| Anchor text usually gives your site's visitors useful | | | | Google Webmaster Guidelines (Google Webmaster |
| information about the content of the page or area | | | | Central, April 10, 2010) state: "Make a site with...text |
| you invite them to link to. Likewise it tells search | | | | links." It later says: "Think about the words users |
| engines what the destination, or target, is about. | | | | would type to find your pages, and make sure that |
| Thus it is important to use proper hyperlink anchor | | | | your site actually includes those words within it." Still |
| text to maximize your search engine results. | | | | further it reads: "Try to use text instead of images |
| Hyperlinks, or links, point to a Web page or to a | | | | to display.....links." |
| section within a Web page. Wikipedia defines a | | | | My conclusion is Google tells you to use text for your |
| hyperlink as a "reference to a document that the | | | | links, so it must be good a god thing to do so. Why? |
| reader can directly follow..." Links are used to quickly | | | | Because its Googlebot search software reads text to |
| navigate from one location on the Web to another. | | | | index Web sites. So, if you want to tell the search |
| Sometimes the target location replaces the source | | | | engine what the page is about, what content or |
| location when the hyperlink is activated. At other | | | | information it displays, use text. When the anchor |
| times a completely new page is opened. | | | | text reflects the page's keywords it gets a boost |
| A hyperlink made with text is called hypertext and | | | | from Google, or sort of extra credit. |
| the text is generally underlined. The text is often a | | | | So instead of "click here" or "Contact Us" use |
| different color than the neighboring text. It may also | | | | relevant keywords for your target. When you use |
| change color when your mouse hovers over it or | | | | "click here" for words people you want people to |
| once you click on it. The later indicates you previously | | | | click on, you tell them the target is about the subject |
| followed that link. | | | | "click here". If you use "Contact Us" as the anchor |
| The text in the hypertext is called 'Anchor Text'. | | | | text, you tell the search engines the page is |
| Anchor text alerts your reader to the content or | | | | discussing "Contact Us". Do you want to rank highly |
| information they will find when they follow the link. | | | | for "click here" or "Contact Us"? |
| Useful information entices them to click through. | | | | One last bit of advice is: Make sure the words you |
| Another benefit is enhanced search engine results. | | | | use make sense to your reader! |