The Importance of Anchor Text in Backlinks

Anchor text in backlinks is one of the clearest signals search engines use to understand what a linked page is about. When other sites link to you using descriptive, relevant anchor text, they help define your page’s topic, improve keyword relevance, and shape how your backlink profile looks in the eyes of search engines.

Well-optimized anchor text can boost rankings, improve click‑through rates, and create a smoother user experience, especially when used thoughtfully in link building and internal links. But over‑optimized or misleading anchors can trigger spam signals, dilute trust, and even lead to penalties. Understanding the importance of anchor text in backlinks is essential if you want sustainable, long‑term SEO growth.

What is anchor text in backlinks?

Anchor text in backlinks is the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink that points from one website to another. It is usually underlined or shown in a different color, and when someone clicks it, they are taken to the target page. This text tells both users and search engines what they can expect to find on the linked page, which is why it is a core part of how links work in SEO.

How anchor text appears in real links

In HTML, a normal text link looks like this:

<a href="https://example.com/ghost-peppers">ghost peppers</a>

Here:

https://example.com/ghost-peppers is the URL (the destination).
ghost peppers is the anchor text (the part people see and click).

On a live page, you only see the words “ghost peppers,” usually styled as a link. When you click those words, your browser follows the URL behind them.

Anchor text can be a single word, a short phrase, or even a full sentence. It can also be attached to an image. In that case, the image is clickable, and search engines treat the image’s alt attribute as the anchor text for that link.

So in real links you might see:

A descriptive phrase like “local SEO checklist”
A brand name like “OpenAI”
A raw URL like https://example.com
A linked image with descriptive alt text

Anchor text vs. URL vs. surrounding text

It helps to separate three different pieces of a backlink:

Anchor text This is the clickable text (or image alt text) that users interact with. It gives a direct hint about the topic of the page being linked to and is one of the clearest signals search engines use to understand that page.
URL The URL is the actual address of the page. Users usually do not see it unless the link is a “naked” URL, like www.example.com/pricing. Naked URLs are valid anchors, but they are less descriptive, so they provide weaker topical clues than well‑written anchor text.
Surrounding text (context) The words around the anchor text also matter. Search engines can use this nearby content to better understand what the link is about, especially when the anchor itself is short or generic. For example, if the sentence says “Read this detailed Google Analytics setup guide” and only “this detailed guide” is linked, the rest of the sentence still helps clarify the topic.

In short, the URL is where the link goes, the anchor text is what people click, and the surrounding text is the extra context. All three work together, but anchor text is the main label that describes the backlink.

Why anchor text matters so much for SEO

Anchor text in backlinks matters because it tells both Google and real people what a linked page is about before they click. The words used in that clickable text act as a relevance hint, a ranking signal, and a user experience cue all at once. When many trustworthy sites link to a page with clear, descriptive anchor text, it becomes much easier for that page to rank for related searches.

How Google uses anchor text to understand a page

Google’s crawlers read links, and they read the anchor text around those links. The words in the anchor help Google:

Infer the topic of the destination page
Understand how two pages are related
Decide which queries that page might be a good result for

If dozens of different sites link to a guide using anchors like “best dog food for puppies,” Google can safely assume that page is highly relevant to that topic.

Modern algorithms do not rely on anchor text alone. They combine it with on‑page content, overall link quality, and many other signals. But Google has confirmed that anchor text is still used to better understand pages and support rankings for relevant queries, even if it is not as strong a factor as it was before the Penguin updates.

Anchor text as a ranking and relevance signal

Anchor text in backlinks acts as a ranking signal in two main ways:

Topical relevance Keyword‑rich but natural anchors tell Google which subjects a page is authoritative on. A link that says “content strategy for startups” passes a much clearer topical signal than “click here.”
Direction of link equity When a reputable site links to you, some of its authority flows through that link. The anchor text helps “aim” that authority at specific topics or keywords, reinforcing your relevance for those terms.

However, Google now discounts or even devalues manipulative patterns, such as large numbers of exact‑match anchors from low‑quality sites. After Penguin, over‑optimized anchor text is more likely to be ignored or treated as spam than rewarded, which is why varied, contextually relevant anchors are safer and more effective.

