Just how important is anchor text diversity to your Search Engine Optimization strategy?
There are thousands of assumptions in the SEO world, many of which are backed up by very little real world evidence. From bizarre ideas about link value to equally strange theories on acquiring a collection of international links, it does not take much to gain the attention (and the trust) of some of the world’s more easily influenced search engine optimization practitioners.
But alongside the bevy of assumptions is a relatively solid set of SEO ‘rules’. While few are set in stone and even fewer entirely provable, the vast majority of SEO guidelines have at least some of their theory based in results. One such ‘rule’ is the importance of anchor text diversity, in particular its ability to dramatically increase your website’s search visibility and user impression count.
Most search engine optimization practitioners recommend keeping your anchor text fairly consistent – ‘blue widget’, ‘blue widgets’ and ‘blue widget info’ could be all of the recommended terms for a particular website. But an anchor text lacking in variation can often do more harm than good, particularly when it comes to search terms that are highly competitive and have the potential to yield thousands of dollars in daily sales.
Think of natural anchor text spreads, and how rarely they are built entirely around two or three terms and limited variety. Most websites are linked to using bizarre phrases, even when their content deals with rather mundane issues. If your website lacks a selection of ‘out there’ phrases, it could appear a little ‘spammy’ to the search engines, especially if it is in a highly commercial niche.
So give your anchor texts a little more variety, even if it means building some strange links. A link profile does not require focus as much as it requires size and variation. Build thousands of links to a website with ‘useless information’ as the anchor text and you will be surprised that it does not become any less powerful for other terms, only that it gains influence across a wider variety of keywords.
Do not be afraid of anchor text dilution, but do work to avoid building links using only a handful of different anchor texts. The greatest websites tend to attract a variety of links – something that every SEO should aim to have pointing towards their top online properties.