Paste one anchor text per line. Works with exported backlink reports (Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz).
Ready to analyze
Paste anchor texts and click Analyze// review anchor text variety and spot overused patterns
Analyze anchor text variety in your backlink profile. Detect over-optimized, branded, naked URL, and generic anchors. Spot weak patterns instantly.
Paste one anchor text per line. Works with exported backlink reports (Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz).
Ready to analyze
Paste anchor texts and click AnalyzeDownload your backlink report from Ahrefs, Semrush, or Moz. Copy the anchor text column.
Paste one anchor per line. Optionally add your branded terms so they're classified correctly.
Review distribution, diversity score, and flagged over-optimized patterns. Adjust your link-building accordingly.
The Anchor Text Analyzer parses your backlink anchor texts and classifies them into groups: naked URLs, generic anchors (like "click here"), branded terms, and keyword-rich anchors. It calculates a diversity score and flags any anchor used excessively — a key signal Google uses to detect manipulative link schemes.
Anchor text is the clickable, visible text of a hyperlink. Search engines like Google use it as a relevancy signal — if many sites link to your page using "best SEO tool," Google infers that's what your page is about. However, too many exact-match anchors can appear manipulative and trigger algorithmic or manual penalties.
A natural backlink profile typically has 40–60% branded anchors, 20–30% naked URLs, 5–15% generic anchors (like "click here"), and only 5–10% exact-match or partial-match keyword anchors. A high percentage of keyword-rich anchors is a red flag for Google's algorithms.
The Diversity Score reflects how varied your anchor text usage is. A score close to 100 means most of your anchors are unique — a natural pattern. A low score means the same anchors repeat often, which may indicate a manipulative link scheme or low-quality link building.
You can paste up to 5,000 anchor texts in a single analysis. This is sufficient for most backlink exports from Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz, or Majestic.
Naked URLs are anchors where the link text is the URL itself — e.g., "https://example.com" or "www.example.com". These are common in natural backlink profiles and are generally considered safe. A healthy profile usually has 15–25% naked URL anchors.
Generic anchors include phrases like "click here," "read more," "source," or "this page." They carry no keyword signal but appear naturally in editorial content. A moderate amount (10–20%) is fine. If they dominate your profile, it may indicate low-authority or spam links.
Yes. Export competitor backlinks from Ahrefs, Semrush, or Moz, copy the anchor text column, and paste it here. This helps you understand how competitors are building links and identify keyword-targeting strategies worth replicating — safely.
No. All analysis runs server-side per request and is discarded immediately. No anchor data is logged, stored, or shared. Your backlink data stays private.
An anchor text analyzer is an SEO tool that evaluates the clickable text used across backlinks pointing to your website. Rather than just counting links, it classifies every anchor into categories — branded terms, exact-match keywords, naked URLs, generic phrases — and surfaces patterns that may be harming your search rankings or putting your site at risk of a Google penalty.
Search engines treat anchor text as a relevancy signal. If you run a plumbing business in Denver and dozens of sites link to you with the text "best Denver plumber," Google interprets that as strong evidence your page is relevant to that query. But if too many links use that exact phrase, Google's algorithms begin to suspect manipulation — specifically, that you're paying for or artificially building those links to game rankings.
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Google's Penguin algorithm (now baked into the core algorithm and updating in real time) specifically targets manipulative link patterns. One of its clearest signals is an unnatural concentration of exact-match keyword anchors. Before Penguin launched in 2012, sites could rank almost purely by flooding the web with keyword-stuffed anchor text links. Those days are gone.
Today, a natural backlink profile looks like this: most links use your brand name or domain, a significant portion use naked URLs, a smaller share use generic terms, and only a minority use exact-match or partial-match keywords. When you analyze your anchor text profile and find that 40% of your links say "cheap SEO services," that's a serious warning sign — regardless of whether those links were built intentionally or came from a previous agency's work.
Branded Anchors: These use your company name, product name, or domain name (e.g., "Nike," "Nike Air Max," "nike.com"). Branded anchors are the safest type — they appear naturally when real people reference your brand. A healthy site typically has branded anchors making up the largest share of its profile.
Exact-Match Anchors: The link text exactly matches a target keyword (e.g., "best running shoes"). These are the highest-risk anchor type when overused. Google explicitly targets sites where exact-match anchors make up a disproportionate share of the link profile.
Partial-Match Anchors: The anchor contains a keyword but isn't a direct match (e.g., "check out these running shoes for trail running"). These are safer than exact-match and appear more naturally in editorial content.
Naked URL Anchors: The link text is the URL itself — "https://example.com" or "example.com". These occur naturally when people copy-paste links without adding custom anchor text. They carry minimal keyword signal but indicate a genuine, unmanipulated link.
Generic Anchors: Phrases like "click here," "read more," "source," or "this article." These are extremely common in natural editorial content and carry no keyword signal. While individually harmless, a profile dominated by generic anchors often indicates low-quality or spam links.
The simplest rule of thumb: if any single anchor text accounts for more than 10–15% of your total backlink count (outside of your brand name), that anchor is likely over-optimized. This tool flags anchors exceeding 25% of your profile as high-risk and those between 10–25% as medium-risk.
Beyond raw percentages, look for patterns in the flagged anchors. Are they commercial keywords? Do they look like they were chosen to rank for a specific query? If a human being naturally linked to your site, would they use that exact phrase? If the answer is no — if the anchor looks manufactured — it's worth investigating.
If your analysis reveals a problematic distribution, you have several options. The first and most important is to stop building links with exact-match anchors. Shift your outreach and guest posting strategy toward branded, naked URL, or natural editorial anchors.
For existing links, you can use Google Search Console's Disavow Tool to disavow low-quality, spam, or PBN links that are driving the over-optimization. Focus the disavow on links that combine a low-quality source with exact-match or partial-match keyword anchors — these are the highest-risk combination.
Building new, high-quality links with natural anchors also helps dilute the profile over time. A steady stream of branded and naked URL links from authoritative sources will naturally shift your distribution toward a healthier baseline.
The Diversity Score generated by this tool is a simple heuristic: it measures the ratio of unique anchors to total anchors, expressed as a percentage. A score of 80+ generally indicates a healthy, varied profile. A score below 40 suggests significant repetition — often a sign of programmatic or low-quality link building.
Note that the Diversity Score is a directional signal, not a definitive judgment. A site with 1,000 backlinks all from editorial mentions may have a moderate diversity score simply because multiple sites independently chose the same anchor. Context always matters.
Make anchor text analysis a regular part of your SEO audits — especially before major Google algorithm updates, after acquiring a new client site, or when diagnosing a traffic drop. Most enterprise SEO tools (Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz) include built-in anchor reports, but exporting to this tool gives you a fast, clean breakdown without navigating complex dashboards.
For agencies managing multiple sites, a quick anchor analysis at the start of each engagement surfaces legacy link-building problems that could undermine even the best on-page SEO work. Identifying and addressing these early prevents surprises when the next core algorithm update rolls out.