Anchor Text: How to Build a Natural Link Profile

Anchor text is the clickable wording of a link. It looks like a small detail, but it is one of the clearest signals you give both readers and search engines about what the linked page covers. Write it well and people know where a click will take them. Write it badly, or manipulate it, and you either waste the link or create the kind of pattern Google’s spam policies were written to catch.

Many Singapore SME owners first hear about anchor text from a link-building pitch promising “keyword-rich backlinks”. That is exactly the wrong place to start. This guide explains the main anchor text types, what Google actually says about link text, how internal and external anchors differ, and how to build a natural link profile without chasing an invented “ideal ratio”. It ends with a practical audit plan and a note on where AI tools help.

What anchor text is and why it matters

In HTML, anchor text is the visible text between the opening and closing <a> tags. In a sentence such as “read our guide to how internal links work”, the words “how internal links work” are the anchor text.

Google’s link best practices documentation says good anchor text is descriptive, reasonably concise and relevant to both the page it sits on and the page it points to. Google uses it to understand the destination page, much as a reader uses it to decide whether to click. When a link is an image, Google says it uses the image’s alt attribute as the anchor text, so linked images need meaningful alt text too.

Anchor text matters for three practical reasons:

• Usability: visitors scanning a page on their phone can tell what each link offers without reading every line around it.
• Accessibility: screen-reader users often jump from link to link. A page full of “click here” links is close to useless to them.
• Context for search engines: descriptive links help Google understand how your pages relate, which supports a sensible site structure.

The main types of anchor text

SEO practitioners use a handful of labels for anchor text. These are industry conventions rather than Google categories, but they are useful when reviewing a link profile.

A healthy link profile usually contains all of these, because real people link in many different ways. The warning sign is not any single type but a profile that looks engineered, for example dozens of unrelated sites all linking with the same commercial phrase.

What Google says about anchor text

Google publishes two documents that matter here. The first is the Link best practices for Google guide in Search Central, which covers crawlable links and how to write anchor text. Its main points are:

• Use a standard <a href> link so Google can crawl it.
• Make anchor text descriptive and reasonably concise; avoid empty or generic text such as “click here”.
• Do not stuff anchors with keywords; Google says overloading link text with keywords is against its spam policies.
• Pay attention to the words around the link, because surrounding text adds context.
• Avoid chaining many links next to each other, which makes them hard to read and to distinguish.

The second is Google’s spam policies for Google web search. Link spam includes buying or selling links that pass ranking credit, excessive link exchanges, large-scale guest-post or article campaigns with keyword-rich anchor text, and links inserted into content without the site owner’s editorial consent. Google’s guidance on qualifying outbound links explains that paid and sponsored links should carry rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow", which we cover in more detail in our explainer on dofollow and nofollow links.

There is no official “ideal anchor text ratio”

You will find blog posts claiming that a safe profile is a fixed percentage branded, a fixed percentage exact match and so on. Google has not published any such ratio, and the figures vary from source to source because they are opinions or samples from particular tools. Treat any percentage as a rough heuristic at best. The better question is: would these links and this wording exist if search engines did not exist? If the answer is yes, the mix is almost certainly fine.

Internal anchor text versus external anchor text

You control internal links completely, so the rules are different from links that other sites give you.

Internal anchors: be descriptive and consistent

Internal links are links from one page of your site to another. Here, descriptive and even keyword-relevant anchors are normal and helpful, because you are labelling your own content. If you have a service page about corporate catering, linking to it with “corporate catering packages” from a related blog post is simply clear writing. Our checklist of on-page SEO elements shows where internal links fit alongside titles and headings.

• Vary the wording naturally rather than repeating one phrase across every page.
• Use the same anchor for two different pages as little as possible, so you do not blur which page is about what.
• Link from relevant body copy, not just menus and footers.
• Make sure every important page has at least one contextual internal link, which Google also recommends.

External anchors: earned, not engineered

Inbound links from other websites are mostly outside your control, and that is the point: their value comes from being editorial choices. You can make good anchors more likely by giving people an obvious name to link with, such as a clearly titled guide or a memorable tool, and by asking for corrections when a partner links with broken or misleading text. You should not dictate exact-match anchors in exchange for payment, gifts or free products. For more on what makes inbound links useful, see inbound links in SEO.

Outbound anchors: describe the source honestly

When you link out to other sites, such as an official PDPC or IRAS page, use anchor text that names the source or describes what the reader will find there. It helps readers trust your content and is consistent with Google’s advice on external linking.

How to write good anchor text: practical rules

These rules are drawn from Google’s guidance plus common editorial practice. They apply whether you are writing a blog post or briefing a PR partner.

1. Describe the destination. A reader should be able to predict what the linked page contains from the anchor alone.
2. Keep it concise. A few words or a short phrase is usually enough; Google does not set a word count.
3. Fit the sentence. If the link text sounds forced when read aloud, rewrite the sentence.
4. Avoid generic anchors where you can. Replace “click here” with what the click delivers, such as “download the menu (PDF)”.
5. Do not repeat the same keyword anchor everywhere. Variety is a natural by-product of writing for people.
6. Give linked images useful alt text. A logo that links home can use the business name.
7. Label paid or sponsored links. Use rel="sponsored" for paid placements and influencer arrangements.

Building a natural link profile in Singapore

A natural profile grows from real business activity. In a small, dense market like Singapore, that often means a fairly short list of genuine sources rather than hundreds of links:

• Industry associations and chambers of commerce that list members.
• Supplier, distributor and partner pages that mention who they work with.
• Local media and community sites covering events, openings or useful data you publish.
• Event sponsorships where the organiser links to sponsors (these should usually be marked sponsored).
• Useful resources, such as a checklist, calculator or original guide, that others cite because it helps their readers.

