What is an anchor sheet?

In modern SEO-promotion, anchor links remain one of the key factors of website ranking. According to research, high-quality anchor mass can increase the site's position by 40-60% on target queries. At the same time, an incorrectly composed anchor list can lead to sanctions from search engines and a significant drop in the rendition.

An anchor is a visible, clickable part of the link in the text. In HTML code, it looks like the text between the <a href="URL">anchor</a> tags. Search engines consider anchor text as one of the signals that help to determine the topic and relevance of the linked page. It is important to realize that the same anchor can both help and harm the promotion.

The strategy of working with anchors has changed significantly in recent years. If before it was enough to saturate the reference mass of the exact occurrences of keywords, now search algorithms have become much more complex. They analyze the naturalness of the anchor-list, its diversity and relevance to the theme of the site. Over saturation with commercial anchors can lead to getting under the filters.

Anchor List Basics

An anchor list is a complete list of all anchor texts used in links to the promoted site. A properly compiled anchor list includes different types of anchors in a certain proportion. Modern recommendations suggest the following distribution:

• Branded anchors: 35-45%
• Unlinked links: 15-25%
• Keywords: 20-30%
• Informative anchors: 10-15%

The importance of an anchor list for search engines cannot be overemphasized. Search engine robots use anchor texts to:

• Determining the topic of the site
• Assessing page relevance
• Detecting spammy promotion techniques
• Analyzing the naturalness of the link profile

The impact on ranking is seen in several aspects. First, a diverse and natural anchor-list helps a site to get higher positions for targeted queries. Secondly, it protects against sanctions for overoptimization. According to analysts, sites with a natural distribution of anchors have 30-40% more chances to gain a foothold in the top 10 search results.

When compiling the anchor list, it is important to take into account the specifics of the niche. For example, for online stores it is acceptable to use more commercial anchors (up to 35%), while for informational sites their share should not exceed 15-20%. Local businesses can include geographical names in the anchors, but their share should not exceed 10% of the total number of links.

Types of anchors

Branded anchors form the basis of a healthy link profile. They include the name of the company, the domain of the site and their variations. For example, for website.ua branded anchors will be: "website", "website.ua", "website website". The share of branded anchors should be 35-45% of the total number of links. This creates a natural profile and reduces the risk of falling under search engine filters.

Non-anchored links also play an important role in building a natural profile. These are links of the type "here", "here", "on this site", "at the link". In the natural environment, their share is 15-25%. It is important to distribute such links evenly and not to use them en masse in a short period of time.

Keywords as anchors require special care. Search engines closely monitor the percentage of exact occurrences of key phrases. The optimal share of such anchors is 20-30%. It is important to use different forms of keywords and avoid exact repetitions. For example, instead of repeated use of the anchor "buy a phone" is better to alternate it with "buy a phone", "phones on sale".

Informational anchors include common phrases related to the subject of the site. They do not contain direct keywords, but help search engines to determine the subject of the resource. Their share should be 10-15% of the total number of links. Such anchors make the link profile more natural and diverse.

Compiling an anchor list

Competitor analysis is the first step in creating an effective anchor list. It is necessary to study the link profiles of 5-10 successful sites from the top 10 results for the target queries. This will help to determine the optimal ratio of different types of anchors in a particular niche. It is important to pay attention not only to the quantity, but also to the quality of the sites placing links.

Collection of keywords for anchors should take into account several factors:

• Frequency of queries (medium-frequency queries are preferable)
• Competitiveness (avoid highly competitive phrases at the beginning of promotion)
• Relevancy (relevance to the content of the page)
• Commercial potential (for commercial sites)

When allocating the percentage of anchors, it is important to take into account the age of the domain. For new sites (up to 6 months old) it is recommended to start with mostly branded and anchorless links (up to 70%). As the domain matures, you can gradually increase the share of keywords, but no more than 5-7% per month.

Checking the relevance of anchors includes several steps:

1. Relevance to the page content
2. Natural wording
3. No overspamming with keywords
4. Variety of word forms and synonyms

When building link mass it is important to observe the natural dynamics. Optimal speed - no more than 10-15 new links per week for a young site and up to 30-40 for mature resources. A sharp increase in the number of links may lead to sanctions from search engines.

Rules and recommendations

The naturalness of anchors has become a critical factor in modern SEO. Search engines have learned to identify artificially created link profiles with high accuracy. When compiling an anchor list, it is important to take into account that in the natural environment, most links contain branded or neutral anchors. Commercial anchors like "buy", "order" are much less common - their share in the natural profile does not exceed 15-20%.

