User experience (UX) is an important component of search engine optimisation (SEO). There are many ways to improve user experience to boost SEO. Besides having a simple site structure, easy navigation, and fast site speed, quality content is crucial to ensure the desired user experience. Generating appropriate HTML anchor text in your content is one of the important ways to improve user experience. In general, anchor texts can also help improve your ranking. However, one may incur Google penalty if the anchor text is misused.
This guide will take you through what anchor text means and show you how to optimize your anchor text for higher rankings and improve user experience.
What is Anchor Text? Why is it Important for UX?
Anchor text – or link text – is a hyperlink commonly used in the table of contents for longer text or links connecting readers to other web pages. It is usually underlined and colored in blue. Anchors will be linked to other webpages; it also takes users to another webpage to download files; hence users need to make sure that the URL looks legitimate before clicking on it. For businesses, getting your anchor text right increases the possibility of users clicking on the link and helps search engines understand the context. It offers them a general idea of what they are expected to see on the landing page. Keyword-rich anchors will help improve your site’s user experience if it is high on relevancy and legitimacy. However, do not randomly choose any link anchor or irrelevant anchor text as it may trigger a Google penalty.
What does Anchor Text Look Like? And How Do You Create an Anchored Link?
The two components in an anchored link are the source that becomes the link and the destination that derives from an ID where the user will click on. An example of what an anchor text looks like: Here is a link to our blog post about SEO strategy based on customers’ lifestyle.
For the above example, the anchor text in HTML would look like
<a href=”https://seomelbourne.com/seo-optimisation/why-you-should-base-your-seo-strategy-on-your-lifestyle-analysis-of-your-customers/”>SEO strategy based on customers’ lifestyle</a>
The HTML code in this anchor text consists of
- “a” tag surrounded by angle brackets should be included at the beginning and end.
- The “href” – or hypertext reference – is used to indicate the URL for the anchor element to link to.
- Anchor text is placed after the target link, and it should provide search engines and users relevant information about the content of the link
Types of Anchor Texts
There are different kinds of anchor texts including branded links, naked URL, domain name, article titles, and partial keywords.
- Branded links: This is commonly used as it is just the name of the site. For example: SEO Melbourne
- Naked link: Basically using URL as the anchor. For example: https://seomelbourne.com/seo-blog/
- Exact match: This anchor text would directly include the keywords of the webpage. For example: ‘SEO strategy’ is linked to a webpage about SEO strategy.
- Partial match: It includes different keywords related to the linked webpage. For example: ‘A complete guide to SEO strategy’ is linked to a webpage about SEO strategy.
- Generic: A generic word or phrase such as “Click here”, “Read more”, or “Visit the page”.
Best Practices – Key Takeaways for Anchor Texts
When writing anchor texts, make sure that it flows seamlessly within the text. The anchor texts should be straightforward and succinct for the readers to know exactly what they are clicking on. If the linked content is not relevant to the topic, it may account for a bad user experience due to the lack of relevancy. It is best to refrain from using a plethora of keywords as it incurs Google penalty for low-quality hyperlinks. It is recommended to simply use topic-specific anchor text to optimize anchor text.
If you would like to know more about how to improve your brand’s digital presence, check out SEO Company Melbourne – the experts in providing articles and resources on all things SEO.
