Lesson 20
Anchor Text Dos and Don’ts
What you’ll learn
By the end of this lesson, you’ll know:
What anchor text is
What makes anchor text effective
Which common mistakes to avoid
What anchor text is
Anchor text is the clickable text in a link.
It tells:
- Users what to expect when they click
- Search engines what the linked page is about
Good anchor text is descriptive and natural.
What good anchor text looks like
Effective anchor text:
- Describes the destination page clearly
- Fits naturally into the sentence
- Uses plain language
For example:
❌ “Click here”
❌ “Learn more”
✅ “How to write effective title tags”
The goal is clarity, not optimisation.
Avoid over-optimisation
Anchor text doesn’t need to:
- Match a keyword exactly
- Be repeated word-for-word across pages
- Include every variation of a phrase
Using the same anchor text repeatedly can:
- Feel unnatural
- Reduce clarity
- Look manipulative
Variation is normal and healthy.
Avoid vague anchors
Anchors like:
- “Read more”
- “This page”
- “Here”
…don’t provide useful context on their own.
If someone skimmed only the links on a page, they should still make sense.
A simple anchor text test
Ask:
“If I only saw this link text, would I know where it goes?”
If yes, your anchor text is doing its job.