How to Choose the Right Anchor Text for Internal Links
Anchor text is one of the few on-page signals you fully control, yet most sites either ignore it or overuse the same exact phrase on every link. Both mistakes cost rankings and confuse readers.
This guide covers how to choose, vary and place anchor text so your internal links help search engines understand each page and help visitors find what they actually want next. Businesses working with an SEO agency in Portsmouth often find this is one of the fastest wins available, because it needs no new content, just better links between what already exists.
We will define good anchor text, show worked examples, cover common mistakes and explain how anchors influence AI-generated answers as well as traditional rankings.
Key takeaways
- Anchor text should describe the destination page, not repeat a keyword formula.
- Vary anchor phrasing across every page linking to the same target.
- Avoid exact-match anchors on more than a small share of links to one page.
- Never use "click here", "read more" or a bare URL as the only anchor.
- Place links inside sentences where a reader naturally wants more detail.
- Short, specific anchors of two to five words usually work best.
- Audit anchor distribution across your site at least twice a year.
What makes anchor text good for SEO?
Good anchor text tells a reader exactly what they will find if they click, and it tells a search engine what the destination page is about. Both jobs should be done with the same short phrase.
- Descriptive — names the topic, not the action of clicking.
- Concise — usually two to five words.
- Natural — reads correctly inside the surrounding sentence.
- Varied — different wording each time the same page is linked.
- Honest — matches what the destination page actually covers.
What types of anchor text should you use?
A healthy internal linking profile mixes several anchor types rather than relying on one formula for every link.
| Type | Example | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| Exact match | "anchor text optimisation" | Sparingly, for the single most important link |
| Partial match | "optimising your anchor text" | Most internal links |
| Branded | "our guide to internal linking" | Where the brand or guide is the subject |
| Natural phrase | "the section above explains why" | Conversational, low-risk default |
| Generic (avoid) | "click here", "this page" | Never as the only anchor |
Most pages should see a mix weighted toward partial match and natural phrases, with exact match reserved for the one or two links that matter most to that page's ranking.
How do you choose the right anchor for each link?
Read the sentence you are writing, then ask what a reader would type into a search box if they wanted the destination page. That phrase, lightly adapted to fit the sentence, is usually the right anchor.
- Look at the destination page's H1 and main heading for the core phrase.
- Rewrite it slightly so it fits the current sentence grammatically.
- Check what anchor you used last time you linked to that page.
- If it repeats, change the wording while keeping the same meaning.
Example. Instead of always writing "internal linking for SEO", alternate with "how internal links pass authority", "linking pages together properly" or "our internal linking guide", depending on the sentence. See the full internal linking guide for how these links fit into a wider strategy.
What anchor text mistakes hurt SEO?
- Over-optimisation. Using the exact same keyword-stuffed anchor on every internal link to a page looks manipulative and can trigger algorithmic distrust.
- Generic anchors. "Click here" and "read more" waste an opportunity and tell search engines nothing about the destination.
- Mismatched anchors. Text that promises one thing but links to another damages trust and increases bounce rate.
- Anchor stuffing. Cramming several keywords into one anchor phrase reads unnaturally and rarely converts.
- Ignoring context. Placing a link where the surrounding text has nothing to do with the destination confuses both readers and crawlers.
Where should anchor text links be placed?
Placement matters as much as wording. Links buried only in a footer or a "related articles" block at the very end carry less weight than links placed naturally within the body text.
- Early in the article, where genuinely relevant, rather than only at the end.
- Inside a sentence that is already discussing the linked topic.
- At a point where a reader would plausibly want to click through, not skim past.
- Sparingly — two to five contextual internal links per 1,000 words is usually enough.
For a broader set of placement and structure tips, our internal linking tips article covers the wider picture beyond anchor wording alone.
Does anchor text matter for AI Overviews and ChatGPT answers?
Yes. AI systems crawl and parse pages much like traditional search engines, and descriptive anchor text still helps them map the relationship between pages and understand what each one is about.
When an assistant like ChatGPT or Google's AI Overviews summarises a topic, clear internal linking with specific anchors makes it easier for the system to identify your most authoritative page on a subtopic and cite or reference it accurately. Vague anchors give the model less to work with, so it may default to a competitor's clearer signal instead.
Anchor text glossary
- Anchor text — the clickable, visible words of a hyperlink.
- Exact match anchor — anchor text identical to the target keyword.
- Partial match anchor — anchor text containing part of the target phrase.
- Anchor diversity — the range of different anchor phrases pointing to one page.
- Internal link — a hyperlink between two pages on the same site.
- Link equity — the value passed between pages through links.
- Over-optimisation — using anchor text so heavily keyword-focused it appears manipulative.
Frequently asked questions
How many internal links should point to one page?+
There is no fixed number, but pages that matter most commercially tend to earn the most internal links naturally, from wherever the topic is genuinely relevant. Forcing links onto unrelated pages does more harm than good.
Should I ever use exact-match anchor text?+
Occasionally, for the single most relevant link to a priority page. Using it every time you mention that topic looks unnatural and can flag over-optimisation.
Can anchor text alone improve rankings?+
Anchor text is one contributing signal among many. It works alongside content quality, page structure and authority, not as a replacement for them.
Is it bad to reuse the same anchor twice?+
Occasionally reusing an anchor is fine. The problem is using identical anchor text on every single link to the same page across the whole site.
Do image links need anchor text?+
Image links use alt text as their equivalent signal. Write descriptive alt text just as you would descriptive anchor text for a text link.
How do I audit anchor text across a whole site?+
Crawling tools such as Screaming Frog can export every internal link with its anchor text, letting you spot repetition or generic anchors quickly.
Treat anchor text as part of the writing, not an afterthought
Good anchor text is simply accurate, varied description written into a sentence that already makes sense. Get that habit right and both readers and search engines find your site easier to navigate.
Review your anchor text whenever you write a new page, and revisit older pages every few months to vary anchors that have become repetitive.
Related reading
Internal linking for SEO
The cheapest lever in SEO and the most underused. How to link your own pages properly.