Anchor text and click‑through, bounce rate, and user trust

Anchor text also affects how people behave, which indirectly influences SEO. Clear, honest anchors tend to:

Increase click‑through rate (CTR) because users know what they will get when they click
Reduce bounce rate and improve engagement when the destination actually matches the promise of the text
Build trust by making navigation feel predictable and helpful

For example, “compare electric SUVs under $40k” sets a precise expectation. If the linked page delivers that comparison, users are more likely to stay, scroll, and interact. Those positive engagement signals support Google’s goal of surfacing useful results, so pages with descriptive, accurate anchor text often perform better over time than those relying on vague or misleading phrases.

In short, good anchor text helps Google understand your page and helps users feel confident clicking through. Both sides of that equation matter for sustainable SEO.

Different types of anchor text you’ll see in backlinks

Anchor text is not one-size-fits-all. The words people choose for a link send different signals to search engines and users. Understanding the main types of anchor text in backlinks helps you judge whether your profile looks natural, risky, or under‑optimized.

Exact match anchor text examples

Exact match anchor text uses the exact keyword you want a page to rank for.

If your target keyword is “best running shoes”, then links like:

best running shoes
cheap best running shoes (where the core phrase is unchanged)

are treated as exact or very close to exact match.

These anchors are powerful because they clearly tell Google, “this page is about best running shoes.” At the same time, modern algorithms treat heavy use of exact match anchors in backlinks as a spam signal, especially when they come from low‑quality or obviously manipulated links. So they are useful, but should be used sparingly and mostly from strong, relevant sites.

Partial match and phrase match anchors

Partial match anchor text includes your keyword plus extra words, or a close variation of it. For example, if the keyword is “running shoes”, then:

buy running shoes online
guide to choosing running shoes
shoes for long‑distance running

are partial or phrase match anchors. They still contain the important terms, but in a more natural sentence.

Search engines treat these as strong relevance signals, but they look less manipulative than pure exact match. That is why many modern link building strategies lean more on partial match anchors than on exact match.

Branded and brand + keyword anchors

Branded anchor text uses only the brand name as the link, such as:

Nike
HubSpot
Bare Digital

Brand + keyword anchors combine your name with a descriptive phrase, for example:

Nike running shoes
HubSpot marketing software
Bare Digital SEO services

Branded anchors are usually the safest type of backlink anchor text. A natural backlink profile often has a large share of branded links, especially to the homepage. Brand + keyword anchors add topical relevance while still looking organic, because real people often mention a company name together with what it does.

Generic anchors like “click here” and “read more”

Generic anchor text uses vague, action‑focused phrases that do not describe the destination directly, such as:

click here
read more
learn more
this article

On their own, these anchors carry almost no keyword information. Search engines rely more on the surrounding text to understand what the link is about.

That said, generic anchors are completely normal in real content. Calls‑to‑action, buttons, and navigation often use them. Having some generic anchors in your backlink profile helps it look natural, but if you control the link, it is usually better to make the text more descriptive.

Naked URL and image alt‑text anchors

A naked URL anchor is when the visible text is just the URL itself, for example:

https://www.example.com
www.example.com/blog/running‑shoes

These links are common in citations, social posts, and forums. They are neutral from an SEO point of view: they rarely look spammy, but they also do not carry rich keyword context unless the URL path itself is descriptive.

For image alt‑text anchors, when an image is clickable, search engines treat the image’s alt attribute as the anchor text. For instance, if a linked image has:

alt="beginner marathon training plan"

then that phrase becomes the anchor text for the backlink.

This makes descriptive, accurate alt text important not only for accessibility but also for SEO. Linked images with well‑written alt text can pass relevance in much the same way as text links, and they help search engines understand both the image and the target page.

How anchor text in backlinks influences rankings

Anchor text in backlinks helps search engines connect your page with specific topics and queries. When many different sites link to you using related phrases, Google gains confidence that your page is relevant for those terms. The effect is not only about the words in the anchor text, but also about how consistent those phrases are, how strong the linking domains are, and how topically relevant their pages are to yours.

How consistent anchor phrases shape keyword associations

When multiple backlinks use similar anchor phrases, they shape how your page is “labeled” in search engines. If many sites link to a guide with anchors like “email marketing tips,” “email marketing guide,” “beginner email marketing”, Google is more likely to associate that URL with email marketing queries.

Consistency does not mean repeating the exact same keyword every time. A natural mix of close variations, long‑tail phrases, and partial matches sends a stronger, safer signal. For example, anchors such as “how to start email marketing,” “email marketing for small businesses,” and “email newsletter strategy” all reinforce the same core topic without looking manipulated.

If anchor phrases are scattered and unrelated, the association becomes weaker. A page that gets links with anchors like “click here,” “this article,” and “great resource” will gain far less topical clarity than one with descriptive, keyword‑rich but natural anchors.

