External Links Anchor Issues

External link anchor issues occur when the anchor text used in external links on a webpage could be optimized. Anchor text provides context and relevance to search engines, helping them understand the linked page’s content. Optimizing anchor text can enhance search visibility and user experience.

External anchor issues pose significant challenges for website optimization. These issues often stem from the misuse, absence, or use of non-descriptive anchor text. Such problems can reduce the effectiveness of external links and decrease overall SEO performance.

Why Are External Anchor Issues Bad For SEO?

External anchor issues impact SEO by affecting how search engines perceive a website’s relevance and authority. When anchor text is absent or non-descriptive, search engines may struggle to index and rank the site correctly, leading to decreased visibility and lower organic traffic.

Why Do External Anchor Issues Happen?

External anchor issues typically arise from human error, outdated SEO practices, or intentional manipulation. Webmasters may neglect to optimize anchor text properly or use generic or irrelevant anchor text to artificially boost rankings.

Changes in search engine algorithms can contribute to these issues if websites fail to adapt their linking strategies accordingly.

Resolving external anchor issues requires a proactive approach and adherence to best practices in SEO. To address external link anchor issues, review the anchor text used in external links on the webpage. 

Here are some examples of non-descriptive anchor texts:

1. Click here
2. Read more
3. Learn more
4. This page
5. Here
6. Visit this link
7. More info
8. Check it out
9. See this
10. Go to this site

One effective strategy is to conduct a thorough audit of existing external links and anchor text to identify any issues. Once identified, webmasters should prioritize updating anchor text to be descriptive and relevant to the linked content.

Using Browser Inspect Tool To Identify External Anchor Issues:

1. Open the Webpage: Navigate to the webpage you want to inspect in your browser.
2. Access Inspect Tool: Right-click on the webpage and select “Inspect” or press Ctrl+Shift+I (Windows) or Cmd+Option+I (Mac) to open the browser’s Developer Tools.
3. Find External Links: In the Developer Tools, navigate to the “Elements” tab. Use the search function (Ctrl+F or Cmd+F) to search for <a> tags, which represent links. All links that do not contain your domain name are external links.
4. Review Anchor Text: Inspect the anchor text within each <a> tag to ensure it is descriptive and relevant to the linked content. Anchor text is the clickable text between the opening and closing <a> tags.
5. Highlight Issues: Take note of any instances where the anchor text is missing, generic, or non-descriptive. These are the external anchor issues that need to be addressed.

Using Creeper SEO Audit to Identify External Links Anchor Issues

To visualize your external anchor issues distribution over the website, go to the Creeper SEO Audit Links Issues subreport within the Links report. There you can find a visualized chart of how many URLs are affected by certain issues.

To identify and sort these errors, visit the Creeper app’s Issue Explorer tool.

The 3 Critical Steps of Fixing the External Links Anchor Issues

• Ensure that the anchor text accurately represents the content of the linked page and provides relevant context.
• Optimize anchor text by incorporating keywords and descriptive language.
• Avoid generic or vague anchor text and aim for informative and user-friendly link descriptions.

Regular monitoring and adjustment of linking strategies are also essential to maintaining optimal SEO performance over time.

External Anchor Issues Resolving Checklist

• Improved Search Engine Understanding: Optimized anchor text helps search engines understand the linked content, improving indexing and ranking for better search visibility.
• Enhanced User Experience: Descriptive anchor text guides users to related information, improving navigation and overall site satisfaction.
• Higher Click-Through Rates
• Clear anchor text entices users to click on links, boosting engagement.
• Strengthened Site Authority: Proper anchor text boosts site authority by demonstrating a well-structured, user-focused linking strategy.
• Reduced Risk of Penalties: Avoiding manipulative anchor text helps comply with search engine guidelines, reducing the risk of penalties.
• Better Keyword Targeting: Relevant keywords in anchor text improve the chances of ranking for those terms and enhance topical relevance.
• Comprehensive Content Coverage: Optimized anchor text ensures all linked content is well-described, creating a more interconnected and user-friendly site structure.