What Anchor Text Should You Use for Internal Links?
Updated: Sep 7
If you are asking what anchor text should I use for internal links, the simplest answer is:
Use a short, natural phrase that makes it clear what someone will find when they click the link.
Good internal-link anchor text describes the destination.
It does not need to contain the exact target keyword every time.
For example, instead of:
click here
you might use:
how many internal links a small business web page should have
if that is genuinely what the linked page explains.
The objective is not to squeeze keywords into every link.
It is to create a website where visitors and search engines can clearly understand how your pages relate to each other.
If you are still deciding how many links to include in the first place, start with our guide to how many internal links a small business web page should have.
What Anchor Text Should I Use for Internal Links? The Simple Rule
A useful rule is:
Describe the destination, not the act of clicking.
Suppose your website has a page about boiler repair.
These anchors all tell the visitor something useful:
boiler repair service
professional boiler repairs
our boiler repair service
boiler repair in Chester
Now compare them with:
click here
read more
this page
learn more
Those phrases are not automatically harmful.
The problem is that they provide very little information about where the link goes.
Someone should ideally be able to read the anchor text and have a reasonable idea what they will find after clicking.
That is a much better test than asking whether the anchor contains a particular number of keywords.
What Is Anchor Text?
Anchor text is simply the clickable wording used in a link.
For example:
If you want to understand the wider checks involved, see what we check during an SEO review.
The anchor text is:
what we check during an SEO review
That wording describes the destination.
The same link could have been written:
To learn more, click here.
Both links could take the visitor to exactly the same page.
But the first gives considerably more context.
Good anchor text helps someone understand:
what the destination page is about
why it is relevant
what they are likely to find there
whether clicking is worth their time
Search engines can also use internal links and their surrounding context when understanding relationships between pages.
That makes anchor text part of good website structure rather than an isolated SEO trick.
Should Internal Link Anchor Text Include Keywords?
It can.
But that is not the same as saying every internal link should contain an exact-match keyword.
If your service page is genuinely about:
boiler repair
then using:
boiler repair service
as an internal anchor is completely natural.
There is no reason to deliberately avoid descriptive wording simply because it contains a keyword.
The mistake is turning that into a rigid rule.
Imagine 25 pages all linking to the same destination using exactly:
boiler repair Chester
whether or not that wording fits the sentence.
You have stopped writing naturally and started manipulating the copy around the anchor.
A better approach is to allow sensible variation.
You might naturally use:
boiler repair service
our boiler repair service
help with boiler repairs
professional boiler repairs
boiler repairs in Chester
depending on the sentence and context.
The destination remains clear without every internal link looking mechanically identical.
Do You Need to Use Exact-Match Anchor Text?
No.
Exact-match anchor text is simply an anchor that closely matches the main phrase associated with the destination page.
For example:
Destination:
Small Business SEO Review
Exact or near-exact anchor:
small business SEO review
That can be perfectly appropriate.
In fact, you can see our small business SEO review here.
The problem begins when somebody decides:
This is my target keyword, therefore every internal link pointing to this page must use exactly the same words.
That is unnecessary.
A natural website will normally use slightly different wording in different contexts.
For the same SEO Review page, you might reasonably use:
small business SEO review
our SEO review service
manual SEO review
SEO review for your website
Those variations can all accurately describe the same destination.
Do not vary anchor text purely for the sake of creating variation either.
Write the sentence naturally.
Then make the part that best describes the destination the link.
Match the Anchor Text to the Destination Page
This is more important than trying to optimise individual phrases.
Suppose you have:
Homepage
Boiler Repair page
Boiler Servicing page
Emergency Plumbing page
Contact page
When two service pages genuinely relate, the same principle applies: link using wording that accurately describes the second service rather than a generic “more services” phrase. See Should Service Pages Link to Each Other? for when the service-to-service connection itself is worth making.
You publish an article about a boiler fault.
The article contains this sentence:
If the problem needs professional attention, see our boiler repair service.
The words:
boiler repair service
should normally link to the Boiler Repair page.
They should not link to:
Homepage
just because the homepage is the strongest page on the site.
Likewise, they should not link to:
Boiler Servicing
because you want that page to receive more internal links.
The wording and destination should agree.
That sounds obvious, but mismatched internal links are one of the ways websites can send unclear signals about which page is responsible for which subject.
If Google is already choosing an unintended URL for an important search, read why Google may be ranking the wrong page on your website.
