8 words maximum, which is around 55 characters.
The density of keywords is essential
One of the essential factors in writing your content is keyword density, which also applies to anchor text strategies. Even though the main keywords should be used in the anchor text, you shouldn’t overdo it. It’s best to stay moderate and create a perfect mix between keywords and the topic of the links you’re sending the reader to. The flow should be natural and smooth. Every other practice will be suspicious to Google and it can recognize the content as spammy and irrelevant.
Avoid generic anchor text
Even though there are tons of examples of generic anchor text, and they seem like an easier option, it’s best to avoid them whenever you can. Authors often use them as click-to-action and can be beneficial in some cases, but there’s a negative side to using them more than recommended. Repetitive use of these simple, generic phrases will turn your content into simple, irrelevant, and – generic. This kind of content is not interesting for readers, and even less interesting to Google.
Keep your anchor text relevant
The whole point of anchor text is to attract the reader’s eye and make them interested in the hyperlink that hides behind this text. For that reason, you need to make sure this text is referring to the topic of your content. Also, it needs to be relevant to the page it connects the reader to. So, anytime you want to make a high-quality anchor text, you need to fulfill two conditions. The first one is relevance to the source page and its topic. And the second one is the relevance of the linked page to the topic and source page. This way you increase the authority and relevance of both pages, as their keywords are similar and related to the topic.
Monitor and update
As we mentioned, Google’s guidelines are constantly evolving, as well as your audience and other circumstances. That’s why you should do constant monitoring of your keywords and anchor texts, and keep track of their results. There are tools you can use to track anchor text and see the performance of your content, which can help a lot.
To conclude, constant updating and improving your content will lead to better results. There are best anchor strategies that bring success to the majority of SEO tactics. However, each of these needs to be adapted to your unique content and type of business.