If you care about SEO, you probably know how important backlinks are in your websiteâs ability to rank in search engine results. But what you might not know is the significant impact that the anchor text of those backlinks has on your SEO performance. Just like the Domain Authority and topical relevance of a linking website impacts how Google perceives you, your backlink profileâs anchor text diversityâor lack of itâcan influence your SEO performance.
𧊠Why is Anchor Text Diversity Important?
𧊠Why is Anchor Text Diversity Important?
According to Moz, anchor text is an important attribute that determines a linkâs value. Google pays close attention to anchor text and relies on it to understand what web content is about.
A wider variety of anchor text looks more natural and organic to Google crawlers. In contrast, if all of your backlinks have the same anchor text or keyword-rich anchors, that will appear as possible manipulation or black-hat link building.
Monitoring anchor text diversity is essentialâeven though you canât always control how other websites link to you. You should already be tracking every backlink to ensure it helps rather than harms your SEO performance.
đ Everything You Need to Know About Anchor Text
đ Everything You Need to Know About Anchor Text
Anchor text is the clickable text in a hyperlink that directs to another website or location. Google relies on anchor text and the words surrounding it to understand the subject matter of the linked page.
Not all types of anchor text bring the same value to your backlink profile. Keyword-rich anchors, generic anchors, and naked URLs each have their own nuance.
đ Anchor Text Types
đ Anchor Text Types
Branded â Links containing your brand name
Exact Match â Links with the exact keyword you want to rank for
Partial Match â Links with a variation of the keyword youâre trying to rank for
Phrase Match â Links with the keyword phrase you want to rank for
Generic â Links with non-specific information like âClick here,â or âInfoâ
Naked URL â Links with the full URL serving as the anchor text
âď¸ How to Use Anchor Text Wisely
âď¸ How to Use Anchor Text Wisely
Relevance is King
The more relevant the anchor text, the more powerful the backlink. Relevant anchors improve both SEO signals and user experience.
Contextual Anchors Are Powerful
Contextual anchor text gives both Google and users more context about the linked page. Review the text before and after your anchor to ensure relevance clues are clear.
Avoid Too Many Keywords
Too many keyword-dense anchors can look unnatural. Googleâs Penguin and BERT updates detect and penalize over-optimized anchor text.
đ The Importance of Anchor Text Diversity
đ The Importance of Anchor Text Diversity
A diverse backlink profile can positively impact SEO performance. Benchmarks from SEMrush suggest:
30â40% branded anchors
30â40% partial match anchors
20â40% other types (generic, naked, random, etc.)
Regularly review backlinks to ensure theyâre not spammy and contribute to diversity.
Use SEO tools like a Backlink Analyzer to assess anchor text types and distribution. You can also Get an SEO Audit to identify potential issues beyond backlinks.
đ ď¸ 3 Options for Dealing with Over-Optimized Anchor Text
đ ď¸ 3 Options for Dealing with Over-Optimized Anchor Text
Option 1: Remove Harmful Backlinks
Eliminate toxic or irrelevant links early to avoid long-term penalties.
Option 2: Request Changes from Referring Webmasters
Politely ask webmasters to fix misspelled or problematic anchorsâbut use this sparingly.
Option 3: Build New Backlinks for Diversity
Launch new link-building campaigns that intentionally target a healthy mix of anchor text types.
đ Best Practices for Backlink Anchor Text
đ Best Practices for Backlink Anchor Text
Mix in Long-Tail Keywords
Long-tail variations help you include exact-match anchors safely (e.g., âbest new SEO softwareâ).
Study Competitor Anchors
Analyze competitorsâ anchor ratios and link sources to guide your own link-building strategy.
Use Synonyms and LSI Terms
Employ synonyms and semantically related terms to diversify your anchor text naturally.
Match Anchor Strategy to Page Type
Use keyword-dense anchors on high PageRank pages, and generic or varied anchors on blogs and informational pages.
Relish the Randomness
Anchor text variety makes your link profile look organic and trustworthy to Google.
â Closing Note
Anchor text provides Google with objective, third-party descriptions of your siteâs content. Focusing on strategic, diverse anchor textâespecially within a quality link-building campaignâwill strengthen your SEO authority and visibility in the SERPs.