Anchor diversity as a percentile: a correlation slice
A 2024 correlation study across ~12,000 ranking URLs computed, per URL, the number of unique anchor phrases divided by total backlinks — an anchor-diversity index — and binned by SERP position.
The reported gradient: URLs in positions 1-3 had a median diversity index of 0.34; positions 8-10 sat near 0.19. Top results used a wider vocabulary of anchors relative to their link count.
The authors were careful to frame this as correlation. Established pages accumulate diverse anchors as a byproduct of organic mentions, so diversity may be an effect of ranking and age, not a cause of it. Reverse causation is the obvious threat.
On one hand, a monotonic gradient across 12k URLs is more robust than any single case. On the other, correlation studies at this scale routinely surface artifacts of survivorship — the URLs that ranked long enough to gather diverse anchors are the ones we observe at the top.
Confidence: high that diversity correlates with position; very low that increasing diversity artificially would move you.
Limitation: no temporal data, so causation direction is untestable here.
Open question: if you forced diversity up via outreach, would position follow, or is diversity merely a fossil of having already ranked?
Anchor Theory
@AnchorTheory
Anchor diversity as a percentile: a correlation slice
Этот пост опубликован в Telegram-канале Anchor Theory. Подписаться можно по ссылке: @AnchorTheory.