The role of domain authority plus anchor text

Anchor text from a strong, trusted domain usually carries more weight than the same anchor from a weak or spammy site. When a high‑authority site links to you with a clear, descriptive anchor, it can significantly boost your perceived relevance for that phrase.

Think of it as a combination signal:

The domain’s authority tells Google how much to trust the link.
The anchor text tells Google what the link is about.

A powerful site using a vague anchor like “here” still helps, but not as much as if it used “local SEO checklist” or “best hiking trails in Colorado,” depending on your topic. On the other hand, many low‑quality domains using aggressive exact‑match anchors can look manipulative and may be discounted or even trigger spam signals.

Anchor text and topical relevance of linking pages

Search engines also look at how relevant the linking page is to the anchor text and your content. A backlink with “best running shoes” as the anchor from a page about fitness gear is far more valuable than the same anchor from a page about unrelated topics like casino bonuses or cryptocurrency.

When the linking page’s topic, the anchor text, and your target page content all line up, you create a strong, coherent relevance signal. This kind of topical alignment helps your page rank not only for the exact anchor phrase, but also for related queries and semantic variations.

If the anchor text does not match the context of the linking page or your page, search engines may ignore or downweight that signal. In extreme cases, a pattern of off‑topic, keyword‑stuffed anchors from irrelevant pages can look like manipulative link building and harm your overall backlink profile.

What a “natural” anchor text profile looks like

A natural anchor text profile looks like something real people created over time, not an SEO trying to “hit a percentage.” You see lots of different phrases, many unique anchors, and only a small share of keyword‑heavy links. Most modern studies and case analyses agree that healthy profiles are dominated by branded, generic, and URL anchors, with exact‑match keywords used sparingly, often under 5–10 percent of total backlinks.

Healthy mix of branded, generic, and keyword anchors

In a natural profile, branded anchors usually take the lead. People tend to link using your brand name, site name, or brand plus a short description, so it is common to see something like 30–50 percent branded anchors.

Around that core, you typically see:

Partial or phrase‑match anchors that blend keywords into natural language, often in the 15–30 percent range.
Generic and naked URL anchors (like “click here,” “this site,” or just the raw URL) making up roughly 10–25 percent combined.
Exact‑match keyword anchors as a small minority, often below 5–10 percent, especially in sensitive niches.

The exact ratios vary by industry and site, but the pattern is clear: lots of brand and neutral anchors, a good amount of descriptive partial matches, and very few pure keyword anchors.

Anchor text distribution for homepages vs inner pages

Homepages naturally attract more branded and URL anchors, because people reference the company or site as a whole. It is normal for homepage backlinks to be heavily skewed toward:

Brand name only
Brand + generic call to action
Plain domain (naked URL)

Inner pages, like blog posts or product pages, tend to collect more descriptive and keyword‑bearing anchors, because people are linking to a specific topic or resource. You still want plenty of variation, but it is reasonable for inner pages to have a higher share of partial‑match and long‑phrase anchors that describe the content, with fewer pure brand anchors than the homepage.

What you want to avoid is every inner‑page link using the same exact keyword, or every homepage link using the same salesy phrase. Natural profiles show different wording from different sites, even when they point to the same URL.

Natural language anchors from editorial mentions

The strongest sign of a natural anchor text profile is editorial, sentence‑level anchors that read like normal language. Journalists, bloggers, and forum users rarely link with stiff, exact‑match phrases. Instead, they write things like:

“In this guide to beginner strength training, they break down form step by step.”
“According to BrandName’s latest SEO study, anchor diversity still matters.”

These anchors often include partial keywords, brand names, or both, but they are driven by how a human would naturally write, not by a keyword list. Studies of top‑ranking pages show that this kind of varied, conversational anchor text, mixed with branded and generic links, is a common pattern in profiles that look organic and stay clear of penalties.

Common anchor text mistakes that hurt backlinks

Anchor text can quietly damage your backlink profile when it is used in a manipulative or unnatural way. The mistakes below are some of the most common patterns that trigger filters, devaluation, or even manual actions in modern Google updates.

Over‑optimized exact match anchors and Google penalties

Over‑optimized exact match anchor text is when a large share of your backlinks use the same commercial keyword, like “best running shoes” or “personal injury lawyer New York,” instead of a mix of branded, generic, and partial match anchors.

Google’s Penguin update and later spam systems such as SpamBrain specifically look for this kind of anchor text pattern. If too many backlinks use the same money keyword, especially from low‑quality or obviously built links, Google can either ignore those links or suppress rankings for that keyword.

