I recently read a post by Bill Slawski discussing an enhancement to anchor text for inbound links, which involves using surrounding text instead of the anchor text itself. If implemented, the implications could be significant.
Google’s John Mueller was asked if anchor text remains a ranking factor. His response focused more on outbound anchor text within links on a site rather than inbound links.
Mueller confirmed that Google does use anchor text but seemed to sidestep the aspect of its role as a ranking factor when it comes to inbound links, potentially because he was discussing outbound links.
Is Anchor Text a Ranking Factor?
The question directed to John Mueller was about anchor text on inbound links. There are diverse opinions on how Google utilizes this, with a prevailing view since 2013 suggesting that excessive anchor text might prompt manual action or impact rankings.
Question:
“Is anchor text still an important ranking factor? Numerous studies claim there’s no correlation. I’m unsure, also considering a link to a Google patent.”
John Mueller Confirms Usefulness of Anchor Text
Mueller began by confirming Google’s use of anchor text but refrained from elaborating on its status as a ranking factor for inbound links.
“With regards to anchor text, in general, we do use it… It is a great context provider for a link, particularly within your site.”
Mueller further discussed its application to internal links:
“I suggest paying attention to internal anchor text to ensure it’s useful and provides context about the linked page.”
He elaborated on linking to products within a website, emphasizing internal linking.
The key takeaway is that Google uses anchor text, but Mueller provided limited details, understandably.
However, Bill Slawski might have identified an intriguing aspect. More on that later.
Breaking the Anchor Text Paradigm
There are conflicting views on anchor text. Many articles highlight potential risks but still advocate its use.
Recent advice suggests using anchor text sparingly, focusing more on branded anchor text.
Another article recommends examining competitor anchor text distributions to ensure a “natural” look.
Both perspectives acknowledge potential risks with inbound anchor text, yet they continue to endorse its use.
No alternative to anchor text is proposed by these articles. They reinforce its continued importance, indicating that the SEO industry may be cautious about abandoning it.
Bill Slawski’s Discovery
Bill Slawski might have uncovered a pertinent clue that could shift the current paradigm.
Virtual Anchor Text
Traditionally, anchor text helps understand the linked page. But now, so does the content surrounding it.
Bill Slawski noted a recent addition to an old anchor text patent, potentially pointing to a virtual anchor text method.
Bill Slawski on Surrounding Text Interpretation
I inquired if this involves deriving link meaning from surrounding text.
“Yes, it appears that way.”
Likelihood of Implementation:
Bill referenced updated patent claims from an old Jeff Dean patent as promising evidence of this process being employed.
This insight may explain why branded anchor text influences rankings. If true, it’s not just the branded anchor text but the surrounding text functioning as virtual anchor text.
Bill and Google Refer to It as Annotation Text
Described as operating like virtual anchor text, this method doesn’t use anchor text but behaves similarly.
The patent details associating surrounding text near an outbound link with the outbound link itself. Instead of using anchor text (e.g., “click here”), the algorithm might utilize surrounding text.
Keywords from the surrounding text are described in the patent as relevant to both the linking and linked pages.
There’s thus a relevance match from the linking page, through surrounding text, to the linked page, and finally to the search query.
Patent Section Noticed by Bill:
“…identifying, in the source document, annotation text within a predetermined distance of an outbound link…”
This involves identifying text an exact distance from an outbound link. "Annotation" refers to text clarifying the main text, possibly a title or preceding/following words.
Patent on Text Distance from Anchor Text:
“Identifying text within a set distance from an outbound link with keywords relevant to both the link’s source and destination pages.”
Relevance to Page and Linked Page:
“Storing in an index an association between the term, the source, and target documents…”
It describes linking a search query to pages relevant to that query when the search term appears near a relevant link.
Entire Paragraph from Patent:
“…identifying annotation text within a predetermined distance of an outbound link…storing associations…responding to query terms…”
Is Surrounding Text a Virtual Anchor Text?
Just because something is patented doesn’t guarantee its use by Google.
Google might analyze surrounding text due to frequent generic links like “click here.” Text around such links often offers crucial context and could serve as a virtual anchor text.
Watch the Webmaster Hangout about Anchor Text for more insights.
Read more from Bill Slawski on Annotated text.
Images by Shutterstock, modified by author.
