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Many agency owners treat anchor text like it’s just another checkbox. But the way you use anchors in your link building strategy can either lift your rankings, or torpedo them straight into a penalty.
We’ve seen it too many times. Agencies slap in branded links here, keyword anchors there, but there’s no strategy, no balance. It’s just chaos. And unnatural anchor text ratios are one of the easiest ways to trip a spam filter. Once Google gets tipped off, it doesn’t take long before your client’s rankings take a dive and you’re trying to explain what went wrong to your clients.
Why Should You Care About Anchor Text Ratios?
Building links is expensive. It’s also a large portion of most campaign budgets…
You don’t want to waste your resources building anchor text and backlinks that can potentially harm your SEO efforts. Good news is it’s completely avoidable.
When you dial in the right ratio of exact match, branded, generic, and topical anchors, you can rank higher, optimize resources, build effective links, and avoid penalties.
If you stop treating your anchor text and link building strategy as an afterthought the results will surprise you. Below you can see analytics from a site that we used this exact same anchor strategy on and helped result in massive increases in users, sessions, and most importantly a 718% gain in revenue.
Our Anchor Text Process Works.
Our approach isn’t built on theory or guessing games. It’s built on data.
We’re sitting on one of the largest white-label SEO data sets in the game. Not to mention we continually test different strategies with the SEO Mad Scientist. But we don’t stop there…
We recently took basic anchor text and turned it on its head, overhauling our entire anchor text classification system. Now, broad buckets are broken down into deeper, more granular segmentation to unlock patterns no one else is even looking at.
Below you can find the complete list of updated anchor text classifications and examples of each!
This is the same anchor text classification system we use in our Managed Link Building campaigns & Anchor text/3 month link mapping.
Types of Anchor Text
In order to maintain a natural backlink profile, you must have a healthy mix of anchor text types. As you add more backlinks, monitor the ratio of these different types of anchor text to ensure your distribution remains in line with trends from top-ranking competitors.
Below are all the overarching types anchor text classification.
- Exact Match Anchors
- Partial Match Anchors
- Longtail Anchors
- Branded Anchors
- Topical Anchors
Empty, Miscellaneous & Naked Anchors
Exact Match Anchor Text
This matches your target keyword exactly. Exact match removes inflation from long phrases and guarantees apples-to-apples reporting for pure exact usage.
In our example, the exact match anchor would be. “Roofing Company”.
Partial Anchors
This is the category where most anchor text will fall. By breaking down this broad group of “partial anchors” into more granular classifications, we eliminate the vague catch‑all, while improving QA, caps, and risk control. Below are each type of partial match anchor and examples.
| Exact Match Fragment | “Roofing”, “Company” |
| Exact Match Variation | “Roofing Companies”, “Roofing Contractor” |
| Exact Match String | “professional Roofing Company”, “find Roofing Company”, “trusted Roofing Company service” |
| Exact Match Variation String | “best Roofing contractor service”, “expert Roofing Companies near me” |
| Exact Match Fragment String | “local Roofing experts”, “residential Roofing service”, “affordable Roofing contractor” |
Longtail Anchors
Longtail anchors and partial match anchors are often used interchangeably, but they are slightly different. While partial anchors only include a fragment of the target term, longtail anchors include your full keyword inside of a longer phrase.
Below are all types of longtail anchors used in our classification system. By turning length-based buckets into intent-based buckets, you measure exact/variation/fragment while still capturing natural phrases.
| Exact Match String | “professional Roofing Company”, “find Roofing Company”, “trusted Roofing Company service” |
| Exact Match Variation String | “best Roofing contractor service”, “expert Roofing Companies near me” |
| Exact Match Fragment String | “local Roofing experts”, “residential Roofing service”, “affordable Roofing contractor” |
| Branded Exact Match String | “John’s Roof Repair trusted Roofing Company”, “Roofing experts at John’s Roof Repair” |
| Branded Exact Match Variation String | “Roofing contractor service by John’s Roof Repair”, “expert Roofing solutions from John” |
| Branded Exact Match Fragment String | “local Roofing service by John’s Roof Repair”, “affordable Roofing by John” |
Branded Anchor Text
Branded anchors are any anchor that includes a brand. Brand and brand variation anchors are not directly related to the target term, but the rest of the below anchor types are 100% related to the target term.
