What is anchor text and why does it matter?

Anchor text is the visible, clickable words in a link. It tells both readers and search engines what to expect on the other side:

• Descriptive beats generic - “how to check your DNS records” carries meaning; “click here” carries none.
• It works on internal links too - your own linking is the part you fully control.
• Do not over-optimise - repeating an exact keyword phrase in every link reads as manipulation to engines and as odd to people.

Write the link the way you would say it out loud, and it will usually be right.