Internal Linking Anchor Texts: Why Text Variety is Key for SEO Success

As an SEO expert and webmaster with over a decade of experience, I can confidently say that internal linking is one of the most powerful yet underutilized tactics for boosting your website‘s search engine rankings. And when it comes to internal linking, using a variety of different anchor texts is absolutely essential.

In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll dive deep into the research and data that proves just how critical anchor text diversity is to SEO success. More importantly, I‘ll provide you with clear, actionable strategies you can implement to fully harness the power of internal linking for your own website.

But before we jump into the nitty-gritty details, let‘s start with a quick recap of why internal linking matters in the first place.

The Importance of Internal Linking for SEO: A Quick Refresher

Internal linking refers to the practice of creating hyperlinks from one page on your website to another page on the same site. In contrast to external links (i.e. links from other websites), internal links are completely under your control.

When used strategically, internal linking can provide some significant SEO benefits, such as:

• Helping search engine crawlers discover and index all the pages on your site
• Distributing link equity (ranking power) from your top-performing pages to other high-value pages
• Defining your website‘s architecture and hierarchy
• Improving the user experience by providing easy navigation and content discoverability

Think of internal links as a way of telling both search engines and human visitors which pages on your site are the most important, and how they‘re interconnected. They help boost your SEO by ensuring all your strongest content is easy to find.

Proof That Anchor Text Variety Matters: What the Latest SEO Studies Show

Now that we‘ve established why internal linking is so crucial, let‘s take a look at some of the eye-opening data surrounding anchor text diversity. In recent years, several large-scale SEO studies have confirmed what many experts have long suspected: that using a variety of different keywords and phrases in your internal linking anchor text has a major positive impact on search rankings.

Study #1: Backlinko‘s Analysis of 4 Million Google Search Results

In a massive study analyzing 4 million Google search results, the team at Backlinko found a clear correlation between the number of unique anchor text phrases pointing to a page and its average search ranking. As the number of distinct anchors increased, the page‘s ranking tended to rise in tandem.

Specifically, the data showed that pages with 10+ different anchor text phrases ranked, on average, in the top 10 search results. In contrast, pages with fewer than 5 unique anchors ranked in the 20-30 range on average.

This finding held true across all industries and types of content analyzed—from e-commerce product pages to long-form blog posts. It appears Google views diversity in anchor text as a strong signal of a page‘s relevance and authority.

Study #2: Ahrefs‘ Study of 384,614 Web Pages

A separate study conducted by Ahrefs looked at how the ratio of exact-match vs. partial-match anchor text affects organic search traffic. (Exact-match anchors contain the exact target keyword, while partial-match includes the keyword as part of a longer phrase.)

After examining data from nearly 385,000 web pages, they found that pages receiving a higher proportion of traffic from organic search tended to have a good mix of both exact- and partial-match anchors in their backlink profile.

As you can see, pages with 40-60% of their anchors being exact-match keywords received the most search traffic. Interestingly, having too high of an exact-match ratio (above 60%) appeared to have a negative effect, likely due to being viewed as a spam signal.

The key takeaway? Aim for a natural-looking mix of exact-match, partial-match, and non-keyword anchors in both your internal and external links. Avoid over-optimizing by using the same anchors repeatedly.

Study #3: SEMrush‘s Ranking Factors Study

Finally, an in-depth ranking factors study from SEMrush found that when it comes to impact on search performance, the sheer quantity of referring internal links appears to be less important than the uniqueness and relevance of those links.

While the total number of internal links pointing to a page did show a moderate correlation with rankings, the number of unique referring domains (i.e. the number of different pages linking to the target) had a much stronger relationship. This aligns with the idea that having a diversity of sources and anchor text phrases is more valuable than raw link volume.

SEMrush‘s research also supported the notion that internal links carry significant weight in Google‘s ranking algorithms. Among the hundreds of potential ranking factors analyzed, internal link-related factors (e.g. total internal links, internal link anchor text diversity) consistently showed some of the highest correlations with first page rankings.

Putting the Research into Practice: 5 Strategies for Optimizing Your Internal Linking

Armed with these data-driven insights, let‘s explore some specific tactics you can use to enhance your site‘s internal linking and skyrocket your SEO results:

1. Conduct a Full Internal Link Audit

The first step to improving your internal linking is to assess how well you‘re currently doing. Using a tool like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs‘ Site Audit, crawl your entire website and look at key metrics like:

• Number of internal links per page
• Percentage of pages with zero internal links
• Ratio of unique to non-unique anchors
• Distribution of anchor text phrases
• Broken or orphaned pages

Identify any pages that are under-linked or have an over-abundance of the same anchor text phrases. Make a list of your highest-priority pages that need more link love.

2. Diversify Your Anchor Text Phrases

As the research shows, pages with a greater variety of unique anchor text phrases tend to perform better in search. Here are some ways to diversify your anchors:

• Use synonyms and variations of your target keyword (e.g. "link building strategies", "ways to build links", "linkbuilding tactics")
• Mix in branded anchors (e.g. "SEO services by Your Brand Name")
• Occasionally toss in a naked URL (e.g. "https://www.yoursite.com/target-page")
• Choose partial-match phrases when exact-match would sound unnatural
• For less important links, use generic phrases like "learn more" sparingly

A good rule of thumb is to write your anchor text for human readers first, and search engines second. If it reads awkwardly, you‘ve probably over-optimized.

3. Identify and Fix Orphaned Pages

Orphaned pages are those that have zero internal links pointing to them, making them virtually impossible for users or search engines to find through natural browsing.

Using the internal link data gathered during your site audit, make a list of all the orphaned pages on your site. Then strategically add internal links pointing to these orphans from relevant, authoritative pages.

4. Leverage Your Top-Performing Pages

Your website likely has a handful of "powerhouse" pages that attract the most traffic and have the greatest link authority. These are ideal link sources to point to other pages you want to boost.

Identify your top 10-20 pages based on metrics like organic traffic, page authority, and number of referring domains. On each of these pages, look for opportunities to naturally link to other high-priority, topically relevant pages using keyword-optimized anchors.

5. Update and Expand Old Content

Older blog posts and content pages on your site can be gold mines for adding fresh internal links. Make it a regular practice to audit and refresh your existing content every 6-12 months.

As you update each piece, look for opportunities to link to newer content on your site. You may find 3-5 great internal linking opportunities per piece. Be sure to use descriptive, keyword-rich anchor text that entices clicks.

Key Takeaways & Next Steps

I hope this deep dive into the data behind anchor text diversity has opened your eyes to just how critical well-optimized internal linking is to SEO success. By strategically varying your internal link anchors, you can get a serious leg up on competitors who are still stuck in the "old school" ways of thinking about link building.

To recap, here are the most important points to keep in mind:

• Pages with 10+ unique anchor text phrases tend to significantly outrank those with more homogenous anchors
• A natural-looking mix of exact-match, partial-match, and non-keyword anchor text phrases is ideal
• Having a diversity of linking sources (i.e. unique referring pages) is more impactful than sheer number of links
• Generic anchor text like "click here" should be used extremely sparingly
• Regularly auditing and refreshing your internal links is key to staying ahead of the curve

If all of this seems a bit overwhelming, fear not—you don‘t have to overhaul your entire internal linking strategy overnight. Start by focusing on your most important SEO pages and implementing these tactics gradually.

As you begin to see your rankings climb, I promise the extra effort will feel more than worth it. Happy linking!