Anchor Text Analyzer

Anchor text is the clickable text in a hyperlink. When you see a link that says "click here" or "learn more about SEO" - that visible text is the anchor text. Search engines use anchor text as a signal to understand what the linked page is about.

For example, if lots of websites link to your page using the anchor text "best coffee maker," Google gets a hint that your page is probably about coffee makers. This is why anchor text has been an important ranking factor since the early days of SEO.

This tool categorizes anchor text into six main types.

Exact Match: The anchor text is exactly your target keyword. If you're targeting "content marketing," an exact match anchor would be "content marketing."

Partial Match: The anchor contains your keyword plus other words. For example, "best content marketing strategies" contains "content marketing."

Branded: The anchor uses a brand name, company name, or domain. Examples include "Content Powered," "Nike," or "Amazon.com."

Generic: Common call-to-action phrases that don't describe the content. Think "click here," "read more," "learn more," or "this article."

Naked URL: The anchor text is just the URL itself, like "https://example.com" or "www.example.com."

Image: When an image is wrapped in a link with no text, the anchor is essentially the image (or its alt text).

Google's algorithm looks at anchor text patterns to detect manipulation. Back in the day, SEOs would build tons of links with exact match anchor text and rank easily. Google caught on and now penalizes sites with unnatural anchor text profiles.

A natural link profile has variety. Real people linking to your content use all sorts of anchor text - sometimes your brand name, sometimes "this article," sometimes a partial keyword, and sometimes just the URL. If 80% of your anchors are exact match keywords, that's a red flag.

The Penguin algorithm update specifically targets sites with over-optimized anchor text. Getting this wrong can tank your rankings, so it's worth keeping an eye on your distribution.

There's no magic formula, but here's a rough guideline that most SEOs agree on.

Branded anchors should make up about 30-40% of your profile. This is the safest type of anchor and shows you have a legitimate brand presence.

Generic anchors like "click here" and "read more" should be around 20-30%. These are natural because real users often link this way.

Naked URLs typically account for 10-20%. People copy-paste URLs all the time, so this looks natural.

Partial match keywords can be 10-20%. These give you some keyword relevance without being too aggressive.

Exact match keywords should stay under 10-15%. This is where you get SEO value, but too much triggers penalties.

Keep in mind these are rough guidelines. Different niches have different norms, and what matters most is that your profile looks natural compared to your competitors.