Anchor text is one of the strongest signals Google uses to understand what a linked page is about. Getting it right for both internal links and external backlinks can meaningfully improve your SEO — and getting it wrong (particularly over-optimising exact-match anchors) can trigger Google penalties. This guide explains every anchor text type and how to use each correctly.
What Is Anchor Text?
Anchor text is the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink. When you write "use our free keyword density checker", the words "keyword density checker" are the anchor text. It appears as a clickable underlined link in the browser.
Anchor text matters for SEO because Google uses it as a strong signal about what the linked page is about. If hundreds of pages link to a page using the anchor text "keyword density checker", Google understands that page is about keyword density checking — which helps it rank for that term.
Types of Anchor Text
- Exact match — the anchor text exactly matches the target keyword (e.g. "keyword density checker" linking to your keyword density checker page)
- Partial match — includes the keyword with additional words (e.g. "free keyword density checker tool")
- Branded — uses your brand name (e.g. "SearchRankTool")
- Generic — non-descriptive phrases like "click here", "read more", "learn more"
- Naked URL — the URL itself used as anchor text (e.g. "searchranktool.com")
- Image anchor — when an image is the link, Google uses the alt text as the anchor
Anchor Text Best Practices for Internal Links
For links within your own site (internal links), use descriptive anchor text that accurately describes the target page. This helps both Google understand your site structure and users understand where a link will take them.
Avoid: "Click here to learn more about optimising your title tags."
Better: "Learn how to optimise your title tags and meta descriptions for better click-through rates."
Anchor Text for External Backlinks
For backlinks from other sites, a natural backlink profile should have variety:
- ~30–40% branded anchors ("SearchRankTool", "your brand name")
- ~20–30% partial match anchors
- ~10–20% generic anchors ("click here", "this article")
- ~10–20% naked URLs
- ~5–10% exact match anchors
A backlink profile with 80% exact match anchors looks unnatural and manipulative to Google — it is a pattern associated with link schemes. Penguin (Google's algorithm that targets link spam) specifically targets over-optimised anchor text profiles.
The "Click Here" Problem
Generic anchors like "click here" and "read more" are a missed opportunity. They tell Google nothing about the destination page. Replace generic anchors with descriptive ones whenever possible — it takes 10 seconds per link and improves both SEO and accessibility (screen readers read anchor text aloud to visually impaired users).
Anchor Text and Readability
Good anchor text is also good writing — it flows naturally in a sentence and accurately describes what the user will find if they click. Use our Readability Checker to review your content and ensure your links read naturally within the surrounding text.
Anchor Text Distribution for a Natural Backlink Profile
For backlinks from external sites, Google expects a natural distribution of anchor text types. An unnatural profile (e.g. 80% exact-match anchors) is a red flag for link manipulation. A natural profile looks approximately like this:
| Anchor Type | Example | Recommended % |
|---|---|---|
| Branded | "SearchRankTool" | 30–40% |
| Naked URL | "searchranktool.com" | 15–20% |
| Generic | "click here", "this article" | 10–15% |
| Partial match | "free seo tools like SearchRankTool" | 20–25% |
| Exact match | "keyword density checker" | 5–10% |
According to Google's link spam policies, manipulative anchor text patterns are one of the signals Google uses to identify and penalise unnatural link building. The Penguin algorithm specifically targets over-optimised anchor text profiles.
How to Audit Your Anchor Text Profile
Periodically auditing your anchor text distribution — both for internal links and external backlinks — helps ensure you are not accidentally over-optimising and also surfaces opportunities to strengthen under-linked pages.
