Anchor Text and SEO

The Anchor Text -- what is it and why is it important?

Search engine optimization can be quite a tricky proposition. You may have high quality links on your site and still fail to see any kind of decent results when it comes to ranking with various search engines. One factor that could be investigated is content. A lack of key word rich content could be the culprit for a low search engine ranking. But if your site does have rich content but still suffer from a low ranking then it’s time to look at the anchor text.
What is an anchor text and why is it important?

An anchor text is the text that can be seen next to the link that points to your website. Many search engines including Google put a lot of emphasis not just on a site’s link but also the components that make up the said link. More often than not website owners just put generic words like “homepage” or “click here” as the anchor text. This is a great disservice to your website because the search algorithms or ranking formula of search engines like Google will actually credit you for these widely used “generic” terms and not for the keywords or the phrase that is really important for the website. The important rule is that when you are attempting to build your links you should be well aware of the keywords that you want to optimize for and ensure that these words are include in the links that you build. Also be aware that when you use marketing materials like press releases, news releases, and blogs be sure that you include the anchor text on all of the links that relate to your site.

Another thing that you should look at when dealing with anchor text is to look at the internal anchor text used in your website. Whenever you make a link that point to one of the pages on your website make sure that you use your identified optimized keyword on the link to the other page. Here’s a good example – let’s say that in one of your internal pages you talk about percussion instruments,  your anchor text should be (or include) percussion instruments.

If you have a website that does not contain many links then a good trick in building text links would be directory submissions. There are various directories that can be described as conducive to search engine optimization because you are allowed to use any kind of anchor text. Try to check out http://www.info.vilesilencer.com/ for a list of directories that are SEO friendly.

The business of tracking the anchor text in your website can be a tough chore. For this reason, use the free anchor text trackers that are available online.  Check out the Google Webmaster Tools and look at the section that shows the amount of links that your website possesses as well as a list of text links that recognized by the Google algorithm. Another resource would be the Back Link Watch that can be found at http://www.backlinkwatch.com.