What Is Anchor Text?
Anchor text is the visible, clickable words in a hyperlink, usually shown underlined or in a different color. What those words say matters, because both search engines and AI models use them as a clue about what the linked page is about.
Why the wording matters
A link that says click here tells a crawler nothing about the destination. A link that says AI mention tracking tool tells it exactly what to expect on the other end, and that context gets attached to the destination page.
How it shapes AI answers
When other sites link to you, the words they choose become part of how a model learns to describe your brand. A cluster of links that all use similar, accurate phrasing reinforces what you actually do. Links with vague or unrelated anchor text add noise instead of clarity.
Types worth knowing
- Exact match: the anchor text matches a target keyword exactly, useful but risky if overused
- Branded: the anchor text is just the brand name, the most natural and common kind
- Generic: phrases like read more or this article, which pass along little context
What this means in practice
When you are asking someone else to link to you, or writing your own internal links, a short, descriptive phrase does more work than a vague one.
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