Anchor text checker and generator
Anchor text is the clickable wording of a link, and Google uses it to understand the page it points to. Check every link on a page, then generate better anchors.
Anchor text generator
- No cost
- No sign-up
- No email
- No subscription
- No limits for normal use
What does the anchor text checker look for?
- Empty anchors – links with no text, or image links with no alt text, tell Google and screen-reader users nothing.
- Generic anchors such as "click here" and "read more" waste the chance to describe the destination.
- Same anchor, different pages – using the same words to link to two pages blurs which one should rank.
- nofollow on internal links, which throws away your own link value.
- Your internal anchors in the page content, so you can see what you're telling Google each page is about.
What is good anchor text?
Words that describe the page you're linking to, written naturally into the sentence: "see our boiler servicing prices" rather than "click here". For your own internal links, descriptive anchors that include the topic are ideal – Google's own guidance encourages it.
Can anchor text be over-optimised?
Yes – but mostly for links from other websites. Lots of external links using the exact same keyword anchor looks unnatural, and buying links to manipulate rankings breaks Google's spam policies. Natural links use a mix of your brand name, your address and descriptive phrases, which is what the generator gives you.
Frequently asked questions
How many links should a page have?
There's no fixed limit. Link wherever it genuinely helps a visitor, and make sure every important page is linked from somewhere in your content, not only the menu.
Do menu and footer links count?
Yes, but Google understands they're site-wide navigation. Links within the main content carry more context, so we show those separately.
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Want the fixes done for you? XKey is made by IceWork, a web studio in Blackpool. IceWork builds fast, search-ready websites – a 3-page site including domain and a year's hosting is £350 all in.