Risky patterns include:

Dozens of guest posts all using the same exact phrase.
Sitewide footer credits with keyword‑rich anchors.
Directory or resource links that repeat the same commercial term.

A safer approach is to keep exact match anchors as a minority and surround them with branded, URL, and natural‑language anchors.

Irrelevant or misleading anchor text on backlinks

Irrelevant or misleading anchor text happens when the clickable text does not match the topic of the page it points to. For example, a link that says “free casino bonus” pointing to a local dentist, or a “best SEO tools” anchor pointing to a generic marketing homepage.

Google evaluates both the anchor text and the context of the linking page. When the anchor text is off‑topic or clearly promotional compared with the content around it, it looks like paid or manipulative link building. Modern spam updates are very good at spotting these patterns at scale and either discounting the links or treating them as spam signals.

Even if there is no formal penalty, irrelevant anchors confuse users, hurt click‑through, and increase bounce rate because visitors land on something different from what they expected.

Sitewide footer/sidebar links with repetitive anchors

Sitewide links are links that appear on every page of a site, usually in the footer or sidebar. They are not automatically bad, but they become risky when they use the same keyword‑stuffed anchor text across hundreds or thousands of pages.

For example, a web agency adding “best SEO tools 2025” as a followed footer link on every client site is a classic spam footprint. Current best practice is to use branded or URL anchors for sitewide credits, keep them relevant, and often mark them as nofollow if they are not true editorial endorsements.

Problems with repetitive sitewide anchors include:

An unnatural spike of backlinks from one domain with identical anchor text.
Links placed outside the main content, which Google already values less.
Increased risk of algorithmic devaluation or manual review.

If you need a sitewide credit, keep the anchor simple and branded, like “Site by Example Studio,” rather than a keyword phrase.

Overusing keyword‑stuffed anchors in guest posts

Guest posting is still a valid way to earn backlinks, but Google’s current guidelines explicitly warn against using keyword‑rich anchor text in bulk.

Common mistakes include:

Forcing exact match anchors into every guest article, even when they read awkwardly.
Publishing on thin, low‑quality blogs that exist mainly to sell links.
Writing content whose only real purpose is to host a link with a money keyword.

These patterns are now easy for algorithms to detect. When guest posts repeatedly use anchors like “cheap web hosting,” “best SEO tools,” or “buy backlinks” across many domains, Google may treat them as link spam and ignore or devalue them.

A healthier guest post anchor strategy is to:

Use branded or brand + keyword anchors where it feels natural.
Mix in generic anchors like “this guide” or “the full study” when they fit the sentence.
Let the host site’s editor choose the anchor text when possible, which tends to produce more natural language.

In short, the more your anchor text looks like it was written for humans first, and not for search engines, the safer and more effective your backlinks will be.

Best practices for choosing anchor text in link building

Choosing anchor text for link building is about balance: you want relevance and keywords, but you also need natural language and variety. Good anchor text should clearly describe the destination page, fit smoothly into the sentence, and look like something a real writer would use, not an SEO script.

How to pick anchor text when you control the backlink

When you control the backlink (guest posts, your own satellite sites, profiles, or digital PR content), use a simple decision process:

Start with relevance and clarity. Ask: “If someone only saw this anchor text, would they have a good idea of what they’ll land on?” If not, rewrite it to be more descriptive and specific. Google’s own guidance stresses concise, descriptive, relevant anchor text over vague phrases.
Favor partial match and branded anchors. Use exact match keywords sparingly. Most recent anchor text studies and best‑practice guides recommend that exact match anchors be a small minority of your profile, with branded and partial match anchors doing most of the work.
Keep anchors short but meaningful. Two to five words is usually enough: “local SEO guide,” “email marketing tips,” “Acme Analytics pricing.” Longer, stuffed phrases tend to look spammy and read poorly.
Match the anchor to the page type.

Brand or brand + keyword for homepages and key commercial pages.
Partial match or descriptive phrases for blog posts and resources.
Occasional naked URLs or generic anchors to keep things natural.

Vary your wording over time. If you are building several links to the same page, rotate between branded, partial match, and related phrases instead of repeating one “perfect” anchor. This helps avoid over‑optimization patterns.

How to suggest anchor text to partners or publishers

When you do outreach or PR, you rarely have full control, but you can still guide anchor text without being pushy.

