Anchor or anchor text is an SEO term that refers to the textual part of a clickable link. In the HTML code of a page, a link with an anchor appears as <a href="/link">link text</a>. The anchor text is highlighted on the page, indicating to the user that the link is clickable. By reading this text, a person can understand the content of the linked page and decide whether to follow the link. If a link is placed on a page without an anchor, it is called a non-anchor link.
Anchor text plays an important role in organizing website functionality. Website owners use anchors for several reasons:
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to make website navigation more convenient — anchor text tells the user what is on the link and allows them to move between pages easily;
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to improve website search engine optimization — search engine bots evaluate anchor text as a search query and receive a signal that the linked page is relevant to it;
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to keep users on the website — with anchors and interlinking, it is much easier to keep website visitors, as they can click on a new link each time and get interesting content;
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to create a good user experience — without anchors, the amount of information a user can obtain on a website is limited. The user will have to manually search for content, which can often be inconvenient.
Creating the correct anchor text requires careful consideration. A website owner cannot simply use any text - such an anchor may not only be useless but also harmful. The anchor text must correspond to the context of the page and be relevant to its content. Anchors can consist entirely of a keyword phrase or be adapted and organically embedded in a sentence. For example, the phrase «In our store, you can buy jeans in London cheaply» contains a direct anchor with a search phrase. Such anchor text looks bad to readers, and it is better not to overuse it so that search engines do not perceive it as spam. On the other hand, the phrase "Our store is located in London, and you can buy jeans at low prices there" contains an indirect anchor, and it looks more pleasant.
Rules for creating the correct anchor text:
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consider the text around the anchor link — they should match in meaning;
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do not overuse anchors — spamming anchor links will be poorly perceived by readers and search engines;
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do not make the anchor text too long — ideally, it should contain no more than 3-4 words;
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check the anchor text for errors — an obvious rule that needs to be followed when writing any text.
