Anchor text is the clickable text in a hyperlink—and crafting effective anchor text is more valuable (and more complicated) than you might think.
Effective anchor text can transform your site’s user experience, boost SEO, and increase conversion rates. By crafting clear, action-oriented anchor text, you can guide potential clients seamlessly through your site, ensuring they find the information they need and take the desired actions.
We’re sharing tips from the trenches—spilling the secrets of SEO writers!—for how to write better anchor text and increase conversions on your legal site.
Be specific and descriptive—not cute (and vague).
Avoid vague phrases like “click here” and “read more.” Instead, describe exactly what the user will get. For instance, instead of “click here” try “download our free personal injury claim guide.” Specific anchor text sets clear expectations, improves user confidence, and boosts engagement.
Vague: “Learn more.”
Specific: “Schedule a free consultation with our divorce attorney.” (If you wanted to be a bit more specific, you could expand this to say “Schedule a free consultation with our divorce attorney” but, in this case, we’d recommend you only link the words, “Schedule a free consultation.”
Be very discerning when considering cutesy phrases like “More fun inside” or “clickety click.” Cutesy anchor text tends to work best in situations where 1) the brand voice is clearly established with strong brand awareness and 2) the link destination is obvious without additional descriptors.
Keep it short.
Being descriptive is crucial, but brevity is equally important.
Aim for concise phrases that deliver the message without overwhelming the reader. Here are some tips:
- Prioritize key information: Focus on the most important words.
- Avoid redundancy: Eliminate unnecessary words.
- Test for readability: Ensure the text is easily scannable.
For example, “find out about our legal fees” could be shortened to “legal fees” without losing clarity. This works because “legal fees” is clear enough on its own. For something like “services,” it would be better to be more specific within the anchor text, like “estate planning services.”
Use action-oriented language.
Links are meant to be clicked on! Use action-oriented language in anchor text to call users to act.
Words like “discover,” “learn,” and “explore” create a sense of urgency and engagement. This will support your overall user interaction strategy, driving people through a conversion funnel toward connecting with you on a call.
Effective: “Explore our corporate law services.”
Ineffective: “Services.”
Be careful not to use highly emotional language here. Respect your users by avoiding false scarcity or emergency-related language, like “Hurry!” or “Act Now” or “Last Chance.”
Incorporate keywords naturally—but don’t stuff.
You can include relevant keywords in your anchor text to improve SEO. This works by helping search engines understand the content of the linked page.
Example: Instead of “Learn more,” try “Learn about our family law services.” For SEO purposes, you might consider linking just the “family law services” part of the sentence since that’s the most clear description of the destination page.
However, it’s critical to avoid keyword stuffing. This is when you jam a ton of relevant keywords into one link purely for the sake of SEO. In reality, keyword stuffing backfires. Over-optimization looks spammy and it can actually harm your SEO.
Example (natural integration of keywords): “Our criminal defense lawyer in NYC”
Example (bad keyword stuffing): “NYC criminal defense lawyer attorney legal services”
Try to incorporate keywords but only do so when the keywords fit naturally within the context and do not interfere with readability.
Ensure link text matches the specific destination.
Make sure the anchor text accurately represents the content of the linked page. For instance, “contact our DUI defense lawyer” should lead to a contact page for DUI defense, not a general contact form.
It’s also important to avoid using the same anchor text for multiple pages. If you have a page for DUI defense and a separate page that talks about repeated DUI arrests, you shouldn’t use the anchor text of “DUI defense” to take visitors to both pages. Instead, designate “DUI defense” as the anchor text for your dedicated DUI defense page and use “second DUI offense” as the anchor text for the page on repeated DUI arrests.
Mismatched links can frustrate your potential clients and prevent growth:
To maintain credibility, comb through your site regularly to verify that every link destination aligns with user expectations. As your site grows, you might consider having a spreadsheet which notes the preferred anchor text for different pages on your site.
Make your links stand out.
Ensure your links are visually distinct from regular text. Use a different color, underline them, or both, so users can easily identify clickable links. This improves usability and ensures important links are not overlooked.
Tips on visual differentiation:
- Color contrast: Choose a color that contrasts with your regular text.
- Underline: Consistently underline links to signify they are clickable.
- Hover effect: Implement hover effects to highlight links when users mouse over them.
Distinct links will improve navigation and enhance the overall user experience on your site.
Review and next steps
Here’s the summary for better anchor text: be specific, keep it short, use action words, incorporate keywords naturally, ensure anchor text matches its link and make links stand out.
With clear, engaging, and effective anchor text, your users can find what they need faster. That means more leads for you and your firm.
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