What Google reads in an anchor
Google's link guidelines ask for anchor text that is descriptive, reasonably concise and relevant to the target page. A quick test: read the anchor on its own, out of the sentence. If it does not say what the destination page covers, it is too vague. "Learn more", "here" and "this post" carry no information.
For image links, the image's alt attribute acts as the anchor text. Google also advises against chaining several links back to back and against stuffing anchors with keywords.
Common types of anchor text
- Exact match: the target keyword itself, such as "Denver roofing contractor".
- Partial match: the keyword inside natural wording, "our roofing work around Denver".
- Branded: the company name, "Summit Roofing".
- Naked URL: the address shown as is.
- Generic: "visit website", "click here".
- Image: the alt text of a clickable logo or photo.
Internal links and backlinks follow different rules
On your own site you control every link, so use precise anchors that describe the target page, and keep each specific anchor pointing to one page only, which avoids blurring two similar pages.
For links from other websites, a natural profile is mostly branded anchors, URLs and varied wording. If most of your backlinks use the exact same commercial keyword, the profile looks engineered. Google's spam policies specifically mention keyword-rich anchors placed in guest posts and advertorials.
Auditing the anchors on your site
A crawler such as Screaming Frog exports every internal anchor with its destination URL. Filter for generic anchors ("here", "read more") and for identical anchors that point to different pages, then fix the links inside the body of your money pages first. For backlinks, the Links report in Search Console lists the most common anchor text other sites use when they link to you, which is the fastest way to spot an unnatural pattern.