Most of these sources will link with your brand name or URL, which is exactly what a natural profile looks like. If you want a deeper view of where links come from, our article on link building in Singapore covers outreach approaches that stay within Google’s policies, and white hat versus black hat SEO explains where the lines are.

An illustrative example

Illustrative example, not a client result: a family-run bakery in Tiong Bahru launches a guide to choosing celebration cakes for full-month parties. A parenting blog links to it as “this cake guide from a Tiong Bahru bakery”, a neighbourhood directory links with the bakery’s name, and a supplier links with the bare URL. None of those anchors says “best cake shop Singapore”, yet together they tell Google clearly what the business is and what the guide covers.

Common anchor text mistakes to avoid

• Buying links with specified keyword anchors. This is a textbook link scheme under Google’s spam policies, whether you pay in cash, free products or reciprocal favours.
• Over-optimising internal links. Linking every mention of a phrase to the same page makes copy hard to read and adds nothing.
• Using one anchor for several pages. If “SEO audit” points to three different URLs, you weaken the signal for each.
• Leaving generic anchors everywhere. Lists of “read more” links waste context and fail accessibility checks.
• Linking images without alt text. The link then has no meaningful anchor at all.
• Chasing a ratio from a tool. Numbers from third-party tools are estimates; they are not Google targets.
• Panicking over odd anchors from spammy sites. Google says it ignores many unnatural links automatically; review them calmly before taking action.

How to audit your anchor text: a 30-day plan

This plan suits a small team with one marketing owner and occasional help from whoever manages the website.

1. Week 1, marketing owner: export your links. In Google Search Console, open the Links report to see top linking sites, top linked pages and top linking text. Export the lists.
2. Week 1, marketing owner: group external anchors by type. Label each common anchor as branded, exact, partial, generic or URL. Note any repeated commercial phrases from unrelated sites.
3. Week 2, web admin: crawl your own site. Use a crawler to list internal links and their anchor text. Flag empty anchors, generic anchors, image links without alt text and one anchor pointing to several URLs.
4. Week 2, marketing owner: fix internal anchors. Rewrite generic or confusing internal links on your most important pages first, such as service and product pages.
5. Week 3, marketing owner: review risky external patterns. If you find links you paid for that pass ranking credit, ask for them to be marked sponsored or removed. Keep records.
6. Week 3, owner and marketing: plan earned links. Pick one or two genuinely useful assets, such as a guide or local data, and list partners who might cite them.
7. Week 4, marketing owner: set a quarterly check. Re-export the Links report every quarter and compare. Note changes; avoid reacting to small movements.

If you are running a broader review, fold this into a full SEO audit so anchor text is assessed alongside technical and content issues.

How AI can help with anchor text, and its limits

AI tools are useful for the repetitive parts of this work:

• Classifying thousands of exported anchors into types in minutes rather than hours.
• Suggesting clearer replacements for generic internal links, based on the destination page’s title and content.
• Spotting internal-linking gaps, such as important pages with no contextual links pointing to them.
• Drafting polite outreach emails asking partners to fix broken or misleading links.

The limits matter just as much. AI cannot see Google’s internal assessment of your links, so any “toxicity score” is an estimate. It can suggest anchors that read awkwardly or over-use a keyword, so a person should approve every change. It should never be used to mass-produce guest posts or placed links. The Marketing2u AI SEO Agent checks internal linking and flags orphan pages from connected data; fixes wait for your approval, and it does not create link schemes or promise rankings.

Conclusion: write anchors for people first

Good anchor text is plain, descriptive and varied because it is written by people describing pages honestly. Use descriptive anchors freely on your own site, let external anchors emerge from genuine mentions, label anything paid, and ignore anyone selling a magic ratio. Start with your Search Console Links report this week, fix the internal anchors you control, and build a natural link profile from real relationships and useful content.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best anchor text ratio for SEO?

Google has not published any ideal anchor text ratio, and the percentages you see online come from individual tools or opinions. A natural profile tends to be mostly branded, URL and descriptive anchors because that is how people link. Focus on earning genuine links rather than hitting a number.

Is exact match anchor text bad?

Not in itself. Descriptive, keyword-relevant anchors are normal for internal links and sometimes appear in genuine editorial links. The risk comes from manipulative patterns, such as paid or placed links that all use the same commercial phrase, which Google’s spam policies treat as link spam.

Should internal links use keywords in the anchor text?

Yes, where it reads naturally. Internal anchors should describe the destination page clearly, and that often includes its main topic. Vary the wording and avoid pointing the same anchor at several different pages.

Does Google use alt text as anchor text for image links?

Yes. Google’s link best practices say that for linked images it uses the image’s alt attribute as the anchor text. Give linked images short, accurate alt text that describes the image or the destination.

Sources and further reading

• Google Search Central: Link best practices for Google
• Google Search Central: Spam policies for Google web search
• Google Search Central: Qualify your outbound links
• Search Console Help: Links report

Related guides

• What Are Internal Links In SEO: A Complete Guide
• Dofollow vs Nofollow Links: What Is the Difference for SEO?
• Link Building for Singapore SMEs: Safe Tactics That Earn Real Backlinks
• What Are Inbound Links in SEO And Why They Matter for Your Ranking
• White Hat vs Black Hat SEO: What You Need to Know

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