Link Building
Anchor Text
Anchor text is the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink, displayed in a distinct color and typically underlined. Search engines like Google use anchor text as a ranking signal to understand the context and relevance of the linked page, making it a critical element of any link building strategy.
Anchor text profiles can be analyzed using Ahrefs' Site Explorer, Moz Link Explorer, or SEMrush's Backlink Analytics. A healthy anchor text profile includes a natural mix of branded, exact-match, partial-match, and generic anchors to avoid over-optimization penalties.
Authority Links
Related Terms
Link Building
Backlink
An inbound hyperlink from one website to another — historically the strongest single ranking signal in Google's algorithm, treated as a vote of confidence in the linked page's authority.
Link Building
Brand Anchor Text
Hyperlinks that are brand names and direct users to the brand website are called brand anchor texts.
Link Building
Exact Match Anchor Text
Hyperlinks containing the targeted keyword are called exact match anchor texts.
Link Building
Naked Link
Naked links are hyperlinks that use the URL itself as the anchor text rather than a keyword.