How to Get Anchor Text

Add hyperlinks using anchor text to improve search ranking and navigability.

When writing for the Web, it is important to choose relevant anchor text for any hyperlinks included. Anchor text refers to words that can be clicked on to allow visitors to follow a link. Choosing relevant keywords as anchor text helps your audience and search engines understand the navigation options offered by clearly indicating the nature of the page to which clicking on the link will lead. Inserting anchor text in place of plain-text link addresses makes copy easier to read. Using keywords as anchor text for hyperlinks will make your site more relevant to search engines and can help to improve search ranking.

Instructions

Get Anchor Text for Links in Word

1. 

   Add anchor text links to a Word document.

   Choose keywords that you wish to designate as anchor text for the targeted Web page, and include them in your copy in a way that flows naturally.

2. Visit the Web page you wish to link to in your copy. Use your mouse to select the Web address and copy it to your clipboard by pressing "Ctrl"+"C."

3. Return to your Word document and use your mouse to highlight the selected anchor text. With the text selected press "Ctrl"+"K." When the gray box pops up in front of the document you are working on, press "Ctrl"+"V" to paste the desired Web address into the box provided. Click "OK" or press "Enter" to create the link. Your anchor text should now be showing in the Word document as an active link. For many online formats it is now possible to copy and paste the content as a whole and the link will remain active.

Get Anchor Text for Links in Online Editors

1. 

   Add anchor text to links in an online publishing format.

   Select relevant keywords that will be used as anchor text for your link, and write them into your copy in a way that will not be off-putting for the reader.

2. Using a separate tab to browse, navigate to the Web page you wish to create an anchor text hyperlink for. Copy the address into your clipboard by highlighting the address bar at the top of your browser with the mouse before pressing "Ctrl"+"C."

3. Return to your online editor, and use your mouse to select the words you wish to use as anchor text. Look for the editor toolbar -- this will be a number of button-type icons usually at the top or side of the box in which you are entering your copy. With the anchor text highlighted, click on the button that looks like a small section of linked chain. When the pop-up box appears, paste the Web address from your clipboard into the relevant field and click "OK" or press the "Enter" key. You link should now be created.

Tips & Warnings

• When anchor text contains a hyperlink, it will be designated by a color change or underlining. If text appears unchanged, try clicking on it to see if the link is live.

• If you are finding it hard to locate the linking-tool button in your online publisher, hover over each button with your cursor until a description appears that reads "Insert/Edit Link."

• Anchor text links can also be inserted with HTML following the [URL=http://insert target page address here] insert anchor text here [/URL] format.

References

• Elgin Community College: Creating Anchor Hyperlinks
• The College of New Jersey: Create/Edit Anchors & Anchor Links
• University of Nebraska Lincoln: Creating Links Within the Web Page