What is anchor text?
Anchor text is the visible, clickable words in a link. In <a href="/grinder-guide/">burr grinder buying guide</a>, the anchor text is "burr grinder buying guide". It tells readers what they will get if they click, and it tells search engines what the destination page is about.
Google has used anchor text as a ranking signal since its earliest days, because the words other people use to link to a page are often a better description of it than the page's own text. For linked images, the image's alt text acts as the anchor text.
How it works
Anchor text is usually grouped into types:
- Exact match: the target keyword itself, such as "pour-over coffee ratio".
- Partial match: the keyword with other words, such as "our guide to pour-over ratios".
- Branded: the site or company name, such as "Kiln Coffee".
- Naked URL: the address itself, such as "example.com/pour-over".
- Generic: "click here", "read more", "this article".
For internal links, you control the anchor text, and descriptive anchors are simply good practice. Varying the wording is natural and fine.
For backlinks, a natural profile is dominated by branded, naked URL, and varied descriptive anchors. A profile where most links use the same commercial keyword is a classic sign of manufactured links, which Google's spam policies and its SpamBrain system are designed to catch.
Surrounding text also matters. Google reads the words around a link, not just the anchor itself.
Example
<!-- Vague -->
To learn about grind sizes, <a href="/grind-size-chart/">click here</a>.
<!-- Descriptive -->
Use our <a href="/grind-size-chart/">grind size chart</a> to match your grinder setting to the brew method.
The second version works for screen reader users too. They often navigate by listing all links on a page, where a column of "click here" entries is useless.
In WordPress
In the block editor, select the words you want as anchor text and press Ctrl+K or Cmd+K to add the link. Theme features like "Read more" buttons on archives use generic anchors, which is fine since the post title link sits next to them. Hydrogen SEO counts internal and external links in its on-page SEO score; the wording is left to you. The internal linking strategy post covers anchor choices in more detail.
Common mistakes
- Buying or trading links with exact-match anchors.
- Linking whole sentences or paragraphs, which dilutes the description.
- Using the same generic anchor for every link on a page.
Common questions
Does anchor text still matter for SEO?
Yes. It is one of the ways Google understands what a linked page is about, for both internal and external links.
Should internal links use exact-match keywords?
They can. Descriptive anchors that include the topic are helpful. Vary the wording naturally rather than repeating one phrase everywhere.