Anchor Text Guidelines

[davidoff574444]

Hi.

Is there an approximate guide to avoid over optimizing anchor text for a particular key-phrase? i.e. is 20% of back-links using the anchor text [HR Software] OK or too much?

Thanks in advance

[Chris.Menke]

If you're thinking in those terms, you're likely to be going down the wrong road.  If it smells like link building at this early stage of the game, it's going to smell more like link building in the future.

But to answer your question, think of how someone who's reading a well thought-out article that you've published about how a specific feature of your software helped a small company become more successful or an article about  how a client was able to significantly reduce the turnaround time of replacing a valuable employee with your software might share that information with a friend or colleague and then calculate from there what percentage of time it might simply be "HR Software".

[Branden_S]

Here's an good article on anchor text & over optimization.  ... exact match vs partial match.

http://www.seomoz.org/blog/beyond-exact-match-anchor-text-to-next-generation-link-signals-whiteboard-friday

I have a client that has been penalized for over optimization.  We've been focused on partial match links for a while.  We've even used a few links that were the actual url, and 'click here'.  Anything that makes your link profile look natural.