Fluff has no business in online content. Unless, of course, you’re writing about fluffy bunnies.
When it comes to linking, choosing the right anchor text can make a big difference. But don’t take our word for it.
Google’s Webmaster Trends Analyst, John Mueller agrees, “Most links do provide a bit of additional context through their anchor text. At least they should, right?”
If you’re looking to make the most out of your links, then you need to know how to choose the right anchor text.
Keep reading to learn how.
Figure Out the Best Category to Use
Luckily, when it comes to finding the right anchor text, there is more than one strategy you can use.
Whichever strategy you do decide on, make sure it makes the most sense within the content itself. If it feels strained or out of place, chances are, Google will notice that, too.
So will your readers. You want your readers to actually click on the link. Make sure whichever category you choose, it entices your readers to take the appropriate action.
Keywords Are Always Helpful
Keywords are a huge part of online content. Those keywords are there to help consumers find your site.
Those keywords are also there to ensure search engines also find your site. Keywords are also an easy way to choose the right anchor text.
Keywords Plus Are Also Useful
If you own a pizza restaurant, you’ll probably write blogs about your food. Say you’re writing a blog with the keywords, “best pizza”.
You want to choose the right anchor text but you need or want to add more to the link to attract more traffic. In this case, you would use a strategy known as keywords plus.
This means you would highlight the keywords and then add on to it like this, “best pizza in Stamford”.
It’s Always Useful to Use Your Brand Name
Whether you are a large, well-known company or are just starting out, branding can help build up recognition for your company.
Sometimes, the best way to choose the right anchor text is to just use your brand name. In other words, just use the name of your company as the link itself.
Using the Brand Plus the Keyword Is a Great Strategy to Choose the Right Anchor Text
This strategy is the same as keywords plus. You simply add on to your brand name to make it more appealing to your readers.
If your company is McDonald’s you might choose your brand name plus to be, “best fries at McDonald’s”. It would help attract more customers looking for where to buy great fries.
Try Using the Page Title
You can also try using the title page or meta page title when you want to choose the right anchor text.
This will help drive more traffic to the page itself. In this case, you would use the page title, “get mobile”.
If the title page or meta page title is too long, don’t use this strategy. You want to choose anchor texts that aren’t too long. Try to use five words or less.
Otherwise, it will distract from the content.
Use a Partial Keyword
You don’t always have to use the full keyword phrase in your anchor text. While in certain cases, you need a longer keyword, other times, less is more.
If your keyword is “choose the right anchor text” you might find that using the partial keyword “right anchor text” works best when linking.
Again, long keywords are okay. Long anchor texts distract from your point.
Go Au Naturel
In this case, going natural doesn’t mean going naked. But it does mean you don’t select an anchor text based on your brand or your keywords.
You simply choose the right anchor text because it fits into what you’re saying. This article is about anchor texts but you can’t use it if you don’t have content.
But how most business owners don’t have a clue as to how much content is best. Most people don’t, which means your customer base would be interested in a link that shares that information.
However, it’s a natural link that has nothing to do with your brand or your keyword
Using the Full URL Works in Certain Cases
The full URL is another great way to anchor text. All that needs to happen is to place the entire URL as is within the content like this, https://osoweb.wpengine.com/blog/.
It’s helpful because then your readers will have a better chance of remembering the URL in the future.
Now, every time someone wants to read our blog, they’ve got a much higher chance of finding it quickly if they haven’t already saved it to their desktop.
The WebsiteName.com is a Great Strategy
If you don’t want everyone to see the https or www’s, you can simply list the website name as the anchor text.
Again, it’s an easy way for people to remember a website so they have a higher chance of visiting it again in the future.
The Home URL
Anchoring the text to the home URL works when you’re using internal links. You want visitors to your site to end up at some point on your home URL.
Go ahead, it’s perfectly okay to do this. Not everyone will find your home URL because they first found you because of your blog.
Since you do more than just blog, you’ll want people to see the full scope of what you offer.
Think Outside the Box By Using No Text
Everyone knows that content without using photography is boring. You might as well write a book at that point because no one wants to read online content without photos.
Which is perfect because sometimes you can choose the right anchor text simply by linking the photo itself. This is perfect because photos are eye-catching.
A URL With WWW’s
We all know by now that http or https is part of a web address. No one needs to tell us that.
Which means you can skip it when you use a URL as an anchor text. You can simply use the rest of the web address.
Have a Site Worth Visiting
Of course, no one will care about your links if your site looks boring. They also won’t stay if your content isn’t worthwhile.
Don’t forget to consult professionals like us to ensure your website contains everything it needs to. Contact us to get started.
