Anchor Tag
The HTML anchor tag (<a href>) creates hyperlinks between web pages. The visible link text (anchor text) is an important on-page signal that tells search engines what the linked page is about.
Reviewed by Alexander Yarovenko · Updated: 2026-06-21
What is an Anchor Tag?
The anchor tag (<a>) is the HTML element that creates hyperlinks. The href attribute specifies the destination URL. The text between the opening and closing tag is the anchor text — the clickable words users see and search engines analyze.
Basic Syntax
<a href="https://example.com/seo-guide">Complete SEO Guide</a>Key Attributes
href— destination URL (required)target="_blank"— opens link in a new tabrel="nofollow"— tells crawlers not to pass PageRank to the destinationrel="noopener noreferrer"— security attribute for externaltarget="_blank"linkstitle— tooltip text on hover
Why Anchor Text Matters for SEO
Anchor text is one of the most important on-page signals Google uses to understand what a linked page is about. Descriptive, keyword-relevant anchor text helps both:
- Internal links — helps Google understand the topic and importance of your own pages
- External links — inbound anchor text from other sites passes contextual ranking signals
Avoid over-optimized anchor text (using exact-match keywords in every link) as this can trigger Penguin-era spam filters. A natural anchor text profile mixes branded, generic ("click here"), URL, and descriptive variations.