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Anchor Text Analyzer

Fetch source pages and extract all anchor text used to link to your target domain — with dofollow/nofollow detection and aggregate summary.

The tool finds all links on each source page that point to this target.
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What anchor text tells Google

Anchor text is the clickable text of a backlink. Google uses it to understand what the linked page is about. A link with anchor "best SEO tools" tells Google that page is relevant for that keyword. Anchor text is one of the strongest on-page signals for the linked page's relevance.

Healthy anchor text profile

A natural backlink profile has a mix of anchor types:
Branded (your domain name, brand name) — largest portion.
Natural ("click here", "this post", "read more") — common.
Partial match ("SEO tools for beginners") — valuable.
Exact match ("best SEO tools") — powerful but risky if overused.

⚠️ Over-optimised anchors

If too many links use the exact same keyword as anchor text, Google may see it as an unnatural link building pattern. This was a major factor in Penguin algorithm penalties. Aim for exact-match anchors to make up no more than 5–10% of your total profile.

🟡 Nofollow vs dofollow

Dofollow links pass PageRank (link equity) to your site — these are the most valuable for SEO. Nofollow links (rel="nofollow") tell Google not to follow or count the link for ranking. A healthy profile has mostly dofollow links from relevant sites.

📥 Where to get source URLs

Export your backlinks from Google Search Console → Links → External links → Top linking sites. Or use Ahrefs / Semrush backlink reports. Paste the referring page URLs (not just the domain) for the best results — the tool needs the actual page URL to find the anchor text on it.

🔍 Using the aggregate view

The aggregate section shows which anchor texts appear most frequently across all your scanned sources. This gives you a quick view of your overall anchor distribution. If one keyword dominates, it's worth diversifying future link building to include more branded and natural anchors.

💡 Pro tip: When doing guest posts or link outreach, vary your anchor text intentionally. For your first few links to a new page, use branded or natural anchors. Only use partial-match or exact-match anchors occasionally as your link profile grows. This looks natural to Google and reduces the risk of over-optimisation flags.

Anchor text analysis