What Is An Anchor Text?

Anchor text is the visible, hyperlinked text that users click on to visit another webpage. It plays a critical role in both semantic HTML and SEO signaling the relevance of the linked content. They are important for On-Page SEO and Off-Page SEO.

For example, in the sentence “Check out our yard care packages in Austin,” the phrase “yard care packages in Austin” is the anchor text. It gives both the visitor and search engines context about the destination page.

Types of anchor text include:

• Exact match: Contains the primary keyword (e.g., “lawn mowing service in Austin”)
• Partial match: Includes variations (e.g., “affordable lawn mowing experts in Austin”)
• Branded: Uses a company name (e.g., “Texas Turf Pros”)
• Generic: Uses vague terms (e.g., “click here” or “this page”)
• Naked URL: The URL itself is used as the anchor (e.g., www.greengrasshouston.com)

Proper anchor text should be clear, concise, and contextually relevant. It should avoid spammy keyword stuffing and enhance the user experience.

Anchor text helps search engines understand the relationship between different pages on a website and how relevant they are to specific topics.

For landscaping businesses, using descriptive anchor text (like “retaining wall design” or “sprinkler system installation”) when linking between service pages tells Google what the destination page is about. This improves the site's structure and helps boost its visibility in relevant local search results.

Effective use of anchor text also improves user experience. When someone clicks on a link that clearly describes what they’ll find—whether it’s a gallery of recent landscaping projects or a seasonal lawn care service—they're more likely to engage with the page.

That combination of clarity and SEO value makes anchor text a small but mighty tool in building a stronger online presence for landscapers.

If your landscaping website has a blog post about Choosing the Right Plants for Shade, and within it you link the phrase front yard landscaping to another page that showcases your design services, that phrase becomes the anchor text.

This helps both users and search engines understand what the linked page is about—improving your SEO for that specific topic.