The variety of wording plays a key role in creating a natural profile. Even for promotion on one query it is recommended to use at least 10-15 different variations of anchors. For example, to promote the query "pizza delivery" you can use: "order pizza with delivery", "hot pizza delivery", "pizza at home", "pizza delivery service".

When writing anchors, it is important to avoid spammy wording. Over-optimized anchors containing many keywords or unnatural constructions can lead to sanctions. The optimal anchor length is 3-5 words. Longer anchors are used less often and should be no more than 5-7% of the total number.

The frequency of using the same anchors also needs to be controlled. The same anchor should not be repeated more often than 3-4% of the total number of links. The exception is branded anchors, which can be used more often. It is important to evenly distribute different types of anchors over time, avoiding sudden spikes in the use of a certain type.

Tools for work

Modern SEO specialists use various tools to analyze and compile anchor lists. Ahrefs allows you to study the link profile of competitors in detail, including the distribution of anchors by type and their effectiveness. Subscription costs start at $99 per month, but the tool provides the most comprehensive data on link profiles.

Specialized programs are also used to collect and analyze data. Screaming Frog SEO Spider helps to analyze internal links and their anchors. The program costs £149 per year and allows you to check up to 500 URLs in the free version. This is particularly useful for optimizing internal linking and compiling a consistent anchor list.

In addition to paid solutions, there are free tools for working with anchors. Google Search Console provides basic information about incoming links, including anchor texts. Although the data is not updated as often as in paid services, it helps to track the main trends in the link profile.

Many experts use Google Sheets or Excel to store and analyze the anchor list. This allows you to create your own formulas to calculate the percentage of different types of anchors and track the dynamics of changes. It is important to regularly update the data and analyze at least once a month.

It is worth mentioning separately the tools for checking the quality of donors. Before placing a link, it is important to check the metrics of the donor site: trust, number of external links, thematicity. Quality donors should have a domain age of more than 1 year, organic traffic from 1000 visitors per month and relevant topics.

Typical mistakes

Keyword spamming remains one of the most common mistakes when compiling an anchor list. Many optimizers strive to use exact occurrences of key phrases in every second link, which inevitably leads to sanctions. In the natural profile, exact matches are no more than 20-25% of the total number of anchors. If this figure is exceeded, the site risks falling under the filters of search engines.

Unnatural wording also often become a cause of problems. The use of anchors like "buy cheap in Kiev with delivery" looks spammy and can harm the promotion. Anchors should read naturally and fit into the context of the surrounding text. The optimal length of a commercial anchor - 2-4 words, informational - up to 5-6 words.

Inconsistency with the content of the page is another serious mistake. When the anchor promises one thing and the page contains another, it creates a negative user experience and can lead to a higher bounce rate. Search engines take this factor into account when ranking. It is important that the anchor accurately reflects the content of the landing page.

Lack of diversity in the anchor list is often observed in novice optimizers. Using 5-10 identical anchors for all links creates an unnatural profile. In a healthy link profile, the same anchor should not be repeated more than 3-4% of the time, except for branded anchors.

Monitoring and optimization

Tracking the effectiveness of an anchor list requires regular analysis of several key metrics. It is important to monitor the position of the site for the promoted queries, the bounce rate for the linked pages, and the time users spend on the site after clicking on the link. Analysis should be carried out at least once every two weeks.

Updating the anchor list should happen gradually and naturally. When adding new anchors, it is important to keep the following proportions:

• No more than 15% of new commercial anchors per month
• At least 30% of branded and anchorless links in new additions
• Even distribution of informational anchors

Analysis of promotion results includes evaluation of several parameters:

• Dynamics of positions on target queries
• Changes in organic traffic
• Behavioral factors on landing pages
• Indexation of new links
• Presence of sanctions or filters

Adjustment of the strategy should be based on the data obtained. If there is a drop in positions or signs of sanctions, it is necessary to audit the link profile and make changes. The adjustment process includes:

1. Identification of problematic anchors
2. Gradual replacement of ineffective links
3. Adding more natural anchors
4. Increase the share of branded and informational links

With the right approach to the compilation and optimization of the anchor-list you can achieve a stable growth of positions without the risk of sanctions. The key principle is the naturalness and gradualness of changes. Abrupt changes in the structure of the anchor-list can lead to a temporary drop in positions, so all adjustments should be made smoothly, taking into account the overall dynamics of site promotion.