On Page Optimization vs. Anchor Text

[kylesuss]

Is it hard to get a page to rank for a particular term if the majority of the anchor text pointing to that page is different from your chosen term?

[RyanKent]

Is it hard to get a page to rank for a particular term if the majority of the anchor text pointing to that page is different from your chosen term?

The question is far too vague to answer.

What EXACTLY do you mean by "rank". Are you trying to earn the #1 spot? The top 3? Any spot on the first page?

How competitive is the term? On a non-competitive term you can provide relatively poor SEO and still rank in the top three spots.

What kind of variations are taking place with the anchor text? Are the variations other ways to say the same word (i.e. Limousine vs Limo)? Are they pluralized forms of the term? Are they other words that have the same meaning as the primary term ("tissue" vs "kleenex")?

[JoeAmadon]

Pages can definitely rank for multiple terms, so having anchor text around one term does not necessarily mean you can't rank well for another term (Lots of pages rank for terms other than "click here" despite the majority of their links having that anchor text). Standard practice is to only target one main keyword per page, but that doesn't mean you can't make it work for a page to rank for a couple different major terms.

The main question I have is how different is the term your going after from the anchor text you are getting? I'm of the belief that if anchor text isn't just exact match or nothing. If the anchor text is topically relevant to the terms you are targeting you're in good shape. If that isn't the case why do you have so many links like these pointing to that page?

[JamesNorquay]

I wouldn't say so, if you use brand terms for a specific anchor text terms, and then you join that up with another factor such as an EMD (exact match domain) factor. Connected with correct on page optimization. Then you need to target only a percentage of the natural links you acquire to have the term within the anchor text.