Anchor text

Anchor text is the visible, clickable text of a hyperlink. It tells Google what the linked page is about. Used naturally, it's one of the strongest relevance signals. Used manipulatively, it triggers penalties.

Types of anchor text

Exact match

The anchor is exactly the target keyword.

Example: "Learn about [insurance CRM]" linking to an "insurance CRM" page.

Signal strength: high. Risk: high if used extensively.

Partial match

The anchor contains the keyword plus other words.

Example: "best insurance CRM tools for small agencies" linking to the same page.

Signal strength: strong. Risk: moderate. Usually the best choice.

Branded

Your brand name as the anchor.

Example: "See the framework at [Samuel Ochoa]" linking to samuelochoa.com.

Signal strength: low-moderate (helps brand entity). Risk: none.

Naked URL

The URL itself as the anchor.

Example: "Read more at https://samuelochoa.com/framework/"

Signal strength: low. Risk: none.

Generic

"Click here," "read more," "this guide."

Signal strength: very low. Risk: none. Standard.

Image anchor

A linked image uses its alt attribute as anchor text.

Signal strength: depends on alt quality.

The distribution problem

Google analyzes the full distribution of anchor text pointing to a URL. A natural profile has:

• ~30-50% branded + naked URL
• ~20-30% generic ("click here," "this article," etc.)
• ~20-30% partial match variations
• ~5-15% exact match or near-exact

A profile with 50%+ exact-match anchors looks manufactured. Penguin and subsequent algorithms flag this.

The over-optimization trap

Early SEOs figured out exact-match anchors were strong signals. They got too many. Google noticed the pattern. Penguin (2012) penalized sites with over-optimized anchor profiles. The aftermath: a generation of sites tanked rankings overnight.

Modern Google is less nuclear about it, often just discounts the over-optimized anchors silently, but the lesson stands: diversify.

Anchor strategy by link source

Links you control (guest posts, partner sites)

Default to branded or partial match. Exact-match rarely, and only when the surrounding context genuinely calls for it.

Links you don't control (editorial, PR)

You don't choose. Whatever the journalist writes is the anchor. Branded and naked URLs dominate, which is exactly what a natural profile looks like.

Internal linking

Rules are looser. Exact-match internal anchors are less penalized than external ones. Still, variety helps; don't link to the same URL with the same exact anchor from every page.

Diagnosing anchor over-optimization

1. Ahrefs/SEMrush → backlinks for your URL → anchor distribution
2. Look at the top anchor text by count
3. If any single commercial phrase is >15% of inbound anchors, you're concentrated
4. If the top 5 are all commercial variations, you're over-optimized

Fixing over-optimization

• Build new links with varied anchors (branded, generic, partial)
• Request anchor edits from friendly webmasters (swap exact-match for branded)
• Disavow the worst offenders (only for clearly manipulative links)

Anchor text internally vs externally

Internal links:

• Use descriptive anchors that communicate the target topic
• Vary naturally (don't link every instance of "CRM" to the same page with the same anchor)
• Don't use rel="nofollow" on internal links

External inbound:

• Focus on earning natural links
• Don't try to dictate anchor text in every outreach
• Monitor distribution; take action if it skews unnaturally