How do I fix links with non-descriptive anchor text?
The text of a hyperlink is called anchor text. One thing that sets anchor text apart is its formatting. The hyperlink stands out from the rest of content to indicate it can be clicked. Typically you’ll notice the anchor text because it’s a different color and often underlined.
The words that you use for the anchor text matter. Ideally the anchor text will include descriptive keywords that precisely represent the content or concept being linked to. However, the anchor text can be “over-optimized”, and that can have the opposite effect for SEO.
Why is anchor text important?
Anchor text that is both descriptive and relevant can help increase your page ranking by sending an additional signal to Google search bots. and search engines utilize anchor text to ascertain the subject matter of a linked page. Therefore, appropriate anchor text assists the Google algorithm in comprehending the structure of your website. And this gives it more context about how distinct pages are related to one another.
It can also improve the user experience since it gives users detailed information. Nothing is worse for users than the overly generic “Click Here” anchor text. Users would much rather have an exact idea of what they’ll find when they click the link.
Why non-descriptive anchor text happens
When anchor text doesn’t offer any insight into the content that can be found on the linked page it’s considered non-descriptive. Using non-descriptive anchor text is a crutch. It’s a simple and quick way to link to a page without putting much thought to it.
Users and search engines don’t get any benefit from this type of anchor text. In addition, search engines won’t be able to benefit much from using such anchors to index the target page.
How to fix links with non-descriptive anchor text
Fixing anchor text is as easy as making a quick update on a web page. How you update the link is what’s most important. SEO-friendly descriptive anchor text has the following three characteristics:
Succinct and to the point
Although there is no strict rule about how long anchor text should be, it’s best to keep it short. The ideal anchor text is concise and to the point.
Relevant to the linked-to page
Over time, search engines have developed better methods for identifying and using various ranking factors. One particularly useful indicator is the degree to which pages A and B are connected in the subject matter if they are linked. If you include a link to a resource that is extremely relevant to your subject, you may see an increase in page A and page B rankings for relevant search terms.
Low anchor text keyword density
Google has started paying greater attention to anchor text keywords. A red flag may be raised if many of a site’s incoming links use the same anchor text over and over, suggesting that these connections were not acquired organically. Always try to get relevant anchor text that includes your keywords and topics of interest. However, search engine optimizers may succeed more if they aim for a wider range of anchor text phrases that sound more natural rather than always using the same keyword.
A quick audit of your anchor text with evisio will tell you if you have non-descriptive links that need attention. Once you have them identified it’s worth taking the time to review each link in order to fully optimize the anchor text.
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