Anchor text is one of the most underrated but powerful elements in any SEO strategy.
It’s more than just a clickable word or phrase — it’s a signal to both search engines and users about what the linked page is about. And when used properly, it can elevate your website’s rankings, improve crawlability, and provide a better user experience.
But anchor text can also backfire. Too many exact-match keywords? Google sees it as spam. Too generic or irrelevant? You’re missing out on valuable SEO equity.
That’s why, in 2025, anchor text optimization is no longer optional — it’s essential.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through:
- What is Anchor Text(and why it matters)
- The different types of anchor text you can use
- How to optimize it for better SEO without triggering penalties
- Best practices you can follow to boost performance in modern-day search
- Anchor text ratios and how to have the best and natural distribution
Whether you’re a link-building pro or just brushing up on fundamentals, this guide will help you anchor your SEO strategy in the right direction.
What Is Anchor Text?
Anchor text (also known as link text) is the visible, clickable part of a hyperlink that leads users to another page — whether that’s another page on the same website, a different site altogether, or even a downloadable resource.
You’ve seen it a thousand times. It’s often blue and underlined, but developers can easily change its appearance using HTML or CSS. What stays consistent, though, is its purpose: to tell users and search engines what to expect from the page it’s linking to.
For example, in the sentence:
Learn more about what is anchor text.
The phrase “what is anchor text” is the anchor text — and it signals exactly what kind of content the user will find on the destination page.
Under the hood, it’s simply HTML code that looks like this:
<a href="http://www.linkyjuice.com/blog/anchor-text">what is anchor text</a>
While it might seem like a small element, anchor text plays a big role in SEO. It helps:
- Search engines understand the topic and relevance of the linked page
- Users decide whether or not to click
- Strengthen the semantic connection between pages (which is key to internal linking)
In short, well-optimized anchor text acts as a bridge between content and context — and if you get it right, it can move the needle in your rankings.
Simply, when adding external links, you should place anchor text where your reader might naturally have a question — and use it to lead them to a page that provides the answer, enhancing both their experience and your page’s SEO value.
Types of Anchor Text
Not all anchor texts are created equal—and how you use them can make or break your link-building and SEO strategy. Understanding the types of anchor text helps you diversify your link profile and avoid triggering spam filters. Let’s walk through the most important ones.
Exact-match anchor text includes the exact keyword you want to rank for. For example, if your target keyword is “SaaS link building,” and that’s the clickable phrase in your link, that’s an exact match. These anchors can be powerful, but overuse is risky and could make your site look manipulative in Google’s eyes.
Partial-match anchor text includes variations of your target keyword or related phrases. Think of something like “affordable SaaS backlink services”—still relevant, but not a word-for-word match. This is a safer, more natural way to include keywords in your anchors.
Branded anchor text uses your brand name as the link. “LinkyJuice,” for example, would be a branded anchor. These are great for building authority and recognition without looking spammy.
Naked URLs are exactly what they sound like—just the full URL as the link. So instead of linking from a word or phrase, it would look like “https://www.linkyjuice.com.” While they aren’t ideal for keyword relevance, they can make your backlink profile look natural.
Generic anchors are things like “click here” or “read more.” They don’t offer any keyword relevance, but when used sparingly and naturally, they can help your links blend into content.
Image anchors work when the image itself is clickable. In this case, the alt text of the image becomes the anchor text. If the alt text is well-optimized and relevant, it can carry similar SEO value as regular text links.
LSI or contextual anchors are variations or related keywords that fit naturally within the context. Think of them as supporting actors that add nuance to the main theme—Google uses them to better understand the page you’re linking to.
The key takeaway? A balanced, relevant mix of anchor text types is what makes your SEO profile strong. Overdoing exact matches or relying too heavily on generic anchors can actually hurt you. Diversify smartly and always focus on user intent.
The Best Practices to Optimize Anchor Text
By now, you know that anchor text isn’t just a technical SEO element—it’s a signal. To Google, it’s a hint about what the linked page is about. To users, it’s a preview of what they’re going to find when they click. And when done right, it can elevate your rankings, strengthen topical authority, and even boost click-through rates.
But to get those results, you need to play it smart.
Always Prioritize Relevance.
The anchor text you choose should match the context of the page it’s linking to. If your blog post is about “SaaS SEO tools” and you link the text “best marketing strategies,” that disconnect won’t help users—or search engines. Relevance drives both trust and rankings.
Again, while writing an article you may think from the side of the reader. What type of questions may arise and you have to give answers to that question with external links instead of writing too much on your article. So the anchor text here and clickable link has to catch the eyes of the reader and shoot the link to get the answers. So it has to be very relevant.
This is the smartest way to choose anchor placement. Think like a reader. If someone might have a question or need more detail at a certain point in your content, that’s where you drop an external link. You’re not just linking—you’re answering their next question before they even ask it.
Avoid Over-Optimization and Keyword Stuffing.
Yes, keywords matter. But stuffing your exact-match keyword in every backlink is a fast track to a penalty. Google’s algorithms are built to detect unnatural anchor patterns, so keep it clean and varied. Use branded, partial-match, and contextual anchors to diversify your profile.
