Definition

Anchor text is the visible, usually styled text inside an HTML hyperlink (`<a href="...">anchor text</a>`). Search engines use it, alongside the destination page's own content, as a topical hint about what the linked page is about.

Google's documentation says useful anchor text is concise, descriptive, and relevant to the destination — generic phrases such as "click here" or "learn more" carry no topical signal. Anchor text on internal links helps Google understand a site's hierarchy and topical relationships. For external links, anchor text applies both to outgoing links and to the backlinks pointing into a site.

Examples

• Descriptive anchor on an internal link

  A footwear retailer links to its trail-running category using the anchor text "lightweight trail runners" instead of "shop here", giving Google a clearer topical signal about the destination page.

Sources

• Google Search Central — Make your links crawlable

Related terms

• Backlink
  A hyperlink on one website that points at another. Search engines treat backlinks as one signal of how the wider web vouches for a page.
• Internal Linking
  The practice of linking from one page on a site to another page on the same site. Helps users navigate and gives search engines more crawl paths.

Where QueryCatch uses this

• SEO Audit
• Page Optimisation