Anchor text: how to vary it safely

The anchor of a link is its clickable text. It tells Google what the target page is about. That is useful, but an anchor that is repeated too often or is too commercial can look artificial. Here is how to choose and vary your anchors.

The main types of anchor text

• Brand anchor: the name of your company or site, for example "Smith Renovation".
• URL anchor: the site address, with or without "https://", for example "smith-renovation.com".
• Exact-match anchor: the target keyword as it is, for example "bathroom renovation".
• Partial-match anchor: a phrase that contains the keyword or a close variant, for example "our tips for renovating a bathroom".
• Generic anchor: "this site", "learn more", "click here".
• Combined anchor: brand and topic together, for example "Smith Renovation, bathroom specialists".

Why vary them?

When sites mention a company naturally, they mostly use its name, its address or varied phrases. A profile where the same exact-match anchor keeps coming back does not look like that natural behaviour. Google knows this, and its guidelines target links whose main purpose is to manipulate rankings.

Varying your anchors reduces that risk and also gives Google more context about your page through different wordings.

How to spread your anchors

There is no official percentage. A good rule is to look at the link profiles of sites that rank well in your industry and stay in the same spirit. In practice:

1. Brand and URL anchors are the base. They look the most like natural mentions.
2. Partial and combined anchors bring the topic without repeating an exact keyword.
3. Exact-match anchors stay rare and are kept for very well placed links on sites close to your topic.
4. A few generic anchors complete the profile.

Match the anchor to the type of link

• In a sponsored article, the anchor must fit into the sentence. If it sounds wrong when you read it, change it. See how to buy a sponsored article the right way.
• For a footer or homepage link, use only your site name or your domain. An exact keyword repeated on every page of a site is exactly what you want to avoid. See when a footer link makes sense.
• For deep pages (a specific service, an article), partial anchors describing the content work well.

Common mistakes

• Using the same exact-match anchor for every link in a campaign.
• Placing an exact-match anchor on a site unrelated to the topic.
• Sending every link to the homepage with keyword anchors for specific services.
• Forgetting brand anchors, even though they are the most natural.

In short

Think of your anchors as the way other people would talk about you. Your name, your address and descriptive phrases should dominate. When ordering on RankoPress, you choose the anchor and the target page for every link, which helps you keep a balanced profile. For the overall method, read our guide to getting started with link building.