Short answer: Anchor text is the visible, clickable text of a link. Google says it tells readers and Google what the linked page is about, and wants it descriptive, fairly short and relevant to both pages. Generic words like “click here” say nothing, and keyword-stuffed links go against Google’s spam policies.
What anchor text is
Google’s link guidelines call anchor text, or link text, the part of a link you can see and click. Google reads it from the text between the opening and closing tags of an a element with an href attribute, the kind of link it can crawl.
In Google’s own example, <a href="https://example.com/ghost-peppers">ghost peppers</a>, the anchor text is “ghost peppers”.
If a link is empty, Google can use its title attribute as fallback anchor text. For an image link, it uses the image’s alt text as the anchor text.
What Google calls good anchor text
Google suggests a simple test: read only the link text, out of context, and check whether it makes sense by itself.
| Problem | What it looks like | What works better |
|---|---|---|
| Too generic | A bare “click here”, or the word “website” alone | Words that name the next page, such as “list of cheese types” |
| Too long | A whole sentence inside the link | The few words that name the page |
| Keyword-stuffed | Every related keyword crammed into the link | Only the words a reader needs to understand the next page |
| Chained | Several links in a row, one word each | Links spaced out, each with its own context |
| Empty | A link with no text, or an image link with empty alt text | Visible text, or descriptive alt text on the image |
Google’s examples, from “SEO link best practices for Google” on Google Search Central, read November 3, 2026.
The words around a link count too. Google asks you to treat the whole sentence as context, and to keep links apart so readers can tell them from each other.
Anchor text in links from other sites
Google’s spam policies count links with optimized anchor text in articles, guest posts or press releases distributed on other sites as link spam. The same policy also lists buying or selling links for ranking purposes and excessive link exchanges.
Our guide to backlinks for a local business covers how to earn links from other sites. Our guide to nofollow links covers the attributes for paid links and links users add.
How to write and review your anchor text
- Read each link’s text on its own and ask whether it says where the link goes.
- Replace “click here”, “read more” and similar texts with words that name the next page.
- Trim long links to the few words that name the page.
- Give every image link descriptive alt text, since Google reads it as anchor text.
- Keep keywords that a reader needs and drop the ones you added for Google.
- Space links out so each one has its own words around it.
- If JavaScript adds your links or their text, check in the URL Inspection tool that the anchor text is in the rendered HTML.
Our guides to internal links and alt text go deeper into steps 1 and 4.
What we found on our own site
On November 3, 2026, we read the visible text of every link inside the main content of the 348 pages in our sitemap: 7,832 links, 3,915 in English and 3,917 in Spanish, with 2,634 different texts.
None was empty. Only one used one of the generic texts we looked for, such as “click here”, “read more” or “here”: the word “website”, in a list of project types on our pricing article, where it leads to our article on what a website costs.
The most repeated texts are our call buttons and the titles of our newest guides, which every guide lists under More guides. Inside the text, our guides link with the name of the page they point to, such as “redirect chains” or “URL slugs”.
Before you call your anchor text done
- Each link’s text makes sense on its own.
- No link says only “click here” or “read more”.
- No link holds a whole sentence.
- Image links have descriptive alt text.
- Keywords in links read naturally.
- Links sit apart, each with its own context.
RememberAnchor text is a promise about the next page. Name that page in a few natural words, give image links alt text, and leave out keywords a reader wouldn’t need.
To have us review the links and their texts across your site, see our SEO services.
Quick answers about anchor text
What is anchor text?
Anchor text, also called link text, is the visible, clickable text of a link. Google says it describes the linked page to readers and to Google, so the words you choose set what people expect to find.
Does anchor text matter for SEO?
Yes. Google says better anchor text makes your site easier to move around and helps Google understand what the linked page is about. Descriptive, concise text that fits both pages works best.
Should anchor text include keywords?
Only the ones a reader needs. Google asks you to write naturally and not cram every related keyword into a link, because keyword stuffing goes against its spam policies. If a keyword feels forced, leave it out.
What does Google use when the link is an image?
The image’s alt attribute. Google uses the alt text of an img element inside a link as its anchor text. An image link with empty alt text tells Google nothing about the page it points to.
Is “click here” bad anchor text?
“Read more” and “click here” are Google’s examples of link text that says too little. Read the link text on its own: if it doesn’t tell you what comes next, add words that describe the page.
Sources
Read on November 3, 2026. Google Search Central: SEO link best practices for Google, SEO Starter Guide and Spam policies for Google web search. Our own case: the links on our site, November 3, 2026.