Anchor text
Anchor text is the visible, clickable words of a hyperlink. It tells readers and search engines what the linked page is about.
Also known as:
Link text, link label
What is anchor text?
Anchor text is the visible part of a hyperlink, the underlined or colored words a reader clicks to follow the link. Good anchor text is descriptive: "read the full style guide" tells the reader where the link goes, while "click here" leaves them guessing. Search engines use anchor text as a strong signal for what the linked page is about, which makes it one of the most important pieces of microcopy on any content page.
Weak: For more on the Oxford comma, click here.
Descriptive: Read our full guide to the Oxford comma.
Keyword-focused: Compare Brivvy to Jasper in our detailed breakdown.
Why does anchor text matter?
Anchor text is the bridge between a reader's attention and the next page, which makes it one of the highest-stakes pieces of microcopy on a site. Generic "click here" anchors are invisible to screen readers when pulled out of context, undercount for search engines and give readers no reason to click. Descriptive anchors do triple duty: they help readers decide, help search engines rank and help screen reader users navigate by link list.
How do you use anchor text?
Describe the destination page in the anchor itself, so a reader knows where the link goes without reading the surrounding sentence.
Vary the anchor text across different links to the same page, since exact-match repetition looks spammy to search engines.
Avoid generic phrases such as "click here," "read more" or "this article" as the entire clickable text, and never hide the link on a period or single punctuation mark.
