Anchor texts provide you with a handy way of linking to internal or external pages in a very natural way. This is why they are widely used and often seen on various web pages. Furthermore, anchors are a ranking factor, and when used correctly, can contribute to your website’s higher search result rankings.
What is an Anchor Text in WordPress
An anchor text is a text that contains a permalink and can be clicked, so it leads you to the content the link is associated with.
Each anchor consists of two parts:
- The text, which readers see in a different color than the rest of the content and can click on it.
- The link is masked by the text and leads to certain web pages.
Simply put, the link in the content and the text is the package.
In a practical example, anchors look like this:
If we dissect the example, we will come to the realization that:
“This is an anchor text” is the package, which contains the unseen link:
zettahost.com
Also, notice that anchor texts are oftentimes colored in a different color than the surrounding text.
Anchors are clickable. This means that when you click the text, you will activate the link beneath it and your browser will load the web page this particular link leads to.
Why are Anchors Important?
Link Texts are Important for the Natural Flow of Information
In contemporary websites, anchors are important, because of how flexible they are and how naturally they provide readers with additional info. This is very important because the more authentic your content is, the more likely it is to retain the visitors’ engagement.
Also, this authentic flow shows search engines like Google that your site’s content is of high quality and ranks your pages in a higher search result position.
To get more clarity, consider these two examples:
“The WordPress plugins are very handy and widely used for many different reasons. If you wish to find out more, read our dedicated article: https://www.zettahost.com/wordpress-tutorials/what-is-wordpress-plugin/”
“The WordPress plugins are very handy and widely used for many different reasons. If you wish to find out more, read our dedicated article.”
Notice that in the second example the information flows more naturally and doesn’t distract readers that much from the main topic.
Anchor Texts Contribute to SEO
Anchors become a very handy and powerful SEO tool when used correctly. When done so, several things happen:
- Google (or any other search engine) can get a more comprehensive insight into your website and its content.
- The search engine can more easily index your pages and more easily understand the connection between them.
- When used correctly, anchors can contribute to Google suggesting your pages in a wider spectrum of search inquiries.
To be able to benefit from such an advantage, there are several steps you should undertake when using text links:
- Your anchor text should contain relevant to the content keyword or keyphrase.
- The anchor should lead to relevant content.
- Anchors should look and feel like a natural part of your content.
- Don’t use gimmicks to lie to Google or your audience. Both will develop a bad attitude towards your website and you will eventually end up with unsatisfactory results. If you mention an electric guitar in your anchor, it would be considered bad practice if this link leads to a corporate computer service website.
Conclusion
Anchors are a very flexible type of linking technique that helps your content be more natural and search engines index and rank your WordPress pages higher in search results.
When used correctly, the text links can contribute to more traffic, better audience engagement, and more conversion rates.
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