Anchor Texts vs Keywords: Essential for SEO, but Not the Same

When people think about SEO, they often lump anchor texts and keywords together—but understanding anchor texts vs keywords can dramatically improve your content's performance.

Keywords are the foundation of SEO. These are the words or phrases your target audience types into Google. Your goal is to rank for them by including them in your content naturally.

Anchor texts, by contrast, are the words you hyperlink to other content. They guide users and help search engines understand what the linked content is about.

The mistake many make is assuming keywords and anchor texts are interchangeable. They're not. While keywords help you attract traffic, anchor texts help guide that traffic across your site.

The best approach is to use keyword-rich anchor texts—but only when it makes sense. Too many exact-match anchors can be flagged as spam. Variation and relevance are key.

Understanding anchor texts vs keywords means you can optimize not just for clicks, but for a better user journey—one that keeps people on your site longer and tells Google you’re offering real value.