TL;DR

Anchor text is the visible words in a link. Google reads anchor text to understand what the linked page covers — making it a strong relevance signal. Over-optimized anchor text (exact-match keywords everywhere) is a spam flag.

Key Points

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Exact-match anchor text (using the target keyword verbatim) passes strong relevance signals but over-use triggers Google's spam filters

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A natural anchor text profile is diverse: mix of branded, generic ('click here'), partial-match, and exact-match anchors

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Google uses anchor text from other sites to understand what your page is about — even when your own page doesn't contain that keyword

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Internal link anchor text is a controllable SEO lever: using descriptive anchors for internal links helps Google understand page topics

Types of Anchor Text

Anchor text falls into several categories, each with different SEO implications^[1]. Exact-match anchors use the target keyword verbatim (e.g., 'keyword research tools'). Partial-match anchors include the keyword with additional words ('best keyword research tools for beginners'). Branded anchors use the site or company name. Generic anchors ('click here,' 'read more,' 'this article') pass no topical relevance. Naked URL anchors (the URL itself as text) are common in informal citations. Image anchors use the image's alt text. A healthy backlink profile contains all these types in natural proportions — a profile dominated by exact-match anchors looks manipulated to Google^[1].

Anchor Text and Google's Spam Policies

Google's quality guidelines explicitly flag manipulative anchor text as a spam signal^[2]. Link schemes that involve 'links with optimized anchor text in articles or press releases distributed on other sites' are cited as violations. The Penguin algorithm update (first launched in 2012, now part of core Google) specifically targets sites with unnatural anchor text distributions — particularly those with abnormally high ratios of exact-match commercial anchors. When building backlinks, focus on earning links naturally; most authoritative sites will use your brand name or a natural description rather than your exact target keyword as anchor text.

Optimizing Internal Anchor Text

While you can't control how external sites link to you, you have full control over internal link anchor text — and most sites leave this optimization on the table^[1]. Use descriptive, keyword-relevant anchor text for internal links rather than generic phrases. Instead of 'click here to learn more about our keyword tool,' write 'our keyword clustering tool' or 'how to do keyword research.' Google reads these anchors as additional relevance signals for the linked pages. Consistent internal anchor text also improves usability: users can predict what they'll find before clicking. Audit your internal links with any crawl tool (Screaming Frog, Ahrefs Site Audit) and replace generic anchors with descriptive ones.

SOURCES

Moz — Anchor Text: Best Practices for SEO

Google Search Central — Spam Policies for Google Web Search

Last updated: June 9, 2026

Related Terms

Backlink

A hyperlink from one website pointing to a page on another website, used by search engines as a signal of authority and trust.

Internal Linking

Links from one page on your website to another page on the same website — used to help users navigate, distribute link equity (PageRank) between pages, and signal to search engines the relative importance and topical relationships of your content.

Link Equity

The SEO value and ranking power passed from one page to another through hyperlinks — sometimes called 'link juice' — determining how much of a linking page's authority is transferred to the pages it links to.

Nofollow

A link attribute (`rel='nofollow'`) that instructs search engines not to follow a link or pass link equity (PageRank) to the destination URL.

Put it into practice

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