By separating brand‑only anchors from brand+keyword and LSI, we enable clean brand vs. keyword intent reporting and safer compliance rules. See each branded anchor type and their corresponding example below.
| Brand | “John’s Roof Repair Inc.” |
| Brand Variation | “John’s Roof Repair”, “John’s Roofing”, “John” |
| Branded Exact Match | “John’s Roof Repair Roofing Company” |
| Branded Exact Match Variation | “John’s Roof Repair Roofing Contractor”, “Roofing services by John” |
| Branded Exact Match Fragment | “John Roofing”, “Roofing by John’s Roof Repair” |
| Branded Exact Match String | “John’s Roof Repair trusted Roofing Company”, “Roofing experts at John’s Roof Repair” |
| Branded Exact Match Fragment String | “local Roofing service by John’s Roof Repair”, “affordable Roofing by John” |
| Branded Exact Match Variation String | “Roofing contractor service by John’s Roof Repair”, “expert Roofing solutions from John” |
| Branded Lsi | “John’s Roof Repair home improvement”, “roof repair by John’s Roof Repair” |
Geo Anchors
These are essentially the exact same as the above anchors, but with a geo modifier like city or state included. Geo anchors help tie your client’s services directly to a location, boosting visibility in local search and map pack rankings.
| GEO Exact Match | Roofing Company in Chicago”, “Chicago Roofing Company” |
| GEO Branded Exact Match | B“John’s Roof Repair Chicago Roofing Company”, “Chicago Roofing Company by John’s Roof Repair” |
| GEO Exact Match Variation | “Roofing Contractors in Chicago”, “Chicago Roofing Services” |
| GEO Branded Exact Match Variation | “John’s Roof Repair Roofing Services in Chicago”, “Chicago Roofing Contractor John’s Roof Repair” |
| GEO Exact Match String | T“trusted Roofing Company in Chicago”, “professional Chicago Roofing Company” |
| GEO Branded Exact Match String | “John’s Roof Repair trusted Roofing Company in Chicago”, “Chicago Roofing experts at John’s Roof Repair” |
| GEO Exact Match Fragment | “Roofing Chicago”, “Chicago Roofing” |
| GEO Branded Exact Match Fragment | “John Roofing Chicago”, “Chicago John’s Roof Repair” |
| GEO Exact Match Variation String | F“best Roofing Contractors in Chicago”, “expert Chicago Roofing Services” |
| GEO Branded Exact Match Variation String | “Chicago Roofing Contractor services by John’s Roof Repair”, “Roofing services in Chicago from John’s Roof Repair” |
| GEO Exact Match Fragment String | “local Chicago Roofing experts”, “affordable Roofing in Chicago” |
| GEO Branded Exact Match Fragment String | “local Chicago Roofing service by John’s Roof Repair”, “John’s Roof Repair affordable Roofing in Chicago” |
| GEO Brand | “John’s Roof Repair Chicago” |
| GEO Brand Variation | “John’s Chicago Roofing”, “John’s Roof Repair in Chicago” |
| GEO Branded Lsi | “John’s Roof Repair home improvement in Chicago”, “Chicago roof repair by John’s Roof Repair” |
| GEO Lsi | “roof replacement in Chicago”, “roof leak repair Chicago”, “roof inspection services Chicago” |
Topical Anchors
These are anchors using terms or phrases related to your industry and niche. Our sub-classifications align with semantic search best‑practice by isolating related terms while tracking brand presence when it appears.
| Lsi | “home improvement”, “roof repair services”, “construction company”, “building maintenance” |
| Branded Lsi | “John’s Roof Repair home improvement”, “roof repair by John’s Roof Repair” |
Empty, Miscellaneous & Naked Anchor Text
Naked and empty anchors are when the link has no anchor. Generally empty anchors would be an image link mostly since images don’t have anchor text. However, the naked URLs can also be used. By giving a single, unambiguous label for image‑only links, we improve detection of non‑text anchors in audits. While they don’t pass strong topical signals like keyword-based anchors, they do strengthen trust and link diversity, helping keep an anchor profile safe and natural.
Miscellaneous generally refers to generic anchors only like “read more”, “visit the website”, “learn more”, and “click here”. By detangling topical terms from CTAs, we achieve a cleaner split that boosts insights on semantic relevance vs. navigation behavior.
| Url | http://johnsroofrepair.com/ |
| Url Variation | “johnsroofrepair.com”, “www.johnsroofrepair.com”, “https://johnsroofrepair.com” |
| Image link | [image] |
| Generic | “visit us”, “click here”, “learn more”, “more info” |
Now that we’ve covered how to classify anchor text, we can move on to choosing the right anchor text for maximum impact.
How to Choose the Right Anchor Text
Should anchor text match your target keyword? Should you use LSIs? Branded terms? Naked anchor text? It can be hard to know what is best.
The most important consideration is that anchors should be natural, descriptive, and aligned with content. While many SEOs push specific numbers and thresholds for anchor text ratios, we always avoid relying on ratios as the growth lever. Anchors are only one context signal among many and Google’s own documentation even frames anchor text as descriptive text that helps users, useful, but not a magic lever.
What Should My Anchor Text Ratios Be?
