Properly selected anchors can be a powerful tool for improving your site’s visibility in search engines, attracting targeted traffic, and ultimately its success. An anchor on a page provides search engines with valuable context, helping them better understand the relevance of a page on your site to certain search queries. In this article, we will take a detailed look at the concept of an anchor list, its classification, its role in website SEO optimization, and practical tips for compiling a relevant anchor list.
What is an anchor list?
An anchor list is a list of texts (anchors) used for external and internal links on your site. An anchor link is the text that a user clicks on to go to a target page. This text provides search engines with contextual information about the content of the page to which the link leads.
High-quality SEO promotion of a website is not complete without compiling an anchor text list, since search engines, such as Google, use anchor texts to determine the relevance of a page to certain keywords and phrases. Anchor texts play an important role in SEO, as they help search engines understand what the page they are linking to is about. For example, if page A contains a link with the anchor “buy a laptop” pointing to page B, the search engine interprets this as a signal that page B is relevant to the query “buy a laptop”.
The anchor list should contain all types of anchor texts used on and off the site (this refers to off-site optimization of the site). It allows you to structure link promotion and ensure that the links look natural and are useful to users.
When working with anchors, you should take into account many important factors. Below we will talk about the main aspects, but often an understanding of the nuances of the niche and the site itself should be added to the basics. That’s why it’s so important to involve professionals in your work. BirinciSEO is a marketing agency in Ankara, which employs a team of professionals with experience in working in different niches and with different sites. Contact us if you want to get the most out of your site.
Anchor Classification
Anchors can be divided into several types:
- Direct keyword entry – an anchor that contains a keyword or phrase in an exact match.
- Mixed anchors – an anchor that contains a keyword in combination with other words.
- Anchorless links – links that use navigation words like “here”, “read more” or just a URL instead of keywords.
- Branded anchors – an anchor that contains a brand name.
- Image anchors – links that are tied to images. In this case, the image anchor is the alt attribute of the image.
The role of anchor text in SEO
A good anchor text plays an important role in a successful SEO strategy:
- Anchor texts provide search engines with contextual information about the content of the page to which the link leads. This helps search engines better understand the relevance of the page to certain keywords and phrases.
- Properly optimized anchor links can help your site rank higher in search results for relevant queries.
- Well-chosen anchor texts make links more understandable and attractive to users, increasing the likelihood of clicking through to your site.
- Anchor links from high-quality and reputable donors can increase the authority of your site in the eyes of search engines.
- Properly used anchor text helps link the pages of your site to each other, making navigation easier for users and search engines.
How to Create the Right Anchor List
When creating anchor lists, you should consider a number of important factors. Here are some steps that will help you when working on anchors for your site.
Define your goal and audience
First of all, it is important to clearly define the goal of your SEO strategy and target audience. This will help you choose the right keywords and phrases, as well as ensure that the anchor texts are relevant to your audience. Answer the following questions:
- What goal do you want to achieve with SEO?
- Who is your target audience?
- What keywords and phrases are most relevant to your business?
The answers will help you responsibly approach the selection of anchors that will be effective and useful for your site.
Collect a semantic core
A semantic core is a list of keywords and phrases that you plan to use to promote your site. It should include:
- Main keywords
- Synonyms and variations of keywords
- Long-tail keywords
You can use various tools to build a semantic core, such as Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, SEMrush, and others. It is important to consider not only popular keywords, but also low-frequency queries that can bring targeted traffic.
Analyze competitors
Off-site optimization of a website begins with a deep study of competitors – to study their link profiles. Analyzing the link mass and anchor lists of competitors will help you understand which anchors work in your niche. Use special tools to analyze the link mass of competitors and their anchors: Ahrefs, SemRush, Majestic, or others. It is important to pay attention to the following aspects:
- what keywords are used in anchors
- how are anchors distributed by type
- on which sites are links with these anchors placed
Analysis of backlinks and anchors will help you create a strategy based on the successful examples of your competitors. As a result, you will be able to create an internal anchor list that will be as effective as possible.
Divide anchor texts by type
After collecting the semantic core and analyzing competitors, it is important to divide anchor texts by type. This will help create a balanced and diverse anchor list for your site that looks natural to search engines and users. It is optimal to use different types of anchors, including exact keyword matches, partial matches, branded keywords, and natural anchors.
Determine the optimal ratio of anchor types
There is no ideal ratio of anchor types that is suitable for all sites and industries. You need to study the niche, as well as conduct SEO analysis of competitors and draw personalized conclusions about the type and number of anchors to achieve the best results. Pay special attention to branded anchors – they allow you to increase the visibility and trust of your brand.
Avoid keyword spam
While using keywords in your anchor text is important, overusing them can be seen as spam by search engines and can lower your site’s ranking. When choosing your anchor text, avoid overusing the same exact match keywords. Instead, aim for variety and naturalness.
Update your anchor text regularly
Google’s algorithms are constantly evolving, and what worked before may become ineffective over time. That’s why it’s important to regularly update and optimize your anchor text. Keep an eye on changes in search trends and your competitors and adapt your anchor text accordingly.
How many anchor and non-anchor links to put
In the SEO environment, it is generally accepted to use anchor and non-anchor links in a certain ratio. Balance is important for a natural link profile. The following ratio is recommended:
- Anchor links – 60-70%
- Non-anchor links – 30-40%
Such a balance helps to create a natural link profile that meets the requirements of search engines and improves the ranking of the site. In addition, it is important to consider that excessive use of anchor links can arouse suspicion in search engines and lead to sanctions.
Regular monitoring and analysis of the link profile help to timely detect and correct possible deviations from the optimal ratio.
Conclusions
Drawing up anchors is an important stage in developing an SEO strategy. A properly compiled and regularly updated anchor list helps improve the visibility of a site in search engines, increase the number of links and provide convenient navigation for users. By following the recommendations set out in this article, you will be able to create an effective anchor list that will bring tangible results to your business.
However, remember: these are only basic recommendations and you should integrate them into your strategy in such a way as to take into account all possible details. Order turnkey link building from our agency if you want to entrust the matter to professionals. It is also important to take into account changes in search engine algorithms and adapt your strategy in a timely manner.
Remember that the quality of links and the relevance of anchors play a key role in a successful SEO strategy. Regular audits and adjustments will help keep your site up to date and meet the requirements of search engines.
