Anchor Text is a string of hyperlinked text to a URL. So when you click on the text, the browser will redirect to a web page from that URL.
The format of anchor text is quite different from the regular text. Anchor text is usually marked with a light color (usually blue) or underlined.
In the web structure, the anchor text format uses HTML.
Example Of Anchor Text
The following is an example of an HTML anchor text code.
<a href=”https://www.example.com/sample-post/”>Sample Post</a>
In principle, the function of anchor text is to give context to a hyperlink. The text gives the user an idea, where the hyperlink will lead.
In addition, link labels will make web content more readable.
Just imagine if, in a piece of content, the hyperlink is “naked” with a full URL. You must be annoyed.
Referring to the function, you must ensure that the label link and its hyperlinks are relevant.
Search engines always run indexing to categorize online assets. These assets will later become recommendations for user searches. If the user’s keywords are relevant to a website, that web page will appear in the SERP.
Well, link labels are one of the elements to assess the relevance of web pages. In other words, search engines use these elements to categorize them and tailor them to the topic the user is searching for.
This applies to both internal links and backlinks. That is, this is an important element when you run link building.
However, it doesn’t work that simple. The reason is, SEO consists of many aspects and link labels are only one of many other aspects.
You can optimize link labels for SEO. But before that, you must first identify the types.
Types of Anchor Text
Reporting from the Ahrefs blog, there are at least 7 types or types of anchor text, namely:
1. Exact Match
This first type uses the same text as the keyword, as the link label.
For example, you want to rank the keyword “digital marketing course”. That text is what you make the label link in the content.
2. Phrase Match
For this second type, the link label uses a phrase that still contains the exact keyword.
For example, you could use the phrase “cheap digital marketing courses”.
3. Partial Match
This type uses phrases that contain several words from the exact keyword. For example, the phrase “how to learn digital marketing”.
4. Branded
This type uses brand names as label links, for example, Ahrefs, Neil Patel, etc.
This type is relatively widely used.
5. Naked URLs
In principle, this type uses the name of the website or the exact URL of a page. For example, Neilpatel.com or https://neilpatel.com/ubersuggest/.
This type is not very effective, especially those that include URLs that are really “naked”.
6. Random
Phrases for link labels tend to be random and non-specific. You can also use generic phrases, such as this link, here, this site, etc.
7. Image Link
On the web, images also have a text element. The label link for an image is its alt text.
So make sure to always edit the alt text of every image you use.