Offer 2–4 natural options, not one rigid keyword. For example:
“content promotion strategies guide”
“how to promote blog posts”
“YourBrand content promotion tips” This gives editors flexibility while keeping anchors relevant and varied.
Explain that descriptive anchors help readers. Framing your suggestion as a usability improvement (clearer for readers, fewer surprises after the click) is more persuasive than talking only about SEO. Google explicitly ties “good anchor text” to better navigation and user understanding.
Accept editorial tweaks. If an editor wants to change your suggested anchor but keeps it relevant, that is usually a win. Over‑controlling every word can lead to unnatural patterns and, in bulk, can resemble link schemes that Google warns against.
Avoid asking for aggressive exact‑match anchors. Repeatedly requesting the same keyword‑heavy anchor across many sites is one of the clearest footprints of manipulative link building and can contribute to penalties.

Matching anchor text to search intent of the target page

Anchor text should reflect not just the topic of the page, but the intent behind the main keyword you want to rank for. That way, users get what they expect, and search engines see a consistent story.

Informational pages: Use anchors that promise answers or explanations, such as “guide to technical SEO,” “how to build backlinks,” or “what is zero‑click search.” These align with “know” or “learn” intent.
Commercial / comparison pages: For pages targeting “best,” “top,” or “vs” queries, anchors like “best CRM tools for startups” or “email platforms compared” signal evaluation intent and help search engines understand that the page is about comparing options.
Transactional pages: If the page is meant to convert (pricing, signup, product pages), anchors can lean into action and value: “SEO audit service pricing,” “sign up for rank tracking,” “buy organic dog food online.” This matches “do” intent and sets clear expectations.
Local intent pages: For local service pages, include location naturally: “Denver roof repair experts,” “Boston personal injury lawyer,” rather than repeating a bare keyword like “roof repair” everywhere. This keeps anchors useful while reinforcing local relevance.

Across all intents, the rule is simple: if the anchor text accurately previews the content and intent of the target page, reads naturally in context, and is part of a varied mix of anchor types, you are following modern best practices for anchor text in link building.

Anchor text in internal links vs external backlinks

Why internal anchor text still matters for SEO

Internal anchor text is one of the clearest ways you tell search engines what your own pages are about. When you link from one page on your site to another, the anchor text acts like a label for that destination. If many internal links use similar, relevant phrases, search engines gain confidence that the target page is a good match for those topics.

Good internal anchor text also improves crawlability and user experience. Clear, descriptive anchors help visitors understand where a link will take them, which can increase engagement and reduce pogo‑sticking back to search results. Over time, this behavior sends positive signals about the usefulness and clarity of your content.

Because you control internal links completely, they are one of the easiest SEO levers to adjust. Small changes to internal anchor text can help clarify page themes, support long‑tail keywords, and rescue important pages that are buried or poorly understood by search engines.

Using internal anchors to reinforce backlink signals

External backlinks often point to a page with a limited set of anchor phrases. You can use internal anchor text to “fill in the gaps” and reinforce what those backlinks are already saying.

For example, if most backlinks use your brand name as anchor text, your internal links can lean more toward descriptive, keyword‑rich phrases that explain what the page actually offers. This combination helps search engines connect brand, topic, and intent.

You can also mirror successful external anchors internally. If a high‑quality backlink uses a strong, natural phrase that clearly matches your target query, using similar wording in some internal links can strengthen that association without looking manipulative. The key is variety: mix branded, partial‑match, and natural language anchors so the overall pattern still looks organic.

Avoiding internal anchor text cannibalization

Internal anchor text cannibalization happens when you use the same or very similar anchor phrases to link to different pages. From a search engine’s point of view, this muddies the waters: it is no longer obvious which page should rank for that term.

To avoid this, decide which single page is the “primary” target for each important keyword or topic. Use your most focused, keyword‑rich anchors for that page, and use broader or more specific variations when linking to related content.

Regularly scan your site for repeated anchors that point to multiple URLs. When you find conflicts, update the weaker or less relevant links with clearer, more specific text. Over time, this gives each page a distinct role in your internal linking structure, reduces competition between your own URLs, and helps search engines rank the right page for the right query.

How to analyze your anchor text profile

Analyzing your anchor text profile means looking at the words used in links pointing to your site, then judging whether they look natural, helpful, and safe from an SEO point of view. You are trying to answer three questions:

What anchors do I actually have?
Do they look over‑optimized or spammy?
Which ones are risky enough to fix, disavow, or remove?

