Many do not know it, but the anchoring text is much more than just converting clickable link words. That is why it is important to know when to use a certain type of anchor, and the ideal anchor text proportions. Also, you have to understand when it is okay to use exact match anchors. In other words, it is knowing how to do a correct anchor text optimization.
In this article, you will see all the necessary information so that you can perform how to do a good image anchor text optimization. It is intended to cover a breakdown of what the definition of anchor text is and what SEO can do with this tool to improve the performance of your website. Finally, we are going to show you some tips so that you can make the most of the anchor text optimization tool.
- Do you know what is anchor text?
- Learn what is the role of anchor text for SEO
- Do you know what are the Google update and the anchor text optimization?
- What are internal and external anchor links and some types of them?
- Some strategies to succeed in anchor text optimization
- Contact DigitizenGrow so that you have access to a good SEO who knows good anchor text optimization strategies
1. Do you know what is anchor text?
Anchor text is defined as clickable text in an HTML hyperlink that links to two web pages. Generally, this anchor text is displayed as a text string in blue. In addition, it can be found that it is underlined. In this way, the color helps users to differentiate the anchor from other text that they cannot click on.
Since Google’s early days, this anchor text has been central to Google’s algorithms and other search engines. For this reason, search engines use the anchor texts of a page; and the surrounding content to determine the context of the page to which you are linking.
You found that Google claims in its patent that this anchor text that points to a page can be more useful. Also, the content of this landing page when determining what the page should rank for.
As mentioned above, anchor texts are a very essential ranking signal for search engines. In this way, by using them correctly you can significantly improve your chances of ranking. However, if you want to know about your ranking and how to improve more aspects, Black Hat Google My Business Hacks can be the solution.
2. Learn what is the role of anchor text for SEO
As its name indicates, the anchor text is responsible for literally linking two web pages. This way, you allow your site visitors to click from one URL to another without much trouble. However, anchor text cannot only link two web pages. You can also pin other types of formats such as documents, programs, images, or files.
There are many types of uses for this, but the most important application that anchor text has for an SEO strategist is internal and external links between pages. This happens because when certain words are selected to form a hyperlink; it sends signals to both search users and search engines.
From another point of view, visitors use this anchor text to preview what the link destination will be. In this way, the anchor text is responsible for establishing a clear expectation for readers. For this reason, using specific anchor words that help you describe the content you are linking to will provide a very positive experience for users.
If several links to a page are described similarly, search robots gain confidence regarding the topic of the page. In this way, the SERP competitors ranking on this page for keywords that are related to the topic is improved. Also, Google SEO tools can be useful if you want to increase the ranking of your web page.
3. Do you know what are the Google update and the anchor text optimization?
For the first version of the Google search algorithm that existed, it was very easy to manipulate the anchor text. It was simply being spammed with exact-match anchor links on a page. In this way, SEOs managed to optimize their pages by ranking their URLs in the top positions of Google, very common in the first one.
With this practice, many low-quality or very irrelevant pages shot up in the SERPs. However, this tactic was stopped in 2012 with Penguin 1.0. In this way, websites that deliberately manipulated search results with anchor text spam were penalized.
Thanks to this, a huge number of websites lost their rankings and traffic very quickly. With subsequent Penguin updates, this war on anchor text manipulation has continued. Consequently, today’s anchor text optimization is about avoiding spam anchor text profiles, not creating more of them.
4. What are internal and external anchor links and some types of them?
4.1 Internal anchor links
SEOs need to know that internal linking can bring a lot of benefits to your website. The purpose of them is to transmit the value of the link concerning another page. Therefore, it improves the navigation of the site; helping search engines find and understand the content of your website in a better way.
If you use internal anchor text over optimization tools it is because you want to avoid filling the anchors with LSI keywords that have an exact match. It is important to know that all the words you choose must describe the content they link to. Also, they should fit naturally into the context of the page.
If you want to have more opportunities to find internal links you can use the Google search syntax tips.
4.2 External anchor links
Unlike internal links, external anchor links are more difficult to manage. The reason is, most of these links will be decided by the website owner and not by SEO. However, you as SEO can influence the anchor words that are used.
The first thing to do is make sure your content is named appropriately. Know that a page title and headline should be descriptive and compelling. Thus, the owners of the websites use them as an anchor.
