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The anchor tag or the <a> tag, is one of the most important html tags in terms of SEO. Links (both internal and from external websites), are built on it. The anchor text used under the <a> tag will dictate the Page Rank of your website, and define the subject matter of a web document from a search engine bot point of view.

While there may  be conflicts between what a copywriter and a marketer (SEO guy) want as anchor text for links, both should recognize the importance of the other’s approach, and cooperate on deciding what a link should communicate to both humans and robots.

Usage

The most common usage of the <a> tag is in conjuncture with the href attribute and it may look similar to this:

<a href=”http://www.pitsopmedia.com/” title=”seo guide for beginners”>seo guide for beginners</a>

The text seo guide for beginners in the above example is known as anchor text. For more information on optional and standard attributes of  the <a> tag, please visit the HTML a tag page.

What designers should know about the anchor tag in terms of SEO

• Designers should understand that robots can’t read the text embedded in images, so if you know that a keyword is important for the website you’re designing for, don’t put that text under images.
• If you want to design fancy headlines, or your company’s branding rules require fonts that are non-standard for browsers, consider using sIFR.
• Hopefully the new HTML 5 will be adopted quickly and more fonts will become standard, but for now stay with standard fonts (not images) for headings and other important visuals.

What SEO’s should know about the <a> tag

• Always use targeted keywords in the anchor text, i.e. <a href=”http://www.pitsopmedia.com/” title=”seo guide for beginners”>seo guide for beginners</a>.
• Never use meaningless words like Click Here in your anchor text.
• While the title attribute is not indexed and taken into consideration by search engines, it is still advisable to use it, i.e. <a href=”http://www.pitsopmedia.com/” title=”seo guide for beginners“>seo guide for beginners</a>.
• Make sure that the content of the linked page contains the keyword you use as anchor text for the link to that page.
• Ideally, the anchor text in your link should be repeated at the beginning of the <title> tag of the linked page.
• Consult with the copywriter (if any) about the anchor text of the link if he/she wants something, and you want something else. Explain to him/her the importance of keyword rich anchor text.
• Don’t link to and don’t get linked to from junk websites (link farms, PPP websites).
• When building links from external websites, frequently alternate the anchor text with alternate versions of the targeted keywords.
• Nofollowed links from external website may not pass links, but they are useful if they send targeted traffic (i.e., wikipedia links are not followed, but they can send qualified leads).
• Don’t get stuck on keyword density, and don’t try to screw up the copywriter’s work.

What programmers should know about the <a> tag

• If you want search engine bots to index the page you link to, then don’t put links under JavaScript, flash or other scripting language that will make the search engine’s job harder. Simple a href is the best format.
• Use nofollow on external links, except if you link to trusted/authority websites (i.e. wikipedia, governmental) or interlinking partner websites.
• If you see images containing important keywords, speak to the designer and ask him or her to “create” something with pure text (css will help).
• Be consistent when you interlink your website pages (always link to www.yoursite.com, not to variations like www.yoursite.com/ or www.yoursite.com/index.php) – search engines will treat those URLs as different documents.
• The trailing slash after .com (or whatever TLD) matters; the best way to link to your home page is http:/www.yoursite.com/.
• You don’t need to worry about relative and absolute URL, as long as your relative URLs have consistency.
• Put nofollow on Add to Cart anchors.
• Although not directly relate to the <a> tag, if you use a variation of a URL with just a parameter changed (&itemcolor=1) put the rel=”canonical” in the <head> section of the variation page (see rel canonical).

What copywriters should know about the anchor tag

• The anchor text is important for both search engines and readers.
• You should balance creativity and SEO.
• Use strong call to action verbs outside the anchor text.
• Don’t use generic terms like Click Here to link a page.
• Put the most important keywords in links, at the beginning of the anchor text if possible.
• Don’t stuff your copy with links on the same exact targeted keywords; use keyword variations (i.e. plural vs singular versions) for the anchor text.
• Search engines use stemming (reducing a word to its stem or root) in their algorithm.
• Don’t repeat the same anchor text more than 2 times per 100 words – use synonyms instead.
• Use industry specific and related terms in your anchor text and in your copy to tell engines the theme of the web page (book VS booking).

Pitstop Media offers ROI focused internet marketing services. If you need a SEO company to help you rank #1 or with pay per click management and/or PPC optimization please contact us for a free, no obligation quote. We’ve helped companies rank first on Google in short periods of time, for highly competitive terms, and we’ve reduced paid advertising cost by as much as 48% while increased AdWords conversion rates by as much as 410%.