Why Anchor Text Matters for Bank-links

Anchor text is the text which stands for a hyperlink–kind of like the hyperlink’s title–and is clickable. According to SEO best practices, it should be relevant to the page it links to and not vague or generic. When another site has a link to your business site, this is a back-link. The same principles apply to anchor text for back-links.

When it comes to a linking strategy, anchor texts are extremely important. When an external site links to your company’s site, they must use appropriate keywords and anchor text terms. This is what is meant by back-links.

Think Bigger than Company Names for Anchor Texts

Typically you’ll see the external site using the linking company name for the anchor text. The assumption might be that this is beneficial for branding and promotion purposes. The problem is this doesn’t provide any details or specific information regarding the company’s products/services. It’s unnecessary to use the company name for any anchor text because most likely the company already ranks well for direct searches of their brand.

Drive Extra Traffic

By being more specific with back-link anchor texts, traffic to your site will increase that you probably wouldn’t have otherwise received. Being specific will encourage more users to click on a link to your site. A business name may not tell a user much about your site or what you offer. For instance, “Honest Goods” doesn’t tell much about the business or what it sells. But if the anchor text is “All-Natural Pet Supplies,” that tells us a whole lot more about what we’re going to find when we click on the link. You want to tempt prospective customers with just enough information.

Anchor Text and Page Ranking

The anchor text also contributes to how search engines will rank the page. A link with no anchor text is referred to as a naked URL, since it appears simply as the URL with no clear or readable text. They are also referred to as URL anchor texts.

Doing anchor text the right way can only help your ranking for corresponding keywords. Doing back-link anchor text the right way will drive more traffic your way that you probably wouldn’t have converted with any other strategy. That’s why we can’t stress the importance enough. Users who are already familiar with your business know how to find you; anchor texts should be more specific in order to convert people who aren’t already familiar with your brand.