For internal link anchor text:
- Run a site crawl using Screaming Frog (free up to 500 URLs) or a similar tool
- Export the "All Inlinks" report to see every internal link and its anchor text
- Look for pages that receive mostly generic anchors ("click here", "read more") — these pages are missing keyword signals through internal links
- Look for pages receiving zero internal links — orphaned pages Google may not discover or prioritise
For external backlink anchor text:
- Go to Google Search Console → Links → Top linked pages → click a page → External links
- Note the anchor text being used by external sites
- If more than 30% of your external anchors for any page are exact-match keyword anchors, consider diversifying by earning more branded and partial-match anchors
- If all your external links use your brand name, consider creating content that earns links with topical anchor text
Anchor Text in Content vs Navigation vs Footer
The position of a link on a page affects how much weight Google gives to its anchor text. Links in the main body content carry the most weight because they are editorially placed in context. Navigation links and footer links carry less weight because they appear on every page and are more structural than editorial.
For your most important pages, prioritise earning links with descriptive anchor text in the body content of high-authority pages — not just footer links or sidebar links. A single in-content link with a descriptive anchor from a relevant page is worth more than 10 footer links from the same domain.
Image Anchors and Alt Text
When an image is used as a link, Google uses the image's alt text as the anchor text. This makes alt text important not just for accessibility and image SEO, but also for link signals.
If you have a logo image that links back to your homepage, the alt text on that logo image becomes the anchor text for that internal link. For a homepage link, "Brand Name" or "Home" is appropriate alt text.
For product images linking to product pages, use descriptive alt text that includes the product name — this serves as a partial-match anchor for the destination page. Avoid using keyword-stuffed alt text on images used as links, as this creates the same over-optimisation risk as keyword-stuffed text anchors.
Good practice: keep image anchor alt text concise, descriptive and natural. "View keyword density checker tool" is better than "keyword density checker free online seo tool 2026".
Analysing Your Anchor Text Profile
Your site's anchor text profile — the distribution of anchor text used in backlinks pointing to your site — is an important signal in Google's Penguin algorithm. An unnatural-looking anchor text profile can trigger a ranking penalty, while a natural, diverse profile is a positive trust signal.
What a healthy anchor text profile looks like: The majority of your backlinks (40–60%) should use branded anchors ("SearchRankTool," your company name, your URL). Another 20–30% should use generic anchors ("click here," "read more," "this article"). Keyword-rich anchors ("keyword density checker," "free SEO tools") should make up 10–20% of the profile — enough to send relevance signals but not enough to look manipulative.
Red flags in anchor text profiles: If more than 30–40% of your backlinks use exact-match keyword anchors (e.g., "free keyword density checker tool" appearing in most links), this is an unnatural profile that may trigger Penguin. This is especially common for sites that have done paid link building or participated in link schemes.
How to audit your anchor text profile: Use Google Search Console's Links report (free) to see your top external anchor texts. For a more detailed analysis, tools like Ahrefs and Majestic provide full anchor text distribution reports. Review the top 20–30 anchors: are they mostly branded and generic, or heavy on exact-match keywords?
Correcting an over-optimised profile: If your profile is too heavy on exact-match keyword anchors, the solution is to earn more branded and generic anchor backlinks (through PR, content marketing and partnership mentions) rather than trying to remove existing links. Focus future outreach on earning natural links that mention your brand name rather than keyword anchors.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best anchor text for internal links?
Descriptive anchor text that includes the target keyword of the destination page is best for internal links. For example, linking to your keyword density checker page with anchor text "keyword density checker" tells Google exactly what that page is about. Vary the phrasing slightly across different internal links to the same page to avoid over-optimisation.
Does anchor text matter more for internal or external links?
Both matter significantly. For internal links, anchor text helps Google understand your site structure and the relevance of linked pages. For external backlinks, anchor text from other sites is one of the strongest signals Google uses to determine what a page should rank for.
Can I use the same anchor text for every link to a page?
For internal links, minor variation is better practice but exact-match repetition is unlikely to cause issues. For external backlinks, using the same exact-match anchor text across many links is a red flag for manipulation that Google's Penguin algorithm targets. Natural backlink profiles have diverse anchor text distributions.
What should I do about "click here" links already on my site?
Find them using a site crawl (Screaming Frog) or a simple text search and replace them with descriptive anchors. "Click here to learn about our keyword density checker" should become "learn how to check your keyword density." Each update is a small improvement to your internal link signal.