Anchor text is something that is considered very valuable when it comes to SEO optimization, which is part of the reason why it has developed a bit of a bad name. Because so many sites have in the past tried to get anchor text links through spam and other forms of manipulation, search engines like Google have set up very strict rules to try and stop people from exploiting the system.
Here we will take a look at how you can get anchor text links without even considering using spam as a way of making it more effective.
Give Up Control
The first thing you should really do is relinquish most of the control you have over the anchor text. This may seem like a very risky idea, but it’s actually the best way to make sure that the anchor text links that are used are natural and are clearly not spam.
When you think about it, around 90% of the anchor text links that you have to come to your site you probably have no control over whatsoever. These links will have been created by bloggers, publishers, and editors who have decided to use your site as a source. If they have not quite used the keywords or phrases that you want to be used, it really doesn’t matter. In fact, search engines like Google will be more inclined to consider your anchor text links as being more genuine if they see that your site has been linked to them without using any strict keywords or phrases.
Naming And Branding
If we are to focus on the 10% or so of the anchor text that you can control, then the first thing you should think about is naming and branding. If you have a product for example that you are selling on your site, then branding it with a name will help influence the kind of anchor text you are able to generate. When you come up with a brand name, then you need to make sure that you are using it all of the time. When you are referring to the product on your site or on social media, then you need to make sure that you use the name so then that is what is always associated with your product.
This is part of the reason why people who work on the SEO side of the website should be involved in the branding of products. They of course have all the information when it comes to popular keywords and phrases that attract a lot of traffic. They will be able to help you create a brand name that is keyword rich and is able to generate a lot of high quality anchor text links.
Anchor Text Using Other Outlets
There are really a wide variety of online outlets that you can use in order to generate anchor text links. One of the first places you can start is with social media. If you go onto your Twitter bio, you will be able to change it so then it contains the brand name or services that you or your company provides. This is a good way of helping generate anchor text links through your social media before you have even posted anything.
In order to make sure that your social media bio looks like it is creating anchor text in a natural way, then you will need to change it every few months or so. This way you will be generating the anchor text that you want without looking like you are using spam or another form of manipulation.
The same thing can be done with image credits. If you have pictures on your site that other outlets are looking to use, then you can make sure that they use the right citation text so then it contains the naming and branding that you are looking for. The best way to do this is to ensure that the copyright text that is used contains the words that you would like to be used as anchor text, then anyone who uses the picture has to use those words.
The only place where you really need to be careful about anchor text is when you are writing guest posts. If you use a bio at the end of your post then it may look quite a lot like spam to search engines. The best thing to do is just avoid trying to generate anchor text with bios on guest posts altogether, mainly because it is very little you can do about making it look like spam.
Encourage Copying And Pasting
This sounds like something you should avoid unless you want to encourage plagiarism, but there is a way to encourage copying and pasting in order to help your anchor text. If you have infographics or charts that you wouldn’t mind being used on other sites, then you could use website systems and add-ons that allow you to make it really easy for readers to copy your content.
The great thing about this is that it doesn’t necessarily need to be the exact anchor text you want. All you have to do is go to the people who are using you as a source and try and encourage them to add your embedded material to their blog. When you give it a name, you can be really creative with it too so then the text is original but is still classed as anchor text.
The important thing to remember is that the text must be seen naturally. It’s easy to get a little keyword-heavy when you are trying to come up with anchor text, but if you do then you risk having text that looks too much like spam.
Ultimately, anchor text is something that you should allow to be generated naturally. You really should be aiming to influence only a small number of anchor text links, mainly because the majority cannot be influenced at all. As long as you are able to remain honest and avoid using text that can be considered spam, then it should help your search engine ranking and subsequent traffic a great deal.
