Wait a second. It looks like the playing field has changed. In my previous article about the importance of anchor text I recommended using the same anchor text consistently across all your articles and directory posts. I said that over time this would show Google that you are the authority for a given keyword phrase. Well, now Google aren’t fans of this arrangement. You need to mix up your anchor text.

According to SEOWIZZ, it turns out this is now bad anchor text advice. Google have changed their algorithm to combat spammers, and anchor text was in their firing line. Tim Grice comments:

“The research clearly shows, in terms of ranking, building a strong domain is far more important than anchor text.”

Google are on a mission to make their search engine as human as possible, all the while trying to reduce the prominence of sites that try and ‘game’ the system at the expense of quality.

From Google’s point of view, it would be abnormal for a site to be constantly receiving the same anchor text linking in. There are millions of words in the English language and to think that different people are using the same phrase all the time to link to your site is probably stretching it. Google have therefore reduced the emphasis on links that are using the same anchor text phrase. They are still worth Google juice, just not as much.

So How Should We Use Anchor Text?

To get value from your anchor text, you need to mix it up. So rather than using the anchor text ‘Brisbane Valet’. Mix it up with similar text such as ‘Valet of Brisbane’ or ‘Brisbane’s Valet Service’. Choose four or so phrases and alternate using each one. This will make your links look more natural to Google and will therefore carry more influence.

It’s also a good idea to have back links to various pages of your website – rather than just to your home page. This shows Google that your website has depth.

Growing your small business,

David Moloney
Small Business Planned

Links are the currency of the internet. Links create and build reputations, greasing the internet with every click. In fact Google’s all powerful algorithm is primarily based on link authority. It’s powerful stuff. It’s not just the link itself that carries the SEO power. It’s the text within the link that carries the Google juice. This text is known as anchor text. This is how you can harness this power for your website.

Consider how Google updates (or caches) internet sites for its index. It sends out millions of virtual automated Google spiders to trawl the internet and record the content on each page. These spiders will read the information and links on each page. Each time someone searches Google, Google will return results based on applying its algorithm to the latest Google spider information.

Since the Google spiders are automated and computer driven, they use pre-determined logic to interpret links. They can’t reason like us humans. For instance, if you write the sentence and link ‘Free fuel is going to save me money’, the Google spider assumes that the page you’re linking to is all about ‘save me money’, so it indexes it accordingly. This is a shame, because the page is actually all about ‘free fuel’.

Don’t try and be clever. Use logical anchor text.

Don’t Use Click Here

Back in the early days of the internet, people used ‘click here’ to identify their links. The Internet was just a baby, so writers had to shape behaviour in an unfamiliar environment. These days people instinctively know that words in blue text are links.

For a search engine optimisation perspective, using ‘click here’ is useless. It does not inform the Google spiders of page content and therefore it does not improve your SEO. Using ‘click here’ as your anchor text is a wasted opportunity, that is, unless you want to rank for the term. Mind you, Adobe already have dibs on the term with their free acrobat PDF reader. Search for click here and see for yourself.

Which Anchor Text Phrase Should I Target?

Choices, choices. The anchor text phrase that you target should align with the search terms that your customers are using. For example, your anchor text could be ‘Melbourne Flower Delivery’ or ‘Bondi Dentist.’ The phrase you target should:

1. Reflect your business or product
2. Align to what your customers are searching for
3. Have a basic level of search traffic (see the Google Keyword Tool and Market Samurai)
4. Ideally, not have a high level of competition

The anchor text holly grail would be to have your business name and website address as your anchor text. As long as it meets the above criteria, you’re in for a great chance of success.

Consistency is the Key

Important: The advice I offer below is now out of date.  See my newer article which advises to Mix up Your Anchor Text

Use your targetted anchor text phrase at every opportunity (without being spammy). This could include:

• In your call to action
• In your forum signatures
• In your on-site articles
• In your off-site articles

Over time Google will start to understand that your website is the place to go for information about your anchor text, eg: ‘Melbourne Flower Delivery’ or ‘Bondi Dentist’. That means that your website will start to feature in results for these searched phrases. And when that happens it’s time to celebrate with a jam donut. Don’t burn your mouth.

Coding Text as Anchor Text

Coding anchor text is usually just a case of highlighting text, pressing the link button, then entering your website. However sometimes this user interface isn’t available, in which case you need to get your hands dirty with the following code: <a href=”http://EnterWebsiteAddressHere.com”>Enter Anchor Text Here</a>

Or as an example that returns Small Business Plan:

And that’s anchor text in a nutshell. Know it and use it to strengthen your website rankings.

Growing your small business,
David Moloney
Small Business Planned