Anchor text is the clickable, visible words of a hyperlink - the bit a reader actually clicks, as opposed to the URL sitting underneath it. Google uses it as one signal of what the destination page is about, which makes it worth getting right, but it is also one of the most commonly over-engineered parts of SEO. Get it too "optimised" and you risk looking manipulative rather than helpful.
The Four Types of Anchor Text
- Descriptive - words that describe the destination page's content: "our technical SEO checklist" linking to
/blog/technical-seo-checklist. The most useful type for both readers and Google. - Exact-match - the anchor text is (or closely matches) the target page's main keyword: "website audit checklist" linking to a page trying to rank for that exact phrase.
- Generic - vague, low-information phrases: "click here," "read more," "this page." Tells neither a reader nor Google anything about what's on the other side.
- Branded / naked URL - a company or brand name ("AuditCrow"), or the bare URL itself pasted as the link text. Common for citations and outbound references.
Why Anchor Text Matters (and Why Google Cracked Down On It)
Historically, anchor text was one of the strongest ranking signals available - if enough pages linked to yours using the phrase "cheap flights," Google took that as a strong vote that your page was about cheap flights. That made it an obvious target for manipulation: buy or exchange enough exact-match-anchored links, and you could push a page up the rankings without improving the page itself.
Google's 2012 Penguin update specifically targeted this pattern, penalising sites with unnaturally high concentrations of exact-match anchor text pointing at them. Anchor text still carries relevance signal today, but a link profile stacked almost entirely with the same exact-match phrase now reads as a red flag rather than a strength - see our internal linking guide for the "over-optimised anchor text" line item, which sits inside the same underlying pattern this post digs into in full.
Anchor Text on Internal Links vs. Outbound Links
The two contexts call for different thinking, because you control different halves of the link.
Internal links (linking between your own pages): you control both ends, so use genuinely descriptive anchor text every time - it's free, low-risk (Google doesn't penalise a site for how it links to itself the way it does for manipulated external links), and it directly helps both crawlability and readers scanning the page. "Click here" wastes an opportunity you're fully in control of.
Outbound links (linking to other sites): anchor text choice matters less for your own rankings here, since you're not trying to manipulate someone else's page - focus instead on accuracy and not overpromising what the destination covers. See our outbound links guide for when and how much to link out at all.
You have no control over the anchor text other sites use when linking to you - that's a backlink profile question, not something you can engineer from your own site (beyond, at most, gently suggesting phrasing if you're the one supplying a guest-post link).
What to Avoid
Repeating the exact same exact-match phrase across many links to the same page. Vary the phrasing naturally - "our SEO checklist," "the technical audit guide," "this checklist" can all point to the same URL without looking scripted.
Generic anchor text on important links. "Click here" and "read more" are the internal-linking equivalent of a blank business card - technically functional, but they throw away a signal you get for free.
Anchor text that oversells the destination. If the anchor text promises something the linked page doesn't actually deliver, you've created a small trust cost for the reader, even if Google never notices.
Common Questions
Does anchor text still matter for rankings? Yes, but as one contextual signal among many, not the lever it was pre-2012. Content quality and overall relevance carry far more weight now than they did when anchor text manipulation was cheap and effective.
Is it bad to use the same anchor text twice? No - the risk is concentration, not repetition in isolation. A handful of links using similar descriptive phrasing is normal; dozens of links using the identical exact-match string is the pattern that looks manufactured.
Should I go back and fix old exact-match-heavy anchor text? If it's your own internal links, yes, it costs nothing to vary them. If it's inbound anchor text from other sites linking to you, you generally can't change it retroactively and shouldn't spend effort trying (disavow tools exist for genuinely toxic link schemes, not ordinary anchor text variety).
The Fast Way to Check Yours
Anchor text patterns are easiest to spot across a handful of your most-linked-to pages: pull up the pages that get the most internal links and scan whether the anchor text varies naturally or repeats the same phrase every time. For the wider internal-linking structure a healthy anchor text profile sits inside, our internal linking guide covers the rest, and AuditCrow's free scan flags structural issues like orphan pages that often travel alongside anchor text problems.
