Well-written link anchor text improves SEO and boosts a website’s user experience (UX).
First, there are 9 types of Anchor Text:
1. Branded: Use a brand name as your link’s anchor text. (Example: Amazon.com)
2. Compound: Use a brand name as your link’s anchor text, plus some additional words for context. (Example: Apple’s New iPhone Air)
3. Exact Match: Exact Match anchor text (sometimes called “money” anchor text) is when the link anchor text matches the exact keyword the linked page is targeting. (Example: both the page keyword and the anchor text are “Best LMS Plugin For WordPress”)
4. Partial Match: Partial Match anchor text is when the link anchor uses part of the keyword the linked page is targeting. (Example: the page keyword is “Best LMS Plugin For WordPress” and the anchor text is “Best LMS Plugin”)
5. Related: Related anchor text uses a related term or synonym instead of the keyword the linked page is targeting. (Example: the page keyword is “schema markup” and the anchor text is “structured data”)
6. Naked: Naked anchor text uses the link’s exact URL as the anchor text. (Example: domain.com/services)
7. Generic: Generic anchor text uses non-descriptive words or phrases that don’t tell users (or search engines) about what they’ll find by following the link. (Examples: “Click here” or “More info”)
8. Image: Use an image for a link. The image alternative text (alt text) is used as the link’s anchor text.
9. Post or Page Title: Use the exact title of a page/post for the link anchor text. It’s simple and makes it clear to users and search engines what the linked content is about.
A link’s anchor text tells a search engine what a link is about (the topic of the content).
Search engines and users rely on links to understand the relationship between different pages.
Search engines view links from one site to another as endorsements.
A little time spent crafting anchor text for your links has big SEO and UX benefits for your website.
Cheers!