Search engine optimization is built on hundreds of different variables, controls, and factors.
From keyword optimization to image tags, there are hundreds of different parts of your website’s design, both on-page and off-page, that help the major search engines decide where it ranks.
Thankfully, a lot of these factors are controllable, either directly through web coding or more indirectly through link manipulation and controlled link building.
However, one factor that’s often passed over is the anchor text. An absolutely essential part of search engine optimization, the anchor test is simply the text that appears as part of any text link.
For example, a link to Google could be branded ‘Google’, leading the URL to become associated with that search term. Another example would be a lengthy domain name, which is related to picture frames, being shortened to just ‘picture frames’ when seen as an on-page link.
These anchor text terms are especially important for search engine marketers looking to increase their traffic through keyword optimization. While one part of on-page SEO is designing pages to return as results for specific keywords, another off-page aspect is incorpating the right keywords into your external links.
Whenever a page is linked to / from another website, there’s anchor text that’s tied to it. By controlling (or at least attempting to control) this anchor text, you can create a keyword tie that’s permanently linking your domain address to a certain link term.
Here’s a literal, and completely truthful, example of how this system can be used to your advantage. A couple of years ago, an online finance website (that shall remain nameless) set about designing an SEO strategy built on social bookmarking websites and social media link traffic. They were looking to advertise credit card affiliate programs on their website, which naturally lead them to using ‘credit card’ as part of their link anchor text.
The company designed a fake news article describing a boy stealing a credit card, and buying a long list of inappropriate items with it. Of course, social media websites ate the story up, with amused readers providing thousands of links back to the original website. This is no unusual occurrence, or at least the last part isn’t. Social bookmarking services generate hundreds of links all the time.
What made this example unusual is that it was entirely a hoax, and that the payoff wasn’t in direct sales, but in linking power.
Every one of those text links had the term ‘credit card’ in the anchor text.
What thousands of social bookmarking members had been part of was one of the biggest link building hoaxes of all time. The company rocketed through the search engines and started ranking way up near the top of the results, all for a very competitive keyword and all because of an innovative anchor text strategy.
So next time you’re trying to optimize anchor text links, think outside the box. While there are great results in running the same course as everyone else, the real benefits kick in when you can look outside the system, see the benefits of running a non-conventional campaign, and mastering anchor text for social linking.
Angela’s backlinks are a great start to any back-linking strategy.
Andrew was kind enough to offer up his own time as part of an initiative to make the world a better place, and I was one of the beneficiaries of that effort. He spent an hour with me working on improving my bounce rate; he suggested several helpful strategies. Most importantly, he helped me with some key processes to help speed up my site, which had bogged down considerably with overuse of graphics. Andrew helped me get set up with Rackspace, which helped so much. From a load time of almost 30 seconds, the site sped up to about a 6 second load. Thanks so much, Andrew!
Andrew
has extensive knowledge about internet marketing, SEO and building web
sites/blogs. His course explained everything in an easy to understand
way and I now have a web site that is generating me new clients and
producing income from internet product sales.
Andrew is the real deal and he knows his stuff! His customer service is superb and he gets your work done FAST! You won't need to wait around for endless weeks to see results. Most importantly he works on the site as if it's his own, thus you are assured that you will get the best quality service. I now give Andrew all of my new and old sites to work on. Trust me; you cannot go wrong with this gentleman!
I wanted a stylish website that presented my original abstract art in a visually attractive way. Andrew came highly recommended to me as a "no nonsense" practitioner. He does exactly what he says he will do: I give him the parameters to work within and he provides a quick and precise service. You will receive nothing but the best from Andrew!
I've spent insane amounts of money in the past with former webmasters until I discovered Andrew Rondeau.
I have been online since 1996 and in that time I have been involved in the development of almost 400 web sites for my clients. I have worked with a wide variety of vendors and I have to tell you that Andrew @ We Build Your Blog has far exceeded my expectations. In addition to his vast knowledge and expertise, he is a genuinely great guy, who always goes the extra mile. I highly recommend him, in fact I only recommend him now for web development.
The best blog builder, and the best blog maintenance, I've ever met is Andrew Rondeau. This fellow is an authentic professional in every sense of the word. He's lightning fast, knowledgeable, competent, a skilled listener. He goes the extra mile. He's able to share his passion for his work and products without being pushy. He as other great internet skills, too, but his most impressive attribute is mastery of website building.
I happened to stumble upon Andrew's website (WeBuildYourBlog.com) while searching for blogging services that would help me start my very own blog. I was a total newbie when it came to the blogging world. Fast forward 3 months and not only do I have my own awesome blog, but friends and family are actually asking me how to start their own blog and I am able to set their blogs up for them! In only 3 months under Andrew's guidance I went from total newbie to being sought after. Thanks Andrew!
I was introduced to Andrew by a dear friend Corinne Edwards and Andrew as transformed by blog in ways that have reaped results. My membership has gone up and my blog always looks clean and easy to read. Whenever I send Andrew a request to check out - it's ALWAYS prompt and easy to understand. In my humble opinion he is the BEST when it comes to knowledge of the blogging world.
The
end result is a fantastic site that is attracting a lot more attention
and visitors than my old one.
Without Andrew, I wouldn't even have a blog -- I would still just be sitting here, staring at my computer, feeling confused and helpless. With Andrew, I no longer fear confusion and it's impossible to feel helpless. He exerts any and all necessary efforts to resolve any problem or perplexity -- quickly, kindly, intelligently, up to and including IM exchanges in real time via skype. I would urge anyone at any level of expertise (or not) to make the most of his extraordinary talent.
Having worked with Andrew on and off over the last year, I have found him to be very patient, helpful and easy to work with. He is also very knowledgeable, supportive and a true expert.
