Anchor text is the clickable wording of a link, and it tells search engines what the linked page is about. That makes it useful, and also easy to abuse. For a new website with only a handful of backlinks, a few badly chosen anchors can make your link profile look manufactured, so it pays to understand the rules before you start asking for links.
Why Anchor Text Matters More for New Sites
An established site with 2,000 referring domains can absorb some odd anchors without anyone noticing. A new site with 15 links cannot. If eight of those fifteen say “cheap running shoes online”, the pattern is obvious.
Google has targeted manipulative anchor text for years, most visibly with the Penguin update in 2012, which is now part of its core algorithm. Today, the more common outcome is that unnatural links are simply discounted rather than penalized. But discounted links are wasted effort, and blatant patterns can still lead to manual actions under Google’s link spam policies.
The safest approach is also the simplest: let anchors look like the ones people would naturally choose.
The Main Types of Anchor Text
Most link builders sort anchors into a handful of categories. Knowing them helps you check your own profile and guide editors without over-steering.
| Anchor type | Example (hypothetical site FuelStride, page on meal prep for runners) |
|---|---|
| Branded | “FuelStride” |
| Naked URL | “fuelstride.com/meal-prep” |
| Generic | “this guide”, “read more”, “here” |
| Partial match | “simple meal prep ideas for marathon training” |
| Exact match | “meal prep for runners” |
| Topical or descriptive | “a weekly plan for busy runners” |
| Image link | The image’s alt text acts as the anchor |
Exact-match anchors carry the strongest relevance signal, which is exactly why they are the most abused and the most closely watched.
A Safe Anchor Text Mix for a Young Link Profile
There is no official ratio, and anyone quoting precise percentages as a Google rule is guessing. What you can do is look at how natural profiles tend to look. When people link without being asked, they mostly use the brand name, the URL, the article title or a generic phrase.
A sensible working guideline for a new site:
- Branded and naked URL anchors: the clear majority, often half or more.
- Generic and descriptive anchors: a solid share, since editors use them naturally.
- Partial-match anchors: a modest portion, mostly from guest posts and resource links.
- Exact-match anchors: a small minority. On a profile of 50 links, a handful at most, spread across different pages.
Compare your mix against a few competitors who rank well in your niche. Most backlink tools show anchor distribution, and you will usually find that branded anchors dominate.
A quick example
Imagine a new site with 40 referring domains. A healthy-looking spread might be around 22 branded or URL anchors, 9 generic or descriptive ones, 6 partial-match phrases and 3 exact-match anchors pointing at different pages. A risky spread for the same site would be 25 exact-match anchors all aimed at one product page. Both sites have the same number of links, but only one of them looks like it was earned rather than arranged.
Key takeaway: if most of your anchors are your brand name or URL, you are almost certainly safe. If most of them are your target keyword, you have a problem worth fixing now.
Practical Rules for Guest Posts and Outreach
You influence anchor text most when you write the content yourself, which is common with guest posts. That is where most new sites slip into over-optimization.
- Use your brand in the author bio. “Jamie writes about running nutrition at FuelStride” is natural and safe.
- Keep in-body links descriptive, not keyword-stuffed. Link a phrase that describes the resource, like “a printable seven-day meal plan”.
- Vary the target pages. Do not point every link at your homepage or one money page. Link to guides and resources where they genuinely help the reader.
- Accept the editor’s changes. If a host blog changes your anchor to something more natural, let it go.
- Never request exact-match anchors in bulk. If an outreach partner offers “any anchor you want” for a fee, treat that as a red flag.
For more on running guest posts well, see our guide to guest posting for new websites.
Do not forget internal anchors
Internal links between your own pages are treated differently and carry little risk. Descriptive, keyword-relevant internal anchors are normal and helpful, as covered in our on-page SEO checklist for new websites. Just keep them readable, and avoid linking the same phrase to several different pages.
How to Audit and Fix an Over-Optimized Profile
If you inherited a site or experimented with aggressive tactics early on, check your anchors now while the profile is small.
- Export your backlinks from Google Search Console, which is free, or from a third-party backlink tool.
- Group anchors by type and count how many are exact match for your main keywords.
- For links you control, such as guest posts, politely ask editors to change keyword-heavy anchors to branded or descriptive ones.
- Dilute the pattern by earning new branded and natural links, for example through digital PR for small websites.
- Reserve Google’s disavow tool for clear spam or cases where you have received a manual action. Google has said most sites do not need it.
Conclusion
A safe anchor text strategy for a new site comes down to restraint. Let your brand carry most links, keep the rest descriptive and varied, and treat exact-match anchors as an occasional bonus rather than a goal. That profile will look natural today and still look natural when you have ten times as many links. For more grounded link building advice, keep reading UploadBlogReview.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is exact-match anchor text always bad?
No. A few exact-match anchors are normal and appear in natural profiles. The risk comes from a high proportion of them, especially when they appear on low-quality or paid links.
Can I choose my own anchor text in a guest post?
Usually, yes, within the host site’s guidelines. Choose branded or descriptive anchors and keep any keyword-rich anchors rare and genuinely helpful to readers.
Do generic anchors like “click here” have any value?
They pass less topical relevance, but they make a profile look natural and still pass value. The surrounding text also helps search engines understand the link’s context.
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