SEO 101: Anchor Text
I wrote previously about the importance of link building but I didn’t say anything about ‘anchor text’. This is the word or words used in the hyperlink e.g. ‘link building‘ is a hyperlink and the words “link” and “building” are what is know as the anchor text. Got it? These are extremely important as they help the search engines determine what your page is about in addition to all the other factors such as titles and page content, so they are very important. For the purpose of this article there are two types of links – the ones on your website and the ones people use when linking to you.
On-site Optimisation
This is the easy bit for obvious reasons.
- When using links within your website make sure they convey meaning and include your target keywords and avoid using terms such as “more”, “next”, and “read more” as they convey no meaning and will not help with your optimisation efforts. Sometimes it is difficult to avoid this if you are constrained by a content management system such as Wordpress – the one I am using.
- Don’t forget about the links in the menus, these are very important as they appear on every page.
- Create a site map for your website, where you can manipulate the anchor text and make it easier for the search engines to find your content. This is my site map.
Off-site Optimisation
Unless you have a number of website you will often have little control over the anchor text used by other.
- People will often link using just the domain name e.g. www.thehipzone.co.uk, so choose a domain name that is relevant and includes your target keywords. As you can see I haven’t done this. I will cover domain names in anther post later.
- Some provide the code for other to use to create the link e.g. If you like this site please consider providing a link to us using this code:
<a href=”http://www.thehipzone.co.uk”>Search Engine Marketing</a>. - Analyze directories to see how outbound links are created. For example, this Home Information Pack directory uses the listing title as the anchor text so choose your title carefully.
Comment by Anon on 10 March 2008:
In Point 2 of Off-site optimisation there is a mistake the closing tag should be otherwise a very informative read – I have subscribed to your feed.
Comment by Tony on 10 March 2008:
Well spotted Anon I have corrected the typo thanks for pointing it out and I hope you enjoy the rest of my SEO tutorials.
Pingback by SEO 102: Evaluating Web Directories | The Hip Zone on 13 March 2008:
[...] page(s). • the ability to use html in your entry to create links to your site with appropriate Anchor Text and the ability to add Heading [...]
Comment by Bali on 19 March 2008:
Great information Tony.
for On-site Optimisation No. 2, in my opinion we should not use home as anchor for the homepage. Use keyword target on it.
Comment by Tony on 19 March 2008:
Good point Bali. Usability and SEO have to be balanced both are retricted by the web publishing system in use. A good option is to have a mini stie map at the bottom of every page and to make the ‘home’ button a no-follow link. I don’t think I can do the latter on a Wordpress blog, I’ll investigate. Thanks for your input.
Comment by Tony on 8 April 2008:
Bali, I have made most of the links that do not convey any meaning no-follow now apart from the “comment” links. It was easier than I expected, probably worth a post. Thanks for the comment.
Comment by EPC on 17 May 2008:
For those wanting some simple points to follow, this is invaluable information that many seem to bypass.
Pingback by Blogs | Home Information Packs (HIP) on 12 August 2008:
[...] YOU to all you whos pages I have read and gained valuable information from. Especially, Tony B at Hipzone and Kingpin [...]