I
am very happy to provide a testimonial for Andrew Rondeau. All the parts of
the process of working with Andrew were a pleasure. He clarified what I was
wanting and he delivered it without fuss. He was courteous and prompt in all
his dealings with me. I have no hesitation in recommending Andrew to anyone
who wants work done on their blog.
I
was impressed with the excellent service. 
Andrew
at WeBuildYourBlog.com is the most responsive and flexible person
I've worked with.
Andrew is an asset to our ongoing website and social media needs. He responds quickly, accurately, and cost effectively. Andrew plays a consultative role in many aspects to our online needs.
I
approached Andrew in February 2010, because I needed to enhance the way I communicated
my business. 
Thank you Andrew for your patience in getting my website and on-line courses on-line and selling. You were fantastic in learning the delivery platform software that I had chosen and you were across the complexities quickly. Your detailed approach in setting guidelines and deliverables bought my focus back to where it should be and got the job done. Thank you for all your efforts it was a pleasure.
Andrew is highly knowledgeable about blogs and very customer service focused. I knew nothing about blogs and Andrew was very kind, patient, pleasant to work with, receptive and responsive. Work was delivered in timely manner and if I need anything done for blog again I would use Andrew. If you are looking for quality work, excellent customer service and someone that really gets YOU and your needs, I recommend Andrew!.
Andrew Rondeau is the genius behind http://www.webuildyourblog.com.
Andrew
is highly knowledgeable about blogs, and you can get your blog up and running
successfully and fast. Andrew has helped me immeasurably with
my blog and he is patient and good natured and a wonderful teacher. 
Hi, Andrew Rondeau here and this blog, my blog, will not lie to you. I will give it to you straight.This blog is about blogging, the Internet and sharing my experiences and advice on
I have not thought about anchor text much since you told me about it the first time, but this reminds me and I will be more aweare of using this tool.
.-= Gerlaine´s last blog ..The First Morning =-.
Twitter: andrewrondeau
Gerlaine
It’s definately worth using (without spamming!). You can use via article marketing, blog carnivals. Both of those would be a great start.
Andrew
I think that anchor text is really very much important for SEO purpose. A dofollow link with anchor text is much more valuable than a simple link. The story you mentioned here is one great strategy for get thousand of link.
.-= chandan´s last blog ..Update from google work at home affiliate network-December 11, 2009 =-.
Anchor texts are one of the most important parts of seo link building and a hoax story that becomes really popular can bring you a lot of backlinks.
.-= Press Release´s last blog ..Looking For Baltimore Jobs Search Local Jobs with Job Finder =-.
It’s pretty strange that people ignore the importance of anchor texts, when it is the most important thing about SEO. Link building is pretty worthless if the anchor texts on the links are not any valuable keywords.
Thanks for the reminder Andrew
.-= Blog Handbook´s last blog ..How to Speed Up Blog Load Time =-.
Twitter: andrewrondeau
I hope the reminder helps!
Andrew
I got the point. So this is how anchor text can benefit us. Yeah, SEO things. We need it =)
.-= BloggerDaily´s last blog ..Honesty is The Best Blogging Policy =-.
Twitter: andrewrondeau
Using anchor text can really help (a lot). Takes a while (couple of weeks, sometimes) for Google to ‘kick in’ and recognise but it’s well worth it.
Andrew
I know that the right anchor text can boost our selling if it can have great position in search engine, but i do not have any idea yet to get that strong anchor text.
.-= Dana @ Online Knowledge´s last blog ..Five Software that Must be Installed for New Laptop =-.
Twitter: andrewrondeau
Dana
You may wish to check out my keyword videos: http://www.webuildyourblog.com/1007/tool-keyword-research-helps-page-google/
They will help you find relevant keywords.
Andrew
OK boys and girls, I don’t know when this was done, but nowadays I’d steer clear of the fake story aspect…the results will not be as favorable.
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..3 Days Left – MaxBlogPress Christmas Deal Expires =-.
You also have to know if the keyword sells. There are keywords that have high search but no conversion. Microsoft AdCenter has a Commercial Intent tool to check if it’s a buying keyword or not.
.-= Kai@seo blog´s last blog ..Keywords That Sell =-.
Twitter: andrewrondeau
Kai
You are talking about picking the correct keywords. This post is about how to use the keywords as anchor text not how to pick them!
Andrew
Anchor text enhances the relevance of the targeted Page. All the search engine gives significant weight to the anchor text on your pages, so inclusion of important keywords in the anchor text can make a big difference in the final ranking of your site pages.
So it’s important to make the most out of your link by choosing the right anchor text. Thanks for the post.
Twitter: andrewrondeau
The crucial step is picking the best / right keyword phrase to use.
Get that wrong and all your efforts could be wasted.
Andrew
.-= Andrew @ Blogging Guide´s last blog ..How to Ask to Get Ahead =-.
Anchor text is very important in links, it tells the human readers as well as the search engines what sort of information the link contains. So if you are planning to request an inbound link from another website, make sure the webmaster uses the anchor text that is appropriate to your website.
Thank you for this story. I recently started using anchor text on my three sites for this very reason! Your articles are timely and interesting. Keep ‘em coming!
.-= Alison Shuman´s last blog ..Comment on FHA Appraisal Guidelines by FHA Appraisals- An Overview Austin Appraiser =-.
Twitter: andrewrondeau
Alison,
How much difference are you seeing now you are using anchor text?
Andrew
.-= Andrew @ Blogging Guide´s last blog ..Are Your Blog Posts Indexed =-.
[...] hub-page is a site where you can add a one-page piece of content i.e. a blog post and include anchor text backlinks to your blog.Examples of hub-pages [...]