Anchor text in SEO: Everything you need to know

Through our SEO Agency Optimize 360

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In the world of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), anchor text plays an important role in optimising the visibility of a site. website.

This is an essential technical element that needs to be fully understood and mastered.

In this article, we're going to explain what anchor text is, its usefulness in SEO and the best practices to adopt in order to benefit from it.

 

What is anchor text?

Le anchor textalso known as "anchor text" in English, simply means the text visible and clickable hypertext link on a web page.

This text informs the user about the content of the page to which they will be redirected by clicking on the link.

For example, if a visitor wanted to read an article about the best restaurants in Paris, the anchor text could be "the 10 best restaurants in Paris". It is therefore essential to choose the anchor text carefully, so that it is both relevant and attractive.

The use of anchor text in SEO

You can't talk about SEO without talking about links and, by extension, anchor text.

Search engines such as Google analyse the quality and relevance of the links on a web page to assess its credibility and rank it higher in search results. It is therefore crucial to optimise the anchor text to promote better referencing.

Improve the visibility of a page

By using relevant, well-written anchor text, you increase the chances of your content being easily found by Internet users via search engines.

If your keywords are well chosen and integrated into a quality anchor text, this can make a major contribution to improving your page's ranking in the search results.

Enhancing the user experience

Another significant advantage of anchor text is its impact on theuser experience.

A link accompanied by a clear and explicit anchor text makes it easier to navigate a website by helping visitors to quickly understand what they will find when they click on the link.

This can also help to reduce the bounce rate and encourage visitors to explore more pages on your site.

Best practices for optimising anchor text

To take full advantage of anchor text and maximise its impact on your SEO strategy, you need to follow certain best practices to improve its relevance and effectiveness.

Use relevant keywords

The first rule to follow is to choose relevant keywords that reflect the content of the page to which the link points. Make sure that these keywords match the expectations of Internet users and that they correspond to any search engine queries they may make.

Vary the anchor texts

To avoid over-optimisation which could harm your search engine optimisation, it is important to vary the anchor texts of your links. For example, use synonyms or slightly different wording to avoid excessive repetition of the same keyword within your site.

Avoid artificial links

Search engines easily detect attempts at manipulation and penalise links that are artificial or do not add value for visitors. Practices such as buying links or exchanging links between unrelated sites should therefore be avoided.

Make the anchor text natural and fluid

For pleasant browsing and an optimal user experience, make sure that the anchor text is natural and fluid in context. It must fit harmoniously into the sentence containing the link, without appearing forced or inappropriate.

Different types of anchor text

There are several types of anchor text that can be used depending on needs and context. It is important to be familiar with them and to use them wisely to optimise your search engine optimisation.

1. Generic anchor : These are very simple, general anchor texts, such as "click here" or "find out more". Although they are easy to use, they generally don't add much value in terms of SEO, as they don't give any indication of the content of the linked page.
   
   
2. Anchor with exact keywords : This type of anchor text contains the main keyword of the destination page. They are particularly effective in improving the ranking of a web page in search results for this specific keyword. However, care must be taken not to overuse them to avoid penalties for over-optimisation.
   
   
3. Anchor with partial keywords : Comparable to anchors with exact keywords, this type of anchor text incorporates the main keyword but in a less direct and more natural way. For example, if the target keyword is "sports shoes", the anchor could be "discover our sports shoes".
   
   
4. Anchor branded : The branded anchor refers to the name of a brand or company, such as "Nike" or "Amazon". They are useful for boosting brand awareness and improving visibility in search results.
   
   
5. Anchor URL : This type of anchor simply uses the URL of the site or page as the visible text. For example, "www.example.com". Although they are less optimised in terms of SEO, they offer useful transparency for web users, who know exactly where they will be redirected when they click on the link.

To sum up, it is essential to master anchor text in order to optimise a website's natural referencing effectively.

By following the good practices outlined above, you can reap the benefits of a relevant, well-crafted anchor text, both for your visibility on search engines and for the user experience offered to your visitors.