13 replies to this topic

[wowdezign]

Is it beneficial to have the internal link text match (exactly) title of the page to which the link is pointing? I know this is probably an old (already covered) question, but I can't find an answer.

Thanks.

[Randy]

It's always beneficial to have your targeted keywords in the anchor text.

But it doesn't necessarily follow that these need to be an exact duplicate of the page title, since typically those will have additional call to action or description text added for usability.

[wowdezign]

Thanks Randy.

I thought I read it somewhere but couldn't find it. We are beginning to manage a site for a client and the previous company has sold the titles short by reducing them to the navigational link text.

I just wanted to verify since I have a tendancy to act hastily sometimes.

Thanks again, I'm grateful.

[Jill]

Is it beneficial to have the internal link text match (exactly) title of the page to which the link is pointing?

No, it's definitely not something you should do. Similar, perhaps. Using same keyword phrases -- definitely. But exactly? No.

[Alex Choo]

wowdezign,

The more important question is whether people understand what that anchor text leads to. It's better not to design your site for search engines, but for people

Alex

[Nystul]

Quck question: Does the same URL internal links FROM 1 page with different Anchor text counts as ONE ? Or they will have add on effect?

[chrishirst]

No idea, but it's very likely to confuse real visitors.

[wowdezign]

The more important question is whether people understand what that anchor text leads to

Thanks Alex for the reminder. I realize that is the goal, however, Jill went right to the heart of my question with her response:

No, it's definitely not something you should do

Having the link text identical to the page title would certainly let the human know exactly what they are getting, but could make things appear different than they really are to a search engine.

Thanks Jill, that was exactly why I asked the question.

[Michael Martinez]

Thanks Alex for the reminder. I realize that is the goal, however, Jill went right to the heart of my question with her response:
Having the link text identical to the page title would certainly let the human know exactly what they are getting, but could make things appear different than they really are to a search engine.

You make it sound like the page title is not descriptive of the page's content when you put it that way.

There is no harm in using the same exact text in both your internal anchor text and page titles, but I certainly feel it's very limiting in most contexts. It really depends on what the text is and how you present it to your human visitors.

[stevenl]

wowdezign,

The more important question is whether people understand what that anchor text leads to. It's better not to design your site for search engines, but for people

Alex

Question exactly what is anchor text and what does it do?

[piskie]

I have had experience of identical HTML Title, H1 and Anchor Text. This was changed to make all threea different but appropriate. The effect was almost immediate and huge. Probably the biggest and quickest improvement that I have ever introduced. Some pages came out of Suplementary and others gained position significantly.

Identical is bad in this context and also some others.

[qwerty]

I think it depends on the choices you've made for those other elements. Do your page titles contain one keyword phrase or more, and if so, can they be combined into a single phrase that won't look clumsy? Are you putting your company name in them?

For example, let's say your company name is Lederhosen by Ludwig, and you're optimizing a page for the phrases [red lederhosen] and [leather lederhosen], then you may have a title of "Red Lederhosen | Leather Lederhosen | Lederhosen by Ludwig" or "Red Leather Lederhosen - Lederhosen by Ludwig". I'd probably use the first half of the second example as anchor text, but not the whole thing, and certainly not the first example.

[Jill]

Question exactly what is anchor text and what does it do?

Anchor text is the words that appear in the clickable part of any link.

It's good because it's the information that describes the ultimate page you're pointing to, and therefore is considered highly relevant by the search engines.

[qwerty]

It's also on-page text on the page that's making the link, so it helps to (what's that word...) link them together