Using SEO tools to see anchor text for your backlinks

Start by pulling an anchor text report from a backlink analysis tool. Most tools let you:

See a list of all anchor texts used in backlinks to your domain or a specific URL.
Sort anchors by number of referring domains, not just total links.
Drill down to see which pages link with a given anchor and from which sites.

For a quick health check, focus on:

Top anchors by referring domains. If your top few anchors are all exact‑match keywords, that is a red flag.
Brand vs non‑brand anchors. A healthy profile usually has a strong share of branded or brand‑plus‑keyword anchors.
Language and context. Click into sample links and read the surrounding text. Natural editorial links usually sit inside relevant, readable content.

Exporting the data to a spreadsheet can help you group similar anchors, calculate percentages, and spot patterns that are not obvious in a long on‑screen list.

Spotting risky over‑optimization patterns

Once you can see your anchors, look for patterns that suggest over‑optimization rather than organic linking. Warning signs include:

Very high percentage of exact‑match anchors for a single keyword, especially on a money page. For example, if 40–60% of anchors to one page are the same commercial phrase, that looks unnatural.
Many anchors that read like keyword lists instead of normal language, such as “best cheap blue widgets New York.”
Anchors from low‑quality or unrelated sites that all use the same keyword phrase, which often points to paid or automated link building.
Sitewide links (in footers or sidebars) repeating the same keyword anchor across hundreds of pages.

Compare your anchor mix for a page with what you would expect if people linked to it naturally: more brand names, URLs, and descriptive phrases, fewer hard‑selling keyword anchors.

When to disavow or request changes to anchor text

Not every awkward anchor needs a drastic fix. Prioritize action when an anchor text is both unnatural and coming from weak or suspicious sources, or when it clearly violates search engine guidelines.

Consider asking for changes or disavowing when:

A cluster of low‑quality sites all link with the same exact‑match commercial anchor.
Old paid links or directory links use aggressive keyword anchors that no longer match your strategy.
Anchors are misleading, offensive, or completely irrelevant to your page’s topic.
A sitewide link with a keyword‑stuffed anchor is inflating your exact‑match ratio.

Your order of operations should usually be:

Request an edit to a more natural anchor (brand, brand + keyword, or a descriptive phrase).
If the site owner will not cooperate or the site is clearly spammy, add those domains or specific URLs to your disavow file.
Monitor your anchor text profile over time to see whether the share of risky anchors drops and your mix looks more natural.

By reviewing anchors regularly and acting on the worst offenders, you keep your backlink profile safer and more aligned with how real people actually link on the web.

Practical examples of better anchor text for backlinks

Weak vs strong anchor text before‑and‑after examples

Seeing real before‑and‑after anchor text examples makes it much easier to understand what “good” looks like.

Example 1: Local service page Target page: a plumber’s page optimized for “emergency plumber in Chicago”.

Weak anchor: “click here” This tells users and search engines almost nothing about the page.
Strong anchor: “24/7 emergency plumber in Chicago” This anchor clearly describes the service, location, and urgency. It matches the page topic and likely search intent.

Example 2: SaaS product feature page Target page: a feature page about “email automation workflows”.

Weak anchor: “this tool” Vague, low relevance, and easy to ignore.
Strong anchor: “email automation workflow builder” Explains what the page offers and reinforces the main keyword in a natural phrase.

Example 3: Blog guide Target page: a guide on “how to write a business plan”.

Weak anchor: “read more” Generic and not descriptive.
Strong anchor: “step‑by‑step business plan template” Sets a clear expectation, improves click‑through, and aligns with what searchers want.

In each case, the strong anchor text is specific, descriptive, and closely tied to the content of the target page, without feeling stuffed or robotic.

Sample anchor text variations for a single target page

Imagine you have a target page about “beginner strength training program”. A natural backlink profile uses varied anchor text that all makes sense in context. Here are sample variations you might see:

Exact / close match anchors
“beginner strength training program”
“strength training plan for beginners”
Partial and phrase match anchors
“simple strength training program you can start at home”
“beginner‑friendly strength workouts”
“how to start strength training as a beginner”
Branded and brand + keyword anchors
“BeginStrong beginner strength program”
“BeginStrong’s strength training guide for beginners”
Generic but contextual anchors
“this beginner‑friendly program”
“the full strength training guide”
Naked URL and image alt‑text style anchors
“https://example.com/beginner‑strength‑training‑program”
Image alt text: “beginner strength training workout chart”

Used across different sites and contexts, these variations keep your anchor text profile diverse while still sending a consistent message about what the page is actually about.