What is anchor text?

Types of anchor text

What a natural mix looks like

Most links people give you naturally use your brand name or URL, with some descriptive and generic anchors. Directory listings almost always use the product name or the URL. A profile where most anchors are the exact keyword you want to rank for is unusual and is the pattern Google's spam policies describe in "keyword-rich anchor text links" from guest posts and link schemes.

Anchor text on your own site

For internal links, descriptive anchors help: "our guide to directory submission" tells Google and readers more than "click here". Google's link guidance asks for anchor text that is descriptive, reasonably concise and relevant to the page it links to.

Common mistake

Asking every site that links to you for the same keyword anchor. It doesn't look natural, it's against the spirit of Google's guidelines and it rarely helps. Ask for your brand name and let context do the rest.

Example

A founder reviews her anchor text report: 62% branded, 21% naked URL, 9% generic, 8% descriptive. That's a healthy, natural profile. A competitor shows 45% "best CRM software" anchors, nearly all from guest posts on unrelated blogs, a pattern that invites a manual action.

Anchor text in directory listings

Directories rarely let you choose anchor text. Most show your product name as the link, a "Visit website" button or your URL. That's fine: it builds a natural, brand-heavy profile. If a form offers a separate "link text" field, use your product name rather than a keyword.