In general, you always want anchor text ratios to be in line with competitors ranking in your SERPs. There are no universal ratios and Google doesn’t view anchor ratios as a quality indicator. You must do your own research to determine what is best for each site’s specific situation.
This is why we stick to the gap analysis. Basically, we analyze competitors profiles and get idea about how many of each anchor type we need, combined with risk controls.
This supports a natural feel for your backlink profile, as most natural linking will follow a pattern based on the niche. Here is how you can do some math to guide your campaigns.
The Average of Top-Ranked Pages
We can easily tell what search engines expect by evaluating top pages. So the best strategy for determining the optimal anchor text ratios is analyzing the backlink distributions of top-ranking sites of your target keyword. Take note of any trends. Then, find the average ratio of top-rankers. Here’s how:
Analyze anchor text types of the ranking page with an SEO tool
Export Data to Google Sheet
Sort Anchor Types by Category
- Repeat Process with Top Ranking Sites
Once all the anchors are classified, you can determine the % of each that make up each competitors profile and take the average of all of them. You do not always have to analyze the top 5 sites. There are instances where you can look at 3, 4 or even 6. This will be determined on a case by case basis.
Keep in mind, skip sites if they are not the same type of site as the one being worked on such as a directory site when your website is a local business.
Once you’ve determined the average distribution, you’ve successfully identified your target anchor text ratios! But keep keep in mind, this is just guidance. Don’t treat these numbers are law.
Continue to Monitor
Remember to note your target distribution for that page, so you can continue to monitor the ratios as you build backlinks. Anchor text ratios are different for each page of your site, so use a system like Ahrefs backlink management tool to track.
We recommend reviewing and rebalancing every four to six weeks.
Best Practices for Anchor Text Ratios
Follow these best practices for building powerful anchor text ratios.
- Don’t Over-optimize Anchor Text
- Avoid Anchor Text Assumptions
- Use Different Types of Anchor Text
- Avoid Repetitive, Keyword-Stuffed Anchors
- Naked or Brand Anchors for Homepage Links
- Keyword Anchors for Inner Pages
Don’t Overoptimize Anchor Text
If you have too many target keywords as anchor text, this will look unnatural. Many directories and profile sites allow you to add your own anchor text, but we recommend against this. Google devalues site with manipulative links. This will cause your signals be ignored or dampened.
Avoid Anchor Text Assumptions
It’s important to provide direction for anchor text selection and backlink profiles. You cannot choose anchor text based on assumptions you think are correct or use a guess and check approach. Thoughtful strategy is required.
Use Different Types of Anchor Text
If you’re purchasing links, the anchor text must look natural. If you look like you’re manipulating link creation, it can be a red flag to Google. Manipulative patterns, e.g. paid links without proper qualifiers, scaled guest posts with over optimized anchors, violate spam policies.
Avoid Repetitive, Keyword Stuffed Anchors
If you’re using the same anchors over and over, it doesn’t look natural. Same with keyword stuffing. There are red flags of unnatural link building that Google looks for. Instead of helping rankings, it can actually suppress your page or trigger penalties.
Mix up the types of anchor text used, as well as the anchor text itself.
Naked or Brand Anchors for Homepage Links
When you analyze the #1 ranked sites, the majority of homepage backlinks utilize branded anchor text. You want to mirror this trend in your backlinking strategy.
Keyword Anchors for Inner Pages
When anchor text for top-ranking inner pages are analyzed, the trends show more keyword-related anchor text. Analyze the backlink profiles of #1 ranked sites, then build a similar mix of backlinks to your sites.
While optimizing your ratios is crucial, it’s important not to manipulate the anchor text to such an extreme that it disrupts the naturalness of your backlink profile. It’s a delicate balance. That’s why we offer our Link Recommendations and Anchor Text Mapping services.
Dialing in anchor text isn’t optional. And using the wrong anchors isn’t just a rookie mistake. It’s dangerous. It puts your clients’ campaigns (and your agency’s reputation) at risk. And in this industry, one bad move can be all it takes to lose a client.
It’s time to start implementing these strategies now or…
Let Us Handle the Heavy Lifting!
If you’re still trying to juggle anchor text ratios, competitive analysis, and link velocity in-house, ask yourself, “Is that the best use of your time—or your team’s?” Probably Not.
But you can leverage this exact process and classification system, without adding more of a workload to your plate! Just use our Managed Link Building campaigns and 3-Month Anchor text link mapping service.
Every campaign is built from the ground up with anchor text strategy at the core. No guesswork. No generic approaches. Just proven processes backed by ongoing SEO testing and real-world ranking data.
Whether you implement anchor text ratios yourself or use our services, anchor text strategy is necessary. Without thoughtful implementation, your agency can face lost time, penalties and manual actions, and potentially lost clients. So start implementing now!
