Anchor Text Analysis

Overview

Anchor text—the clickable text in a hyperlink—tells both users and search engines what to expect on the linked page. Poor anchor text hurts usability and wastes SEO opportunities. SEO Crawler analyzes your anchor text quality and identifies issues.

Available on: Pro and Agency plans

What We Analyze

Anchor Text Types

Type	Example	SEO Value
Exact Match	`<a href="/seo-guide">SEO Guide</a>`	High (but avoid over-optimization)
Partial Match	`<a href="/seo-guide">complete SEO guide for beginners</a>`	High
Branded	`<a href="/about">About SEO Crawler</a>`	Medium
Generic	`<a href="/seo-guide">click here</a>`	Low
Naked URL	`<a href="/seo-guide">example.com/seo-guide</a>`	Low
Image Link	`<a href="/seo-guide"><img src="..." alt=""></a>`	Depends on alt text

Quality Indicators

Indicator	Good	Poor
Descriptive	Tells users what they’ll find	Generic or vague
Concise	2-5 words typically	Too long or too short
Relevant	Matches target page content	Unrelated to destination
Unique	Varied anchor text for same target	Same anchor everywhere

Why Anchor Text Matters

User Experience

Good anchor text helps users:

Know What to Expect: Clear indication of destination content
Scan Efficiently: Descriptive links stand out when scanning
Navigate Confidently: Reduces uncertainty about clicking

Studies show users are 40% more likely to click descriptive links than generic “click here” text.

SEO Impact

Search engines use anchor text to:

Understand Context: Anchor text signals what the target page is about
Distribute Authority: Links pass relevance along with PageRank
Assess Quality: Natural, varied anchor text indicates quality

Accessibility

Screen reader users rely on anchor text:

Links are often read out of context (“List of links” mode)
Generic text like “click here” provides no context
Descriptive text enables efficient navigation

Reading Anchor Text Results

Summary Dashboard

Metric	Description
Anchor Score	Overall anchor text quality (0-100)
Links Analyzed	Total links with anchor text
Issues Found	Links with quality problems
Generic Anchors	Count of “click here” style links

Issue Breakdown

Anchor Text Analysis
─────────────────────────────────────────
🔴 Critical Issues (12)
   • Empty anchor text: 8 links
   • Image links without alt: 4 links

🟠 Warnings (34)
   • Generic anchor text: 22 links
   • Single-word anchors: 12 links

🟡 Optimization Opportunities (18)
   • Naked URLs: 10 links
   • Very long anchors: 8 links

Detailed Link View

Click any issue to see specifics:

Generic Anchor Text: "click here"
─────────────────────────────────────────
Found on:     /blog/getting-started
Target:       /documentation/quickstart
Current:      <a href="/documentation/quickstart">click here</a>
Suggestion:   <a href="/documentation/quickstart">quickstart documentation</a>

Found on:     /about
Target:       /contact
Current:      <a href="/contact">click here</a>
Suggestion:   <a href="/contact">contact our team</a>

Common Issues and Fixes

Generic Anchor Text

Issue
Fix

<!-- Vague, non-descriptive -->
<p>To learn more about SEO, <a href="/seo-guide">click here</a>.</p>
<p>Read more <a href="/blog/post">here</a>.</p>
<p><a href="/pricing">Learn more</a> about our pricing.</p>

<!-- Descriptive, contextual -->
<p>Read our <a href="/seo-guide">complete SEO guide</a> to learn more.</p>
<p>Read our <a href="/blog/post">guide to link building</a>.</p>
<p>Explore our <a href="/pricing">pricing plans</a>.</p>

Empty Anchor Text

Issue
Fix

<!-- No text content -->
<a href="/page"></a>

<!-- Only whitespace -->
<a href="/page">   </a>

<!-- Hidden text (SEO spam technique) -->
<a href="/page"><span style="display:none">text</span></a>

<!-- Add meaningful text -->
<a href="/page">View our services</a>

<!-- Or if decorative, use aria-label -->
<a href="/page" aria-label="View our services">
  <span class="icon-arrow"></span>
</a>

Image Links Without Alt

Issue
Fix

<!-- Image link with no alt text -->
<a href="/product">
  <img src="product.jpg">
</a>

<!-- Empty alt text -->
<a href="/product">
  <img src="product.jpg" alt="">
</a>

<!-- Add descriptive alt text -->
<a href="/product">
  <img src="product.jpg" alt="Blue Widget - View product details">
</a>

<!-- Or combine image with text -->
<a href="/product">
  <img src="product.jpg" alt="">
  <span>Blue Widget</span>
</a>

Over-Optimized Anchors

Using the exact same keyword-rich anchor text for every link to a page can trigger spam filters.

