Anchor Text

Definition

Anchor text is the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink. Search engines use it to understand the topic of the linked page. For example, in a link that says "best running shoes," that phrase is the anchor text.

Why It Matters for SEO

Using descriptive, keyword-relevant anchor text in internal and external links helps search engines understand page relevance. Over-optimized anchor text (repeating exact-match keywords) can trigger spam filters, so natural variation matters.