Anytime you see a website or online article that has hyperlinks throughout, they’re using anchor text. These blue words do a lot more than just link to another page or website; they tell Web users – and the search engines – precisely what that link is about.

An anchor text link holds a lot of weight in the SEO world. These links are an important part of on-page and off-page optimization. Strategically placed internal links, combined with other on-page optimization strategies, can give your internal pages a boost. They can be especially helpful in assisting with increasing rankings for a page that otherwise may not be performing as well as it should. You should never have an internal link with generic anchor text that merely says “click here.”

Even links that come from other websites, also referred to as external links or off-page optimization, should have anchor text optimized for SEO. This is why in addition to natural links, you also want to have a portfolio of high-quality custom and directory links that include the desired anchor texts for your website. These links hold even greater weight than internal links, as the search engines view them as a virtual endorsement for your website and the keyword used in the anchor text.

Whether on- or off-page, moderation is key in anchor text optimization. Too many links, especially those with the same anchor text, raise a red flag as being spam. As with other search engine optimization strategies, there is a balance that you want to strike. Ready to learn how anchor text can increase your rankings? Give us a call at 1-877-Rank-321 for a complimentary analysis of your website’s SEO effectiveness.

One of the many paradoxes about Search Engine Optimization is that you should be doing everything right, but you shouldn’t look like you are. Your site should be very precise about the topic and focus of every page, each category should have a theme that doesn’t compete with a neighboring category, and the site should move from a general homepage to specific interior pages. On top of that, the links you get from other sites should be telling the search engines what your site is about, and what specific pages are about, while still looking like you got your links from random friendly strangers who like you.

How do you get other sites to say what you’re about? You use anchor text. Anchor text is any word or phrase on a page that is linked back to you, as opposed to a straight link like http://www.example.com. Your anchor text tells people (and search engines) what you are about, so if you sell “example websites” then you would get links from other sites including that phrase. The paradox? All of your external links can’t say the exact same thing, and shouldn’t all point to the same page on your site. They should also be mixed up with some link text that uses your website name as an anchor, in the fashion of “to find great examples, go to example.com.” Search engines expect to see a mixture of anchors, since real people will link to your site in a variety of ways.

In the past, anchor text was abused in a practice known as “Google Bombing.” It was possible to get a page ranked for a term that was not even on the site by pointing a sufficient number of links toward it, so you could either make a political statement or get your site ranked for particular product searches. Search engines also consider multiple identical anchors to be evidence of “link buying,” which is a common practice among most people in the top 20 search results for just about any term.

To avoid the appearance of Google Bombing, and the penalties that go with it, anchor text can be switched up. You can add extra relevant keywords into different links to your site, so one site link may say “widgets” while another link says “fresh widgets.” If you use any directory submission services (a good place to start, but not to finish) then you should list your preferred anchors in order of importance. Remember that there are several three and four word phrases that get very good traffic and have a high conversion rate, and terms like these are much easier to get ranked in search engines. If the anchors contain your one or two word “root phrase” then you are also building links for the high volume term at the same time.

Where can you get links? First and foremost, from friends, vendors, customers, and people you know. There are directories which will add your link, either for free or for a fee. Not all directories are created equal, or have an equal reputation. One of the reasons that we get paid to help people get links is that we can identify reputable link sources that are relevant to your industry. If you get links from sites that aren’t in your field, the links are generally less valuable. This is because an endorsement from an established site (or site category) is worth far more than a link on a page that points to casinos, prescription medicine sites, and mature entertainment vendors. As a side note, you should never point links from your own site to questionable websites, unless your site is in the same category.

Above all, your site has to be relevant for its source material. The Google Guidelines are very clear about having a hierarchical site that is easy for the search engines to read. The PageRank algorithm (and similar search algorithms) will factor in the value of the site linking to you, its relevance, and your anchor text.

By keeping your story straight, you are building a series of virtual endorsements which will help you to build your search engine rankings. Ideally, a good site that gets good rankings will start to get “natural” links from people who like your product, service, or point of view. At this point, link growth is out of your hands, but links like these are 100% free, and as long as your site is consistent, you can maintain and grow rankings with minimal maintenance. When you reach this stage, there is no reason to “be stealthy without looking stealthy” and your search engine optimization strategy can involve making your site more and more relevant to a wider audience.