Inbound links (aka backlinks), or incoming links to a website or webpage, are a critical part of SEO. The number of inbound links is an indication of the popularity of your website or webpage to search engines. The more folks want to link to you, the more interest you’re generating.
The Importance of Anchor Text
Wikipedia defines Anchor Text as the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink. Anchor text usually gives the user relevant descriptive or contextual information about the content of the link’s destination.
If you analyze the anchor text from your inbound links, that’ll give you an idea of how people are referring to you.
Paying attention to the anchor text from your inbound links will help you detect if your inbound marketing efforts align with the way folks perceive you. Inbound marketing software, like Hubspot offers, is an easy way to help you analyze all your inbound links and anchor text in one place.
More than likely the anchor text of your inbound links will be pretty predictable. It’ll be a keyword or keyword phrase you’re optimizing for, or something similar, or maybe it’ll be the name of your company or your website url.
If the keywords you’re optimizing your site for match up with the anchor text of your inbound links, you can be assured that your audience is touting the product/service offering you’re promoting…and that your search engine rankings are climbing.
But, if your analytics show that your anchor text doesn’t align with the keywords your optimizing your site for, you’ll be able to assess what is generating interest in your website.
If this is the case, find out what the buzz is about. What is it that attracts your audience to you? Is that part-time local celebrity you just hired generating lots of hits? Is it that PR snaffoo that you just don’t want to define you, but it all of a sudden becomes what your company is known for?
How much attention are you giving to your inbound links and anchor text?
Photo Credit: mantasmagorical
