What?s Anchor Text?

This type of text appears highlighted in a hypertext link that can be clicked on to open the target web page. It?s important to understand what it is, as ultimately, it is part of your keyword intentkeyword intent.

Types of Anchor Text

Exact Match– This type of anchor text includes a keyword that mirrors the page that it is being linked to.

Partial Match– Includes a variation of the keyword on the linked-to page

Branded– Includes brand name or a slight variation

Generic– A generic term but doesn?t include branding.?For example ?here? or ?visit site?

Image– This will show as a blank and/or may have jpg

Miscellaneous-Not generic, but not related to the site

Low Quality– More than 100 characters

Targeted-Includes exact or partial term you are trying to rank for

Topical– On topic but doesn?t include targeted term.

Naked Link– URL anchors that are naked urls

Deciding on Anchor Text

What is the most concise, accurate way to describe the page being linked to?

What word or phrase would encourage users to click on the link? Think about who your target market is for this content.

Relevance

The links and anchor text that are being used should be relevant to the post that they are in.?It should include the topic of the source page as well as the content of anchor text on that source page.? Search engines use anchor text variations as indicators to what the article is about and to determine if it is relevant content.?You want to make sure that your content is sending strong relevancy signals.

You never want to overdo your anchor text.? Keep it helpful and make sure it does not appear spammy.? Always step back as if you were a first time visitor and look at it from that perspective.? If ever other sentence is filled with links it can start to look suspicious.?? Your goal is to be user friendly and resourceful in all of your content.

Why is it Important?

Anchor text plays a big part in your site’s Search Engine Optimization (SEO). ?It’s the ‘keyword’ that search engine bots pick up on to help people find the answers to their questions. ?This is why it’s important to identify the purpose of your post, and understand your audience so that you know what anchor word will fit best for what they would search for.

WordPress Keyword On Page Optimizations

Making sure that your site is correctly set up for On Page Optimization using keywords is an important aspect of SEO. ?It helps search engines and people who come to your site easily find what they are looking for or confirm that they are in fact in the correct place.

Why On Page Optimizations and ?Keyword Seed List Are Important

Coming up with your seed list and making sure you use that relevant information on your pages and post will make a difference in your SEO. ?You do not want to “stuff” keywords or have them in un-natural places but you do want to make sure that if someone lands on your page they can accurately tell what the basis of your site is.

Keyword Seed List

Here are some ways that you can come up with your own Keyword Seed List. ?Often, when we’re putting together information we can miss key points because we know what we are talking about in our head, however, it doesn’t always come across to the reader. ?This is one reason sitting down and coming up with a seed list is important.

Your own keyword brainstorming
Manual variations of initial search phrases
Reports, Presentations, Emails
Google Search Console Search Analytics (shows you what you are showing up for not where you are showing)
Google Analytics Report
Google Adwords
Bing Webmaster Tools
Competitor?s visual content
Competitors meta titles and descriptions
Keywords in SpyFu or SEMrush.
Keyword Finder

Creating/Organize Your List of Seed Words

Create a list of ?seed words? using a variety of sources.? These sources can be emails, competitors websites, presentations, or even google auto-suggestions)

Remove branded keywords
Plug seed words into your choice tool to obtain additional options and monthly search volumes
Extract reports in batches and create 1 uniform report.
Remove unnecessary columns
Remove duplicates
Remove branded anchor words
Remove any known to be incorrect
Remove any that are outside your target demographic area
Sort by volumes and remove phrases that have large volumes.
You want your Keywords to equal customer verbiage, not industry jargon

Remember-You want your Keywords to equal customer verbiage, not industry jargon Click To Tweet

Things to Remember When Selecting Keywords:

Choose a title that is relevant to what the content discusses
Make sure your title is unique
Include an anchor word ?phrase
Use your it close to the start of the page

Optimize Your Page URL:

Include the keyword in your URL
Make it as short as possible
Use words, not characters
Use dashes to separate your words

Include Keywords In Heading Titles

Make sure that you not only have the correct heading titles but also that you include your keywords inside them.

H1

Make sure you use the H1 tag.
There should only be one per URL
Include your keyword in the H1 title
Your H1 should be positioned before any other heading tag.

H2-H6

Use heading tags (h2-h6) to break up content
When possible, use your focus keyword in it
Keep your headers in title case
Avoid long sentences as your title
Avoid duplicating your h1.

Paragraphs

Add your keyword phrase
Use the keyword in your first sentence
Use a variation of the keyword and synonyms for it as well

Images

Include anchor words in the file name prior to uploading
Check out this post on optimizing your images for Pinterest

Internal Links

Meta Titles- Title, not a sentence
Try not to duplicate
Typically they are 55 characters

Optimizations and Your WordPress Site

When optimizing your site and adding keywords, you want to make sure that everything you do is for the good of your site visitor. ?Steer away from keyword stuffing, and attempting to over-optimize pages and post. ?If your goal is to make it easy for visitors to find what they need, and you have strong content with relevant information you will be fine.

The reason that you make your seed list and decide on your keywords is to help get your message across in a way that it can be found. ?When people write, there are times where the topic is in their mind but is never actually spelled out on paper. ?Knowing the search terms that people will look for and ensure they are on your site is in the best interest of your audience. ?Throwing random keywords, or reusing the word/phrase in places that it doesn’t make sense is not. ? Follow the tips listed out in the post and you will be able to keep your WordPress pages and post optimized!

Want More? Check out this post on Anchor Text

About Anchor Text And Why It’s Important