One of the keys to internal linking in classifieds websites is to keep the anchor text of the text links optimized.

In this article we will review what is an anchor text, what types of anchor text exist and best practices to optimize our SEO.

What is an anchor text?

An anchor text is any text fragment that contains a hyperlink associated with it. That is, clickable text fragments that take you to another part of the web, or to an external website. Anchor text for SEO purposes usually includes searchable keywords.

A classic example of anchor text created in HTML would be:

<a href=https://yourdomain.com/xyz/>Your domain</a>

In this example, the verbatim term “Your domain” will link to yourdomain.com/xyz/.

Different types of anchor text

There are several types of anchor text that we can use. We review them below with a brief comment applied to classifieds websites.

• Generic: Every website has many anchor texts whose only function is the user's navigability and that have no SEO impact. For example, the CTA ("Click here"). In these cases, only the link has an SEO impact, but not the anchor text.
• Exact match: This type of anchor text corresponds exactly to a searched keyword. For example "cheap sneakers". They are usually very common and generally the most used for SEO purposes. In the case of classifieds websites, KW research will offer a wide range of generic words (e.g. "cheap sneakers") and more specific brand words ("sneakers" + "brand" + "model").
• Partial Match: In this case, the anchor includes a keyword, but also something else. For example "discover these cheap sneakers". The keyword we are interested in is still "cheap sneakers", but we extend the link. They are not common on classifieds websites because they are usually placed in long text fragments, for example in blog articles.
• Phrase Match: the previous example could be valid for this case. These are anchor texts that correspond to phrases and could include one or more keywords.
• Branded: Here we place all anchors that correspond specifically to brand names. They serve for the general navigation of the user and to enhance our brand.
• Naked: in this case, the anchor text corresponds exactly with the link. In other words, it is not hidden behind a grammatical term: https://yourdomain.com. Visually, they are not very attractive and are generally not used on classifieds websites.
• Images: It is possible to use anchor text in images with a function very similar to CTAs, although it is not very common thanks to other UX solutions.

Best practices in classifieds websites

A key element of anchor texts is that they are short. There is no point in marking an entire paragraph as anchor text. It will serve neither to clarify to Google bots nor to the user. What a user is usually looking for on a classifieds website is the specific name of a product (sometimes with some addition such as color or other attributes). Thus, non-navigational (generic) anchor texts generally always include keywords that help to identify, both to the user and to the robots, where your link is going.

On a classifieds website, where there are many brands and products, it is best to use "exact match" anchor texts. On this type of page, widgets with a high density of anchors are often added that offer variations of the product/brand to the user. In addition, these link blocks serve to optimize the link juice of our website and clarify its structure for Google robots.

In this type of web pages we will not use partial match or phrase match because the user has no reading elements, but a visual and defined presentation of products. That would be a key UX criterion. These products usually correspond to keywords (sometimes "product "+"color", or "brand "+"product" and other exact variants).

It is advisable to take into account the relevance of the target URLs when placing an anchor text. Adding links in the internal linking structure that lead to irrelevant pages (for example, an identical product but in a different color, for which there are not enough searches in the KW) will dilute your authority when Google crawls you. This is why it is important to always consider the placement of relevant links, and not a purely quantitative action.

Some added details to take into account

Regarding user navigation and UX perspective, on classifieds websites it is very common to find tables with a high density of anchor text in the pre footer or sidebar. For example, all variants of a sneaker model.

Although in other cases link density can be detrimental, in classifieds websites it is common. The very shopping nature of this type of website causes users to browse through a lot of product variants.  However, we will always apply a criterion of usability for the user, SEO potential and crawl budget control.

On the other hand, it is important to keep in mind a few practical tips when placing anchor text:

• Make sure you link to HTTPS domains, as Google Chrome currently blocks mixed content (using HTTP and HTTPS) and that can hurt your SEO.
• Don't forget to link the whole text fragment, without leaving loose letters. This type of error hurts the understanding of robots and users from a UX perspective.

Conclusions

As we have seen, a correct optimization of the anchor text located in the category or product sections of a classifieds website will benefit both SEO and the user from a UX perspective.
In these pages we will find several spaces with a great variety of links and their relevance for the user will be key when deciding whether to place them or not.