Anchor text

Anchor text is the visible, clickable text of a link. For an image link, the alt text is used as the anchor.

It sets user expectation and gives search engines a hint about the target page. On a small site, the fastest wins come from your own internal links, because you control them.

Bad anchors waste clicks. Good anchors increase clarity. A link that says “pricing” to /pricing beats “click here”.

Search engines use anchor text as a description of the linked page. It helps them understand topics and intent, alongside the page content.

Internal anchors are under your control. Use them to reinforce what each page is about. External anchors are not under your control, so focus on earning relevant mentions, not wording asks.

• Match the page’s subject: link to /guides/getting-started with “getting started guide”, not “this post”.
• Use natural phrases that fit the sentence. Avoid comma lists of links.
• Vary wording when it is natural: “pricing”, “plans”, “cost”, all to /pricing across fitting contexts.
• Keep anchors concise. Trim filler like “learn about”.
• For image links, set a clear alt text, for example “email API pricing”, not “logo”.

A fixed page reads like this: on /features you link to /pricing with “pricing”, link to /docs with “API docs”, and avoid stacking ten links in a row.

1. 1

   Review key templates

   Scan your header, footer, nav, and sidebar. These repeat across pages. Rename vague items, for example change “Resources” dropdown items from “Read more” to the page subjects.

2. 2

   Audit top pages

   Open your top pages by traffic or value, for example /, /pricing, /blog. Skim each link. Replace “here”, “this page”, “more”, with the target topic.

3. 3

   Check image links

   Right click, inspect the <img>. If a linked image has empty or generic alt text, set a descriptive alt that names the target page’s subject.

4. 4

   Read external anchors

   In Google Search Console, open the Links report and read Top linking text. This shows common external anchor phrases. You cannot edit them, but you can spot mismatches.

Track changes in your own copy. When you rename anchors, re-crawl your site or re-read your templates to confirm they shipped.

In 2012, Google’s Penguin update targeted manipulated link profiles. Many exact match anchors from paid or spammy links were a common pattern.

• Do not stuff exact match keywords in anchors across many sites.
• Do not buy links to force anchor wording.
• Do not hide links in tiny text or boilerplate blocks.

On your own site, be clear but not robotic. If five different paragraphs all say “email api pricing” word for word, you overdid it. Write for readers first.