{"id":3779,"date":"2019-08-15T08:27:22","date_gmt":"2019-08-15T08:27:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/?p=3779"},"modified":"2022-09-05T19:24:03","modified_gmt":"2022-09-05T17:24:03","slug":"the-value-of-anchor-links","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/seo-blog\/the-value-of-anchor-links\/","title":{"rendered":"The Value of Anchor Links"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"l-section wpb_row height_medium\"><div class=\"l-section-h i-cf\"><div class=\"g-cols vc_row via_grid cols_3-1 laptops-cols_inherit tablets-cols_inherit mobiles-cols_1 valign_top type_default stacking_default\"><div class=\"wpb_column vc_column_container\"><div class=\"vc_column-inner\"><div class=\"w-image align_center\"><div class=\"w-image-h\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"680\" height=\"481\" src=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/shutterstock_632581073-e1565857558938.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"DSM Digital School of Marketing - Anchor Links\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/shutterstock_632581073-e1565857558938.jpg 680w, https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/shutterstock_632581073-e1565857558938-600x424.jpg 600w, https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/shutterstock_632581073-e1565857558938-300x212.jpg 300w, https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/shutterstock_632581073-e1565857558938-283x200.jpg 283w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" \/><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wpb_text_column\"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\"><p>Paul Cookson said, &#8220;Websites promote you 24\/7; No employee will do that.&#8221; And Mr Cookson speaks the truth. However, when your website is very difficult to navigate, your <a href=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/blog\/how-will-sitemap-for-website-help-seo\/\">website<\/a> will do the opposite of promoting you.<\/p>\n<p>There are a good number of things that you can do to make your website easier to navigate, including dividing your categories clearly, making all navigation elements clickable and ensuring your search feature is working. Another way to improve your site&#8217;s navigation is through anchor links.<\/p>\n<h2>Navigation through anchor links<\/h2>\n<h2><strong>What are anchor links?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>An anchor link can be defined as a web link that allows users to jump to a specific point on a website page. They are invisible position markers that you can place anywhere on your website to help your users move around your site easier. You can choose to place your anchor links in the header, footer or a specific paragraph or button on your site \u2013 you have endless options!<\/p>\n<p>When a user clicks on an anchor link, it will take them exactly to where they want to be whether that is back to the top or down to the bottom of the page or to your FAQ page. Anchor links can be used in one of two ways on your site:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/blog\/what-is-a-bad-link-and-how-does-it-affect-your-websites-health\/\">Link<\/a> elements such as buttons, images or lines of text to an anchor link.<\/li>\n<li>Create a floating anchor menu that follows your visitors as they scroll through your website.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><strong>Best practices for putting together anchor links<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>There are a few best practices that you should adhere to when putting together anchor links.<\/p>\n<h3><em>Be natural as well as versatile<\/em><\/h3>\n<p>Every section of a website (this includes links and their affiliated anchor text) needs to deliver tangible value to the users of the site. Links must be inserted only where website users expect to see them so that they can become informed about something that is valuable to them.<\/p>\n<p>With Google&#8217;s algorithms becoming cleverer every year, avoid many repetitive and keyword-based anchors in your website&#8217;s anchor text cloud. If you do not do this, more than likely you&#8217;ll get a penalty.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><div class=\"w-video align_none ratio_16x9 has_iframe\"><div class=\"w-video-h\"><iframe title=\"Youtube video player\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cImP9WWJVh4?autoplay=0&controls=1&origin=https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za&loop=0&mute=0\" allowfullscreen=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/iframe><\/div><div class=\"w-video-icon\" style=\"font-size:1.5rem;background:rgba(0,0,0,0.5);color:#fff\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"w-separator size_medium\"><\/div><div class=\"wpb_text_column\"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\"><h3>Avoid over-optimising your website<\/h3>\n<p>An anchor text cloud, which is spammy and keyword based, is a huge red flag to the search engine giant. This is because it shows blunt manipulation with backlinks. This again will result in penalties.