Wording is one step of five in our internal linking playbook, which also covers which pages to link from.
What Anchor Text Is
Anchor text is the clickable text of a link. In this HTML, the anchor text is "boot waterproofing guide":
<a href="/guides/waterproof-hiking-boots">boot waterproofing guide</a>For an image that is a link, there is no text. Google uses the image's alt text as the anchor instead (Google Search Central, Link best practices, updated December 2025). So a linked logo or product photo with an empty alt gives Google nothing to read.
What Google Says
Google's link guide is short and clear. The key lines:
- "Good anchor text is descriptive, reasonably concise, and relevant to the page that it's on and to the page it links to."
- Weak examples it lists: "Click here", "Read more", "website", "article".
- On keywords: resist the urge to cram every keyword into a link. Ask whether the reader needs those keywords to understand the next page. If not, take them out. Keyword stuffing is against Google's spam policies.
- Context matters too: the words around a link also help Google and readers understand it.
All quotes and examples: Link best practices for Google.
Six Anchor Rules
- Name the target page's topic. A reader should be able to guess the page from the link alone.
- Keep it short. About 2 to 6 words covers most cases. That is our rule of thumb, not a Google number.
- Put it in a real sentence. "Before a long hike, waterproof your hiking boots." beats a bare list of links.
- One topic, one target. Never use the same anchor for two different pages. It tells Google two pages are about the same thing.
- Vary it naturally. Five links to the same page from five posts can use five honest wordings. Do not paste one exact phrase everywhere.
- Do not chain links. Google's guide shows links placed back to back, each on a few words, as a bad example. Readers cannot tell them apart.
12 Before and After Examples
All examples use the fictional shop northwind-outdoors.com.
| # | Weak anchor | Better anchor | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | click here to see our sizing chart | see the sleeping bag size chart | Says what the page is |
| 2 | read more | how to pick a tent for wind | Generic vs specific |
| 3 | this article explains it | our guide to layering for winter hikes explains it | Names the topic |
| 4 | best cheap hiking boots 2026 buy hiking boots online | hiking boots under $150 | Stuffed vs clear |
| 5 | here | return policy | One word says nothing |
| 6 | tents (linking to the 2-person tent page) | 2-person backpacking tents | Matches the real target |
| 7 | gaiters used for both the gaiter guide and the gaiter category | how to wear gaiters (guide) and trail gaiters (category) | One anchor, one page |
| 8 | website | Leave No Trace principles | External links follow the same rule |
| 9 | Linked logo with alt="" | Linked logo with alt="Northwind Outdoors home" | Alt text is the anchor |
| 10 | stoves, fuel, pots as three links in a row | one link: camp kitchen checklist | No chained links |
| 11 | https://northwind-outdoors.com/guides/tent-footprint | tent footprint vs tarp | Bare URLs are hard to read |
| 12 | learn more about our boots, hiking boots, trail boots and walking boots | compare our trail boots | Short and specific |
Exact Match vs Descriptive: What to Do
People ask if the anchor should be the exact keyword the target page ranks for. The honest answer:
- A descriptive anchor that names the topic is good. If the page is about "waterproof hiking boots", an anchor like "waterproof hiking boots" is natural and fine.
- The same exact phrase on every link is not. It reads oddly, and stuffed anchors are what Google's guide warns about.
- For internal links, the safe path is natural variety. "waterproof hiking boots", "keep your boots dry", "boot waterproofing guide" can all point to the same page.
A simple test: read the sentence out loud. If the link sounds like it was written for a search engine, rewrite it.
Where Anchor Text Matters Most
| Link type | How much its anchor tells Google | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| In-body link in a sentence | Most | Spend your effort here |
| Related posts block | Medium | Use the target's real title |
| Breadcrumbs | Medium | Use short section names |
| Main menu | Low (same on every page) | Clear, short labels |
| Footer | Low | Keep it short |
How to Check Your Anchors
- Crawl your site with a free crawler (Screaming Frog is free up to 500 URLs) and export the inlinks with anchor text for your key pages.
- Sort by anchor. Look for "click here", "read more", bare URLs and empty image anchors.
- Look for one anchor pointing to two different pages, and fix it.
- Fix the worst offenders on pages that already get clicks first.
How to Use This with an AI Assistant
Connect SEOmatic at https://seomatic.ai/mcp and ask: "Use site_pages crawl on my 5 most visited pages from gsc_performance top_pages and list every internal link with a vague anchor like 'click here' or 'read more'. Suggest a better 2 to 6 word anchor for each and the sentence it fits in." Sign in with connect_seomatic; reading is free, and any link changes SEOmatic drafts wait for your approval.
Let the Agents Add Your Internal Links
SEOmatic's AI agents use your own Search Console data to decide which pages need links, then add them in your CMS:
- Link to pages that sit just off page one for searches they could win
- Use anchor text that matches what people search for
- Fix broken internal links
Each change can wait for your approval, one click undoes it, and the agents check it against how the rest of your site did. What they can change depends on your platform, and you see the full list before anything runs.
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