To know what is the ideal title to be able to use as an external anchor; the first thing to know is that the keywords you want to rank for must be part of it and the HTML tags. Thus, you improve the SEO on the page and you will help the SEO off-page. This is because they contain partial match anchor terms.
Taking into account the description of anchor links and how to optimize internal and external anchors, you will see some types of anchor text.
4.2.1 Brand anchors
Branded anchors use the company’s brand name or some closely related variation of it as the anchor text. In case your profile is complete, the brand name should be among the most used anchor texts; preferably, the most used one that points to your website. Otherwise, your anchor text is most likely over-optimized.
4.2.2 Exact-match anchors
When you use the specific keyword being targeted as an anchor link; this anchor text is the exact match. For instance, if the page being linked to targets the keyword “sportswear sales”; the matching anchor text would be exactly “sportswear sale”.
4.2.3 Partial match anchor
Anchors that use text that includes a variation of the keyword along with generic terms or additional words; you are in the presence of a partial match anchor. For instance, if the linked page deals with the sale of sportswear; a partial match anchor text might be “what is the best store that sells sportswear?”
4.2.4 Related anchors
Related anchors are very similar to partial match anchors. This is because the anchor text uses variations of the main key phrase. But unlike partial match anchors, related anchors do not include any keywords.
4.2.5 Generic anchor
Generic anchors are those whose anchor text uses common calls-to-action, rather than using a specific keyword. Because generic anchors generally use action verbs; they are considered a powerful way to encourage more users to visit the page.
- Random anchors
These anchors are very similar to generic anchors; because random anchor texts do not include any kind of keyword in your phrase. The difference is that random anchors do not use processable language. That is, they are usually spontaneous and subjective to the page that uses the text as an anchor.
4.2.7 Naked anchors
Naked anchors are when raw URLs are used as the anchor instead of a word or phrase.
4.2.8 Brand and keyword anchors
Brand and keywords anchors are those that use partial match keywords and brand names. Generally, this type of anchor is used when a website tries to optimize for a word and, in turn, strengthen co-occurrences.
4.2.9 Long tail anchors
Long-tail anchors include not only keywords in the anchor text, but also descriptive, brand, or generic terms.
4.2.10 Image anchors
The last type of anchor will be considered an image anchor text optimization. When you use images to anchor two pages together, you are using image anchors.
5. Some strategies to succeed in anchor text optimization
To be able to take full advantage of anchor texts and rank high in search; You should look for SEO packages that offer different anchoring strategies. In this section, you will see some anchor text techniques that you may find useful as an SEO.
5.1 Use anchor text to improve the exact match
Exact match anchor texts help search engines and readers quickly and effectively identify what the page is about. You will be able to realize that their use is very productive, however, they cannot be exceeded. In the world of SEO, it is recommended that its use be a maximum of 5%. In addition, the exact keywords must appear naturally.
5.2 Choosing the best type of anchor text
The way Google and site visitors interpret links is defined by the type of anchor text you use. That is why you should use a good combination of anchor text types, otherwise, your SEO performance may decrease. The important thing is to know when to use each of the different types. For instance, if you need to place a profile link, the bare or branded anchor is best. Another useful example is when you write directory links, in which case generic, branded, or naked anchors are best.
5.3 Avoid placing links from toxic or spam sites
When talking about backlinks, any link that violates the guidelines that Google webmasters impose is considered manipulative. Google links should be avoided as a link scheme. This is because the use of manipulative links can lead to low ratings or even removal from search results.
5.4 Focus on relevance when choosing keywords
While it is true, the Google search algorithm has evolved a lot; but, the ranking factor is still just as important now as it was since it was created. It is important that you know that links to websites are considered votes. The more votes a website has, the better chance it has to rank high on the results pages.
However, this is not the only criterion that Google analyzes; it also takes into account the thematic relevance of those links to the context of the benefited page. That is, the context of the keywords is very important.
6. Contact DigitizenGrow so that you have access to a good SEO who knows good anchor text optimization strategies
As you realize, doing a good anchor text optimization techniques can bring many benefits to your website. If you want to fulfill this mission, a recommendation is to hire a company that is dedicated to offering SEO services. The best company that meets these characteristics is DigitizenGrow. If you want to contact us; We have a telephone number for you to call us immediately which is +971 43 316 688. If you want an easier way you can write to us at contact@digitizengrow.com.