Issue
Fix

<!-- Same anchor everywhere (over-optimization) -->
<a href="/seo-services">best SEO services</a>
<a href="/seo-services">best SEO services</a>
<a href="/seo-services">best SEO services</a>
<a href="/seo-services">best SEO services</a>

<!-- Natural variation -->
<a href="/seo-services">our SEO services</a>
<a href="/seo-services">search engine optimization</a>
<a href="/seo-services">SEO consulting</a>
<a href="/seo-services">learn about our SEO approach</a>

Naked URLs

Issue
Fix

<!-- URL as anchor text -->
<p>Visit <a href="https://example.com/guide">https://example.com/guide</a></p>

<!-- Descriptive text -->
<p>Visit our <a href="https://example.com/guide">complete guide</a></p>

<!-- Or if URL display is important -->
<p>Visit our guide at <a href="https://example.com/guide">example.com/guide</a></p>

Best Practices

Be Descriptive

Anchor text should describe the destination page. Users and search engines should know what to expect.

Keep It Concise

2-5 words is ideal. Long anchor text dilutes relevance and is harder to scan.

Vary Your Anchors

Don’t use identical anchor text for every link to the same page. Natural variation is better.

Front-Load Keywords

Put important words at the beginning of anchor text where they’re most visible.

Anchor Text Strategy

Audit Current State

Run a crawl with Anchor Text Analysis enabled to identify issues.

Fix Critical Issues

Address empty anchors and image links without alt text first.

Replace Generic Text

Update “click here” and “read more” with descriptive alternatives.

Plan Internal Linking

Create an internal linking strategy with varied, relevant anchor text.

Monitor Over Time

Regular crawls catch new issues as content is added.

Filtering Options

Filter	Description
Issue Type	Generic, Empty, No Alt, Over-optimized
Link Type	Internal or External
Source Page	Links from specific URLs
Target Page	Links to specific URLs

Bulk Fix Strategies

For sites with many anchor text issues:

CMS Templates

Update “Read More” links in blog templates:

<!-- Before -->
<a href="<?php the_permalink(); ?>">Read more</a>

<!-- After -->
<a href="<?php the_permalink(); ?>">
  Read more about <?php the_title(); ?>
</a>

JavaScript Widgets

Update link generators:

// Before
link.textContent = 'Click here';

// After
link.textContent = `View ${item.title}`;

Navigation Menus

SEO Analysis

Anchor text is part of your overall on-page SEO picture.

Broken Link Detection

Find broken links while analyzing anchor text.

Getting Started

Features

Domain Management

Crawling

Plans & Billing

Agency Features

Integrations

Overview

What We Analyze

Anchor Text Types

Quality Indicators

Why Anchor Text Matters

User Experience

SEO Impact

Accessibility

Reading Anchor Text Results

Summary Dashboard

Issue Breakdown

Detailed Link View

Common Issues and Fixes

Generic Anchor Text

Empty Anchor Text

Image Links Without Alt

Over-Optimized Anchors

Naked URLs

Best Practices

Be Descriptive

Keep It Concise

Vary Your Anchors

Front-Load Keywords

Anchor Text Strategy

Filtering Options

Bulk Fix Strategies

SEO Analysis

Broken Link Detection

​Overview

​What We Analyze

​Anchor Text Types

​Quality Indicators

​Why Anchor Text Matters

​User Experience

​SEO Impact

​Accessibility

​Reading Anchor Text Results

​Summary Dashboard

​Issue Breakdown

​Detailed Link View

​Common Issues and Fixes

​Generic Anchor Text

​Empty Anchor Text

​Image Links Without Alt

​Over-Optimized Anchors

​Naked URLs

​Best Practices

Be Descriptive

Keep It Concise

Vary Your Anchors

Front-Load Keywords

​Anchor Text Strategy

​Filtering Options

​Bulk Fix Strategies

​Related Features

SEO Analysis

Broken Link Detection

Overview

What We Analyze

Anchor Text Types

Quality Indicators

Why Anchor Text Matters

User Experience

SEO Impact

Accessibility

Reading Anchor Text Results

Summary Dashboard

Issue Breakdown

Detailed Link View

Common Issues and Fixes

Generic Anchor Text

Empty Anchor Text

Image Links Without Alt

Over-Optimized Anchors

Naked URLs

Best Practices

Anchor Text Strategy

Filtering Options

Bulk Fix Strategies

Related Features