Link anchor. Let’s figure out what it is, what types there are, and how to work with them.
Anchor is the link text that is placed between the opening tag and the closing tag. All sites on the Internet are interconnected by a vast web of links presented in the form of: link text . The phrase “link text” is called an anchor.
The main types of link anchors:
- Pointer. Hyperlinks that clearly indicate that there is another source of information. They can contain single words or organic phrases.
- Free anchor links. The texts of these links do not contain key phrases and may include a non-thematic description. This approach looks natural, as such hyperlinks are usually used.
- Commercial. They consist of a combination of subject words and key phrases, but include commercial terms. For example, “order a crowd link”.
- Branded. They include the name of a company or product. This is an effective way to draw attention to the brand.
It is important that all these anchors direct to one page, and their use should take into account the requirements of naturalness and uniqueness.
How do anchors affect website rankings in search results?
Google processes anchors to understand the context of the link and determine its relevance, which in turn becomes a serious ranking factor. Google commented on this as follows:
“Most search engines associate the text of a link with the page it is on. In addition, we associate it with the page to which the link points. This has several advantages. First, anchors often provide a more accurate description of web pages than the pages themselves. Second, they can be used for documents that cannot be indexed by a search engine based on text, such as images, programs, and databases.”
Thus, the correct placement of anchors will help search engines determine the topic of the page and thus allow it to be raised in the search results for the necessary queries, which will lead to an increase in visitors.
The role of the anchor list in SEO
The right anchor letter plays an important role in a successful SEO strategy:
- Well-chosen anchor texts make links more understandable and attractive to users, increasing the likelihood of clicking through to your site.
- Anchor texts provide search engines with contextual information about the content of the page to which the link leads. This helps search engines better understand the relevance of the page to certain keywords and phrases.
- Anchor links from high-quality and reputable donors can increase the authority of your site in the eyes of search engines.
- Correctly optimized anchor links can help your site rank higher in search results for relevant queries.
- Correctly used link text helps to connect the pages of your site to each other, making it easier for users and search engines to navigate.
How to write anchor text correctly? Requirements for writing
In order for search engines not to consider the link as spam, the anchor must be correctly composed according to the following rules:
- Number of anchors. An anchor with the same text will not be useful. The ratio of diluted anchors to undiluted ones is also taken into account: 80-85% to 20-25%. For example, for the anchor “buy a car”, you can add such anchors as “buy a used car”, “buy an inexpensive car”, “buy a German car”, etc.
- Readability. The anchor must carry a semantic load. For example, “Buy a car in Kyiv cheap” is likely to be rejected by the webmaster and mistaken for spam by the search engine.
- Thematicity. A link with the anchor text “buy a car” should not be placed on a website dedicated to religious issues. Although many optimizers still neglect the subject matter when buying links.
- Grammar. The presence ofgrammatical or punctuation errors is an extra reason to refuse to place a link. It is also advisable to avoid repeating keywords. A link with the anchor “buy a car, buy a car” is unlikely to be placed, and the Internet resource itself risks being blacklisted by the webmaster because of such a link.
- Uniqueness. Anchors should be different from each other, often they can glue (optimizers often call this process “link gluing”) the same links into one, thereby significantly reducing the effectiveness of website promotion.
The anchor can be written competently either by the optimizers themselves or by copywriters who can be hired from our agency or online exchanges.
Conclusion
To summarize,correctly composed anchors are of great importance for search engine optimization as ranking signals, which is confirmed by the experience of SEO specialists and Google recommendations. Therefore, when developing a link building strategy, you should not neglect the creation of an anchor profile for your website. After all, well-chosen anchors and well-written text are already a big step towards successful website promotion.