Anchor Text Should Help Keep Page Roles Clear
This becomes particularly important as a website grows.
Imagine an accountant has:
Homepage
Bookkeeping
Payroll
VAT Returns
Small Business Accounting
plus twenty blog posts.
If most of those blog posts use:
accounting services
and point to different destinations at different times, the site's internal structure becomes harder to interpret.
You do not need one rigid phrase for every page.
But important pages should have recognisable purposes.
For example:
bookkeeping services → Bookkeeping
payroll service → Payroll
VAT return support → VAT Returns
small business accounting → Small Business Accounting
The language can vary naturally around those ideas.
What you want to avoid is using very similar anchors for several pages that themselves already have overlapping purposes.
When that happens, anchor text is often exposing a bigger website-structure problem.
What Anchor Text Should a Blog Post Use When Linking to a Service Page?
Use wording that naturally describes the service as the next logical step.
Imagine a plumber publishes:
Why Does My Boiler Keep Losing Pressure?
The article explains several possible causes.
Towards the end it says:
If the pressure keeps falling and you cannot identify the cause safely, our boiler repair service explains how we diagnose and repair common boiler faults.
The useful anchor is:
boiler repair service
Not:
click here
and not an enormous phrase such as:
best professional affordable boiler repair services in Chester for homeowners
The first one is descriptive.
The second is vague.
The third has been written for a keyword rather than a person.
The commercial transition should also make sense.
Not every informational article needs to push somebody towards a service.
But where the service genuinely solves the problem being discussed, the connection is useful.
Our guide to whether blog posts should link to service pages explains that relationship in more detail.
Is "Click Here" Bad Anchor Text?
Not always.
This distinction matters.
There is no reason to panic because your website contains the occasional:
click here
find out more
view details
or:
learn more
These can sometimes make sense, particularly in buttons or where the surrounding design makes the destination extremely obvious.
But they are usually weaker contextual anchors.
Compare:
We explain the full process here. Read more.
with:
Read our small business SEO checklist before making changes to your website.
The second link communicates far more before anybody clicks it.
If you are reviewing links inside articles and page copy, descriptive anchors should normally be your default.
You do not need to hunt down every generic link on the website and replace it simply to satisfy an SEO rule.
Change the ones where clearer wording would genuinely improve navigation or page relationships.
Can You Use the Same Anchor Text More Than Once?
Yes.
You do not need a unique anchor every time a destination is linked.
If:
boiler repair service
is the clearest wording in two different articles, there is nothing inherently wrong with using it twice.
Do not invent awkward alternatives just to make every anchor different.
The issue is repetition at scale.
If dozens of pages have been deliberately edited so every link uses precisely the same keyword phrase, the result can become mechanical.
Natural language normally creates natural variation without you needing an anchor-text formula.
Should the Same Anchor Text Link to Different Pages?
Be careful.
Suppose:
SEO review
sometimes links to your SEO Review service,
sometimes to a blog article explaining what an SEO review is,
and sometimes to your pricing page.
A visitor cannot reliably predict where that phrase will take them.
You can usually make the distinction clearer.
For example:
small business SEO review → service page
what an SEO review involves → educational article
SEO review pricing → pricing page
That creates much clearer destinations.
This is one reason anchor text cannot be reviewed properly without looking at the structure of the website around it.
How Long Should Anchor Text Be?
There is no ideal word count.
Keep it long enough to describe the destination and short enough to remain easy to read.
One word may sometimes be enough.
A short phrase is often better.
An entire sentence usually does not need to become a link.
For example:
Weak:
here
Better:
service-page SEO guide
Also weak:
read this complete guide that we have written explaining exactly how many service pages a small business website should have
Better:
how many service pages a small business website needs
The anchor needs enough context.
It does not need to become a paragraph.
Does the Text Around an Internal Link Matter?
Yes.
Do not treat the clickable words as if they exist independently from the rest of the sentence.
Compare:
SEO is important. See our service page.
with:
If several important services are currently squeezed into one generic page, decide whether every service should have its own page before creating additional URLs.
The second link has a much clearer relationship with the surrounding content.
The sentence explains:
the problem
↓
why another page is relevant
↓
what the linked page will answer
That is how good contextual internal linking should work.
What About Images That Link to Another Page?
Images can also act as links.
When an image is the link, its alternative text can provide information about the destination.
That makes another good reason to use sensible, descriptive image alt text where an image needs a text alternative.
