Anchor Text: Write Link Text That Describes the Target

## Why it matters

Anchor text used to rank. Google would see a thousand backlinks saying "best SEO tools" and boost the target accordingly. That's still true, but Google now infers meaning from surrounding context too, so exact-match anchor spam is penalised.

The real reason to write good anchor text is people. Screen reader users hear link text in isolation. When they navigate by jumping from link to link (a common pattern), "click here" tells them nothing. But "read our returns policy" tells them exactly where the link goes. Sighted users also scan headings and links first; vague anchors make them click to find out where they land. Good anchor text respects both.

## How it works

The anchor text is the visible text inside the <a> tag:

<a href="/returns">Read our returns policy</a>
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Screen readers, crawlers, and users all read "Read our returns policy" as the link's purpose.

For image links, the link has no visible text, so the alt text becomes the anchor:

<a href="/about"><img src="logo.svg" alt="About us" /></a>
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The alt text "About us" is the anchor. No alt text means the link is unlabelled and the screen reader announces "link with no name."

Google and screen readers also infer context from surrounding text. A link that says "here" inside a paragraph "To learn more, click here" gets some meaning from the paragraph. But not much. Standalone text is clearer.

## What does not matter

Exact-match keywords are no longer safe. Five backlinks all saying "best SEO tools" used to guarantee a ranking boost. Now it looks like spam and can trigger a manual action. Vary your anchors naturally; "explore our SEO guide," "read this SEO explainer," and "our SEO tools" are different enough and still on-topic.

Link count is secondary. One strong, descriptive anchor is worth more than ten "click here" links. Quality beats volume.

The link's domain. An anchor about apples pointing to example.com/oranges carries no signal. The text matters more than where the link goes. That's actually a risk: if your anchor says "learn about SEO" but points to an unrelated page, Google will be confused and may discount the signal.

## Code example

Weak anchors and how to fix them:

<!-- Bad: tells you nothing -->
<p>For more info, <a href="/returns">click here</a>.</p>

<!-- Better: describes the target -->
<p>For more info, <a href="/returns">read our returns policy</a>.</p>

<!-- Also good: context helps -->
<p><a href="/returns">Returns policy</a> explains how we handle refunds.</p>
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Image links with and without alt text:

<!-- Bad: unlabelled -->
<a href="/"><img src="logo.svg" /></a>

<!-- Good: alt text becomes the anchor -->
<a href="/"><img src="logo.svg" alt="Home" /></a>
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Exact-match repetition and variation:

<!-- Risky: all the same anchor -->
<a href="/seo-tools">best SEO tools</a>
<a href="/seo-tools">best SEO tools</a>
<a href="/seo-tools">best SEO tools</a>

<!-- Better: natural variation -->
<a href="/seo-tools">best SEO tools</a>
<a href="/seo-tools">explore our SEO toolkit</a>
<a href="/seo-tools">our popular SEO guide</a>
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## How Scalpel Links shows it

The link audit lists every link with its anchor text, target, and type. Weak anchors are flagged: "click here," "read more," "link," "here," and a dozen other common weak phrases appear with a note. It's not forbidden; it just carries no signal.

The highlight mode colours every link. Hover over a link and the popup shows its full anchor text and destination. That's the fastest way to spot the vague anchors you want to rewrite.