<\/p>\n<p>Try to keep your anchor text natural through the process of spreading it across your inbound links in the right proportions.<\/p>\n<h3>Make sure that your anchors are relevant to your content<\/h3>\n<p>As long as Google realises what is put on a website page, it will not have any difficulties in figuring out if a specific anchor text or link is related to a website page&#8217;s content.<\/p>\n<p>If you put an internal link with irrelevant anchor text on your own website, this is likely to harm your search ranking. The is true for backlinks with irrelevant anchor text.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>The value of anchor links<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>There are many benefits to using anchor links, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>They make navigation on your website that much easier<\/li>\n<li>They improve the user experience<\/li>\n<li>They save users time as they don&#8217;t have to scroll through websites and skim read to find what they are looking for \u2013 they can skip straight to the element they want<\/li>\n<li>Anchor links are especially valuable for mobile sites<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Even though anchor links add a lot of value to a website, you must take extra care when you use them. Broken links or having too many anchor links can frustrate your users, and you can lose out on valuable <a href=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/social-media-marketing-blog\/how-to-create-copy-for-social-media-that-drives-engagement\/\">engagement<\/a> and even sales. What is your view on anchor links? We&#8217;d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/contact-us\/\">Get in touch with the Digital School of Marketing<\/a><\/h2>\n<p>As the digital world becomes increasingly crowded so the requirement to optimise your website becomes more vital. <a href=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/courses\/seo-and-web-analytics-course\/\">Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Web Analytics<\/a> must not be seen as a luxury in today&#8217;s climate. We argue that it is an absolute necessity. DSM&#8217;s course will instruct you in what it takes for your website to reach the number one spot on search engine results pages (SERPs). If you have a passion for digital marketing, statistics and website technical knowledge then this course is for you!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/courses\/seo-and-web-analytics-course\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-758 size-shop_single\" src=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/DSM_Footer03-600x96.jpg\" alt=\"DSM Digital School of Marketing SEO and Web Analytics course registration\" width=\"600\" height=\"96\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wpb_column vc_column_container\"><div class=\"vc_column-inner\"><div class=\"w-btn-wrapper align_justify\"><a class=\"w-btn us-btn-style_2\" href=\"#enquiry\"><span class=\"w-btn-label\">Enquire Today<\/span><\/a><\/div><div class=\"w-separator size_medium\"><\/div><h3 class=\"w-text us_custom_6caa4608 has_text_color\"><span class=\"w-text-h\"><span class=\"w-text-value\">Blog Categories<\/span><\/span><\/h3><div class=\"wpb_text_column us_custom_5cd26a65\"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\"><ul>\n<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-1\"><a href=\"\/blog\/content-marketing\/\">Content Marketing<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-2\"><a href=\"\/blog\/digital-marketing\/\">Digital Marketing<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-2\"><a href=\"\/blog\/cyber-security-blog\/\">Cyber Security<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-2\"><a href=\"\/blog\/graphic-design-blog\/\">Graphic Design<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-3\"><a href=\"\/blog\/public-relations\/\">Public Relations<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-4\"><a href=\"\/blog\/seo\/\">SEO<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-5\"><a href=\"\/blog\/social-media-marketing\/\">Social Media Marketing<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-5\"><a href=\"\/blog\/web-design-blog\/\">Web Design<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><div class=\"w-separator size_medium\"><\/div><h3 class=\"w-text us_custom_6caa4608 has_text_color\"><span class=\"w-text-h\"><span class=\"w-text-value\">You might also like<\/span><\/span><\/h3><div class=\"w-html\"><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/social-media-marketing-blog\/zero-moment-of-truth-benefit-social-media-marketing\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Use the Zero Moment of Truth to Benefit your Social Media Marketing<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za\/digital-marketing-blog\/your-complete-guide-to-ppc-marketing-basic\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Your Complete Guide to PPC Marketing Basics. 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