If you’re building multiple links to the same page, avoid using the same anchor every time. Mix it up. This creates a natural profile that mirrors how real people link on the web.
Choose different types of anchors and create links with those ones.
Check Your Competitors Anchor Text Strategy
Want to take it a step further?
Analyze how your top competitors are optimizing their anchor texts. For example, with Ahrefs Site Explorer you can plug in any domain and get a full breakdown of their backlink profile—including the exact anchor texts being used.
This gives you insight into what kind of anchor variations are working in your niche, which keywords they’re targeting, and how natural (or spammy) their anchor profile looks. It’s one of the easiest ways to reverse-engineer success—and avoid the mistakes that might be holding you back.
Use Anchor Text for Internal Links too.
Anchor text optimization isn’t just reserved for backlinks from other sites—your internal links matter just as much.
When you’re linking between pages on your own website, avoid vague phrases like “click here” or “read more.” These do nothing to inform search engines (or users) about the destination page. Instead, use descriptive and relevant anchor text that reflects the content of the page you’re linking to. For example, if you’re linking to a blog post about “SaaS link building,” use that exact phrase or a close variation as your anchor.
This helps search engines better understand the structure and hierarchy of your site, while also giving users clear context about where they’re heading next. Over time, it strengthens topical authority across your entire domain—and makes crawling and indexing easier for Google.
Pro tip: Tools like Ahrefs’ Site Audit or Screaming Frog can help you find under-optimized internal anchors so you can improve them site-wide.
Don’t Ignore Alt Text for Image Anchors
When you use images as links, you’re still creating an anchor—just not with visible text. And that’s where alt text becomes incredibly important.
In the eyes of Google, the alt text of an image link functions as anchor text. If you leave it empty or stuff it with irrelevant terms, you’re missing a huge opportunity to pass context and relevance to the destination page.
By writing descriptive, keyword-relevant alt text for every image that’s used as a hyperlink, you help search engines understand what the linked page is about. At the same time, it improves accessibility for users who rely on screen readers or have images disabled.
For example, instead of using alt text like "logo" or "image1", say something like:
alt="white-hat link building services for SaaS companies" when linking to a service page.
This is one of those small tweaks that can have compounding SEO benefits—especially when used across large content libraries or blogs with lots of visual elements.
Also: make sure the image is contextually relevant to the content around it. Google’s algorithms evaluate surrounding copy to confirm topical alignment between the anchor and target page.
Diversify Your Anchor Text Profile
One of the biggest red flags for search engines is a manipulated or unnatural anchor text profile. If all your backlinks use the same exact-match keyword—like “SEO services” or “best link building agency”—Google will suspect you’re trying to game the algorithm.
To avoid penalties and keep your backlink profile looking natural, you need anchor text diversity.
This means using a healthy mix of:
- Exact-match anchors (used sparingly)
- Partial-match anchors that include variations of your keywords
- Branded anchors like “LinkyJuice”
- Naked URLs (e.g. https://www.linkyjuice.com)
- Generic text like “read more” or “check this out”
- Image anchors with descriptive alt text
A diverse anchor text profile mirrors how people naturally link to websites. It helps search engines understand the context of your content without looking spammy.
Anchor Text Ratios: What’s a Natural Distribution?
One of the most overlooked but critical parts of anchor text strategy is getting the ratios right.
Search engines expect to see a natural mix of anchor types in your backlink profile. If 80% of your backlinks are exact-match anchors, that’s a red flag. But if you have a healthy blend of branded, generic, naked URLs, and partial-match anchors, that’s a good signal.
Here’s a general benchmark many SEOs follow in 2025 (though it can vary depending on your niche and competition):
- Branded Anchors: 40–50%
- Generic Anchors (e.g., “click here,” “this page”): 15–20%
- Naked URLs: 10–15%
- Exact-Match Anchors: 5–10%
- Partial-Match & LSI Anchors: 10–15%
Why does this matter?
Google wants to see that people are naturally linking to your site—not that you’re trying to game the system. A diverse anchor profile suggests editorial backlinks, earned through quality—not manipulation.
Partial-Match & LSI Anchors: 10–15%
🧠 Pro tip: Use Ahrefs to export your current anchor text report, group them by type, and calculate your percentages. If you’re too heavy in one category, it’s time to adjust your strategy.
Final Thoughts: Anchor Text Is a Small Detail with Big SEO Impact
In 2025, anchor text is still one of the most important—yet misunderstood—elements of SEO. It might seem like just a few words in a hyperlink, but it plays a massive role in how both users and search engines interpret the connection between your content and the page you’re linking to.
From influencing rankings to improving user navigation, anchor text can quietly shape your entire link building strategy. But like everything in modern SEO, it’s all about relevance, variety, and natural use. Over-optimization, repetitive phrases, or lazy anchor choices won’t cut it anymore.
So whether you’re optimizing internal links or building backlinks from high-authority domains, use anchor text as a way to add clarity, relevance, and context.
And if you want a smarter way to build links that actually move the needle—book a call with LinkyJuice. We’ll help you do it right.
