Anchor text is the clickable, hyperlinked text in a link. In HTML it sits between <a> and </a> tags. Search engines read anchor text as a relevance signal — it tells Google what the destination page is about. When many sites link to a page using the same keyword phrase as anchor text, that reinforces the page’s ranking potential for that phrase. It also helps users understand where a link will take them before they click.
Types of Anchor Text
What a Natural Anchor Text Profile Looks Like
Google expects your inbound anchor text to look organic — a natural mix of branded, partial match, and naked URLs, with a small percentage of exact-match anchors. Sites with an unnaturally high percentage of exact-match anchor text on inbound links are a signal of manipulative link building, which can trigger manual or algorithmic penalties.
For internal links — links within your own site — you have full control. Use descriptive partial-match anchor text that helps users and Google understand the destination page. Anchor text is closely connected to backlink strategy overall. See Direction’s resource on what is a backlink for the full picture on how links influence rankings.