Anchor text in internal links: the specificity most sites get wrong.

Anchor text in internal links: the specificity most sites get wrong.

Internal link anchor text is a direct relevance signal. Google uses it to understand what the linked page is about. Yet most internal links use generic anchors: "click here," "read more," "learn more," "this post," or the page title verbatim.

The opportunity is in specificity. Instead of linking to your affiliate review page with the title anchor "Best VPN Services Review," link with an anchor that signals the specific angle you want that page to rank for: "fastest VPN for streaming" or "cheapest VPN under $5/month."

This doesn't mean every link needs to be keyword-stuffed. It means the anchor should be descriptive and specific enough to carry topical signal.

Internal anchor text strategy for affiliate sites:

- When linking from an informational article to a commercial page: use commercial-intent anchors ("top-rated," "compare prices," "see deals on")
- When linking from one review to another: use the specific comparative advantage as the anchor ("unlike [Product A], [Product B] offers...")
- When linking to a hub page from supporting content: use broad category anchors that match the hub's target terms

Audit your internal anchors with a crawl tool. If more than 20% of your internal links use generic anchors like "here" or "this," you're leaving relevance signal on the table.