But do not start stuffing keywords into image alt text just because the image happens to be clickable.
Describe the image or purpose of the linked image appropriately.
The same general principle still applies:
clarity first.
How Can Bad Anchor Text Contribute to the Wrong Page Ranking?
Anchor text is not the only factor search engines use to choose a page.
But internal linking can reinforce relationships across your website.
Imagine you want your dedicated Boiler Repair page to be the main destination for boiler-repair searches.
You have ten useful boiler-related articles.
But those articles repeatedly link:
boiler repair
to the homepage.
Meanwhile, the actual Boiler Repair page receives links such as:
here
or:
more information.
That is backwards.
Your internal structure is repeatedly associating the clearer service wording with the homepage rather than the page specifically created for that service.
Do not respond by adding fifty exact-match links to the Boiler Repair page.
Instead, review the relationship logically.
Ask:
Which page should somebody reach?
Which page best answers this particular need?
Does the anchor accurately describe it?
Are the strongest related pages pointing towards the right destination?
That is a much more useful internal-linking exercise.
How Should You Audit Anchor Text on a Small Business Website?
You do not need an enormous spreadsheet containing every anchor variation before you can improve a small website.
Start with your important pages.
For each one, ask:
Which page do I actually want visitors to reach for this subject?
Which related pages currently link to it?
Does the anchor text describe the destination?
Are generic phrases such as "click here" being used where something clearer would help?
Are the same keyword-heavy anchors being forced into lots of pages?
Is similar anchor text pointing towards several competing pages?
Are blog posts linking to the correct service rather than defaulting to the homepage?
Would somebody understand the destination before clicking?
Then look at the page in context.
The objective is not to create a perfect anchor-text spreadsheet.
The objective is a website that makes sense.
For a wider review of titles, headings, service pages, internal links, local signals, trust and conversion, work through our small business SEO checklist.
A Simple Anchor Text Rule for Small Business Websites
If you want a straightforward working method, use this:
Write the sentence naturally first.
Decide which page genuinely helps the reader next.
Link the words that most clearly describe that destination.
Do not force an exact keyword where it sounds unnatural.
Do not make the anchor so vague that the visitor cannot tell where they are going.
And do not send a descriptive service anchor towards the wrong page simply because that page is currently stronger.
Good anchor text normally feels obvious once you stop trying to optimise it aggressively.
What Anchor Text Should You Use for Internal Links? The Bottom Line
The best anchor text for an internal link is:
descriptive
relevant
reasonably concise
and:
natural within the sentence
You do not need to use the exact target keyword every time.
You do not need to create artificial variation every time either.
Use wording that helps somebody understand where the link goes.
The destination matters more than hitting a keyword formula.
For most small business websites, the practical goal is:
useful page
↓
clear contextual link
↓
relevant destination
↓
logical next step
If your internal links have grown organically over several years and you are no longer sure whether important pages are receiving the right links, our small business SEO review checks internal linking alongside page targeting, titles, headings, content, search intent, trust and conversion.
We look at where your links go, which important pages are poorly supported and where changing the destination or anchor text would make the website clearer.
Request an SEO review and we will show you which issues are worth fixing first.
Frequently Asked Questions
What anchor text should I use for internal links?
Use concise, descriptive wording that tells someone what they will find on the destination page. Choose wording that fits naturally into the sentence rather than forcing an exact-match keyword.
Should internal link anchor text contain my target keyword?
It can when the keyword naturally describes the destination. You do not need to use the exact keyword in every internal link pointing to the page.
Is "click here" bad for internal links?
It is not automatically harmful, but it provides very little information about the destination. In contextual page copy, descriptive wording is normally more useful.
Should every internal link to a page use different anchor text?
No. Natural repetition is fine. Do not manufacture different wording simply to make every anchor unique. Equally, do not force exactly the same keyword phrase into every link.
Can internal anchor text help Google understand a page?
Internal links and their wording can help search engines understand relationships between pages and the subject of the destination. They also help visitors know what to expect before clicking.
Can anchor text make Google rank the wrong page?
Anchor text alone does not determine rankings, but unclear internal linking can contribute to confusing page relationships. If your strongest related pages repeatedly use relevant service wording while linking to the wrong URL, review the destinations as well as the anchors.
How many words should internal-link anchor text contain?
There is no fixed number. Use enough words to make the destination clear without unnecessarily turning a whole sentence into a link.
