Situation-Based Question
Imagine you’re running a small online bookstore and have a page dedicated to “Best-Selling Mystery Novels.” You’ve written a blog post titled “Top 10 Mystery Books of All Time” and want to link it to your main page. You need to choose the right words for the link that will encourage visitors to click, but you also want to make sure Google understands the connection between the blog post and your product page. What’s the best way to choose the right words for this link, and how does it help both users and search engines?
Exact Answer
Anchor text is the clickable text in a hyperlink. It helps both users and search engines understand what the linked page is about. Using relevant, descriptive anchor text can improve your On-Page SEO by boosting the relevance and authority of the target page.
Explanation
Anchor text is essential for both user experience and SEO. When you link one page to another on your website, the anchor text plays a crucial role in telling both visitors and search engines what they can expect when they click the link.
- Improves User Experience:
Descriptive anchor text gives users a clear idea of where the link will take them. For example, using “Best-Selling Mystery Novels” as anchor text helps users know exactly what the linked page is about. This encourages better navigation and keeps users engaged with your content. - Helps Search Engines Understand Content:
Search engines like Google use anchor text to understand the content of the page being linked to. If your anchor text is relevant and includes keywords related to the linked page, it signals to search engines that the linked page is authoritative for that topic. For example, using “best-selling mystery books” as anchor text can help Google understand that your target page is about top mystery novels. - Types of Anchor Text:
There are several types of anchor text, each impacting SEO differently:- Exact Match: When the anchor text exactly matches the target page’s keyword (e.g., “best-selling mystery novels”). This can help improve rankings for that specific keyword but should be used carefully to avoid keyword stuffing.
- Partial Match: Includes the keyword but not exactly (e.g., “best mystery novels for 2023”). This provides a natural way to link without over-optimization.
- Branded: Uses the brand or website name (e.g., “ReadBooks.com”). It helps establish brand authority.
- Generic: Uses words like “click here” or “read more.” While these don’t help with SEO much, they’re still useful for general navigation.
- Avoid Over-Optimization:
While anchor text is important, it’s also vital not to overdo it. Overusing exact-match keywords in anchor text can lead to keyword stuffing, which Google sees as manipulative. A natural, varied approach works best.
Example
Let’s say your bookstore’s page on “Best-Selling Mystery Novels” has a blog post titled “Top 10 Mystery Books of All Time.” You’re linking to the product page using anchor text. Here’s how it might look:
- Good Anchor Text: “Check out our best-selling mystery novels for a thrilling read”
This anchor text tells users exactly what to expect and includes keywords related to the target page. - Bad Anchor Text: “Click here for more information”
While this is technically fine for navigation, it doesn’t provide much information to users or search engines. It doesn’t tell them what they’ll find when they click the link. - Optimized Anchor Text: “Discover the best-selling mystery novels of all time here”
This is not only descriptive but also includes a keyword that’s relevant to the content of the target page.