What Is Anchor Text? Meaning, Examples and Best Practice

Look at any underlined or coloured words on a web page and you're looking at anchor text. They're so common that we stop noticing them, yet the choice of those few words does a surprising amount of work for readers and for search engines.

I've read Google's own guidance on links, along with the MDN Web Docs advice on writing link text, and pulled out the practical rules. Here's what anchor text is, what makes it good, and the habits to avoid.

Anchor text meaning

Anchor text is the visible, clickable text of a link. Google says it tells people and Google something about the page you're linking to. In HTML, it's the words wrapped inside an a element that has an href attribute.

So in a sentence like "read our guide to baking sourdough", the words "guide to baking sourdough" would be the anchor text if those words carry the link, and the address they point to is hidden behind them.

What good anchor text looks like

Google's guidance says good anchor text is descriptive, reasonably concise, and relevant both to the page it's on and to the page it links to. It suggests a simple test: read the anchor text on its own. If it doesn't make sense without the surrounding sentence, make it more specific.

• Descriptive: it names what the reader will find.
• Concise: a few words, not a whole promotional sentence.
• Relevant: it fits the page it's on and the page it points to.
• Natural: it reads like part of the sentence instead of a forced phrase.

Anchor text examples: weak and strong

Weak anchor text	Why it falls short	Stronger version
Click here to learn more	Generic text tells the reader nothing about the destination	See the list of cheese types
Read more	Makes no sense when links are listed on their own	Read the guide to repotting a houseplant
A whole promotional sentence	Too long and hard to scan	A short phrase naming the page

The first example mirrors Google's own: it contrasts "Click here to learn more" with a sentence that names what's on the other side. The MDN Web Docs make the same point, calling generic link text like "click here" a sadly common mistake.

Why anchor text matters for readers using assistive technology

MDN explains that assistive technology can list all the links on a page, so each link's text should make sense on its own, out of context. Strong link text helps everyone, because people who can see skim a page's links in much the same way.

MDN's example turns "Learn more about our products here" into "Learn more about our products" with the link on the second half, which is shorter and clearer. If a link opens a new tab or points to a file that isn't a web page, MDN suggests saying so in the link text.

Anchor text on image links

When a link wraps an image instead of words, Google uses the image's alt attribute as the anchor text. Its example of good alt text for a linked image is something like "add enchiladas to your cart" instead of leaving the attribute empty.

An empty link gives Google nothing to work with, and while it may fall back on a title attribute, Google says you shouldn't rely on that.

Anchor text for internal links on your own site

Descriptive anchor text on your own pages helps both readers and Google find their way around your site. Google adds that every page you want indexed should be linked from at least one other page on your site, and that you should link to related pages in context instead of adding links at random.

It also warns against clustering several links together, since readers can't tell where one ends and the next begins. Read the whole sentence out loud and ask whether the link belongs there.

A quick anchor text checklist before you publish

1. Read each link's words on their own. Do they still make sense?
2. Check that the words describe the page they open, not a different topic.
3. Make sure each link is a normal a element with an href, because that's the format Google can crawl.
4. Give every linked image descriptive alt text.
5. Space links out so readers can tell where one ends and the next begins.
6. Read the sentence aloud. If it sounds forced, rewrite it.

Ten minutes with this list on an older post is often enough to tidy up a lot of vague link wording.

Anchor text mistakes to avoid

• Stuffing the anchor text with keywords. Google says this counts as a spam policy violation.
• Using the same stretched phrase everywhere, which reads as forced.
• Generic text such as "here" or "click here".
• Leaving a link empty, with no words or alt text at all.
• Cramming several links into one short sentence.

Anchor text and the nofollow attribute

Anchor text describes what a link says. A separate link attribute can also tell search engines how to treat it, for example when the link is to content you don't want to vouch for. I've explained that in what a nofollow link is.

Sharing what you know about anchor text

If you've written about how links and link wording work, there's a list of SEO publications that look at contributions from people with real experience.

SEO writers can browse SEO blogs that accept contributor articles on this page.

Frequently asked questions

What is anchor text in simple terms?

It's the clickable words in a link. Google describes it as visible text that tells people and Google something about the page you're linking to.

Is "click here" good anchor text?

No. Google gives "Click here to learn more" as an example of poor anchor text, and MDN calls generic link text a sadly common mistake.

How long should anchor text be?

Google says good anchor text is reasonably concise. A short phrase that names the destination is usually enough.

What is anchor text for an image link?

Google uses the image's alt attribute as the anchor text, so give linked images descriptive alt text.

Can I put keywords in every anchor text?

Google says stuffing anchor text with keywords counts as a spam policy violation. Write naturally and describe the page.