What is an anchor list and how to create one

One of the mandatory areas of SEO that is worth paying attention to is external optimization. But this method should be used very carefully, since excessive placement of links on third-party resources or other errors can lead to sanctions. In this article, we will tell you what preliminary work should be done before starting link optimization and how to prepare a high-quality anchor list for a website.

What does anchor mean

Work on external website promotion special database begins with selecting phrases for links. In simple terms, an anchor is a clickable fragment of text in an article on another web resource. After clicking on it, the user is redirected to your website.

To insert a hyperlink into the text, add the href attribute before the selected word or phrase . As a result, it will look like this.

In the text of the article itself, the user will see the anchor text with a link like this:

special database

“Increasing the site’s position on search results pages is facilitated by

Specialists should pay attention to the selection of anchors, because they carry an important meaning. This is a kind of indicator of what information the user will find on the page where he is directed. This is how search algorithms evaluate the content of the anchor text. Therefore, a completely logical solution is to add a hyperlink to keywords. But this can be assessed as overspam. So it is better to use different options in your work:

  • with exact or partial entry. The link text koyi yadda ake tallata kayan ka ta instagram fully or partially corresponds to the key by which the page is ranked: ” buy iPad “, ” sports shoes on the site “;
  • with a brand request. The text contains the name of the company or brand: “For consultations, contact Elit-web specialists “;
  • anchorless. This is adding a direct link to the site to the text using the following example: https://example.com;
  • with the exact title of the article where the hypertext transition leads: “How to write an effective advertisement”;
  • image with anchor. In this case, the image alt tag can be used as anchor text.

There is another option when a link is added to a word: “here”, “on the page”, “in more detail” and other similar phrases. Someone may object that they will not tell what is being discussed on the page where the link leads. But to dilute the anchor list, they can also be used in work.

What does anchor list mean

Work on link promotion begins with usb directory compiling an anchor list. This list includes all anchors to which links to promoted pages will be attached. Such a list is needed for internal interlinking, for placing external links on donor resources.

As we have already found out, anchor texts come in different types. You need to try to ensure that the finished list is diverse, otherwise you cannot avoid penalties from search engines. Moreover, when evaluating the quality and relevance of a particular online project, algorithms will establish the quality of phrases for links.

You can view the anchor list of different online projects and create a list for your own using SEMrush, Ahrefs and similar services.

What should be in a good anchor list?

Most specialists strive to do their job perfectly and therefore make the list of anchors as diverse as possible. They are right about this. Compiling an anchor list requires patience, attention and knowledge of some of the features of search engines. It is essential to add anchor and non-anchor links to such a list. Moreover, there should be much more of the latter – about 70-80%. To avoid repetition, use:

  • links to images;
  • URL anchors;
  • navigation words (“link”, “here” and so on).

When collecting anchor texts, be creative and include in the list:

  • precise keys;
  • synonymous words;
  • high- and low-frequency queries;
  • branded keys.

But to succeed in SEO and avoid sanctions, try to follow a few more recommendations:

  • try to carefully select donor sites. They should be relevant in terms of subject matter and have a good reputation;
  • links should look natural on the page itself. If the key does not fit organically into the text in form, it is better to change it a little so that the link looks natural;
  • When evaluating the ratio of anchor and non-anchor links, analyze your competitors’ anchor lists. This will give you an opportunity to understand which strategies are more effective in your niche.

Finally, we want to emphasize that the anchor list is not a static list, but a dynamic one. Regularly evaluate what is changing in your niche, what queries consumers use. SEO tools will help you with this: Ahrefs, SEMrush, Majestic and others. Monitor changes in search engine algorithms and make adjustments to your promotion strategy.

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