Anchor text is the clickable wording of a link. It tells readers and search engines what to expect on the other side. Choose it well and it adds useful context to every backlink; push the same keyword into every link and it starts to look like manipulation.

What anchor text does

When a page links to yours, the words used in that link are one of the clues search engines use to understand what your page is about. A link reading “guide to ecommerce SEO” says more than one reading “click here”. That is why anchor text is worth planning rather than leaving to chance.

It is also why it attracts abuse. When every link to a page uses the same commercial phrase, the pattern is easy to spot, because real writers who link naturally almost never do that.

The main types of anchor text

  • Branded: your business name, such as “SEO Hunt”. The most natural and the lowest risk.
  • Naked URL: the address itself, such as “seo-hunt.com”.
  • Exact match: the exact keyword you want to rank for, such as “link building services”.
  • Partial match: the keyword with other words around it, such as “a guide to choosing link building services”.
  • Descriptive or topical: a natural phrase describing the page, such as “this comparison of outreach methods”.
  • Generic: phrases like “read more” or “this article”. Natural in small amounts, but they add little context.

Why over-optimised anchors are a risk

Search engines have long treated an unnatural share of exact-match anchors as a sign of paid or manipulative link building. The result can be a page that stops ranking for the very keyword you were targeting. Even where no penalty applies, links with forced keywords tend to read badly, and publishers are more likely to reject them.

The goal is not to avoid keywords entirely. It is for your backlink profile to look like what it should be: a range of independent writers describing your page in their own words.

How to plan a balanced anchor text mix

There is no official ratio, and anyone quoting a precise “safe” percentage is guessing. A practical approach is to start from what your page would earn naturally:

  • Make branded and naked URL anchors the foundation of the profile, especially for your homepage.
  • Use descriptive and partial-match anchors for most links to inner pages such as guides and service pages.
  • Keep exact-match anchors occasional, and only where the phrase reads naturally in the sentence.
  • Check the anchors your page already has before adding more — existing links count towards the mix.

Let the sentence decide

The simplest test for any anchor is to read the sentence aloud. If it sounds like something an editor would write, it works. If the keyword has been forced in — “for the best link building services cheap, visit…” — it will look exactly as unnatural to search engines as it does to readers.

Good anchor text also matches the target page. A link described as a “pricing guide” should land on a page that explains pricing. Mismatched anchors confuse readers and waste the context the link was meant to provide.

Anchor text in our link building service

Every SEO Hunt placement carries one anchor text and one target URL, and you approve both before outreach starts. If an anchor would read unnaturally on a particular site, we suggest an alternative rather than forcing it in. For niche edits, nothing is changed on a publisher’s article without their permission and your approval of the wording.

If you are planning a campaign and want help balancing anchors across several pages, include your target URLs and keywords in your brief and we will propose a mix before any link is placed.