Why Branded Anchor Text Isn't Wasted Spend

Key Takeaways

• Link equity (PageRank) passes from the linking page to your page regardless of what anchor text is used
• Branded anchor text is the dominant anchor type in the backlink profiles of virtually every top-ranking website
• On-page SEO tells Google what to rank you for, while backlinks tell Google how authoritative you are. These are separate jobs.
• Over-optimised anchor text profiles with too many keyword anchors are one of the fastest ways to trigger a Google penalty
• Ahrefs studies consistently show that the highest-ranking pages have backlink profiles dominated by branded and generic anchors, not keyword-rich ones
• Investing in branded anchors is not wasting your budget. It is building the foundation that makes keyword rankings possible.

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There is a conversation that happens in almost every link building engagement. A business owner looks at the anchor text report, sees that most of their new links say their brand name, and asks: “Why am I paying for links that just say my company name?”

It feels logical that links should include your target keywords. But this thinking is based on a misunderstanding of how Google’s algorithm actually works.

The Misconception: “I’m Paying for Keywords, Not Brand Mentions”

The assumption is that anchor text is the primary way backlinks help you rank. If a link does not include your keyword, the thinking goes, it is not doing anything useful.

This is not how it works. Anchor text is one signal among many, and when it comes to raw authority, it is not even the most important factor. If you are new to anchor text, our guide to what anchor text is and why it matters covers the fundamentals.

How Link Equity Actually Passes

When a website links to your page, it passes link equity (sometimes called PageRank). This is the core value of a backlink. A trusted website has vouched for your page, so Google is more likely to rank it higher.

Here is the critical point. Link equity passes based on the existence and quality of the link, not the anchor text. A link from a high-authority news site using “Lucid Media” passes the same authority as the same link using “web design Auckland.”

The anchor text influences what Google thinks the page is about. The link equity influences how much authority it has. These are two separate mechanisms.

What Top-Ranking Sites Actually Look Like

Ahrefs has published multiple studies analysing the backlink profiles of top-ranking pages across thousands of keywords. The findings are consistent: pages ranking in positions one through three have profiles dominated by branded and generic anchor text, with exact match anchors making up less than 5-10%.

When journalists and bloggers link to a business, they almost always use the brand name or a generic phrase. They rarely write “best web design Auckland” as their link text, because that is not how natural language works. Google’s algorithms are designed to reward profiles that mirror this natural behaviour.

On-Page SEO vs Backlinks: Different Jobs, Different Signals

One of the most useful frameworks for understanding this is to separate the two core jobs in SEO.

On-page SEO tells Google what to rank you for. Your title tags, headings, content, and schema markup communicate the keywords your page is relevant for.

Backlinks tell Google how authoritative you are. The number and quality of sites linking to you signals trustworthiness and credibility.

When you force both jobs onto your backlinks by insisting every link uses a keyword anchor, you create an unnatural pattern that Google is specifically looking for. The smart approach is to let on-page SEO handle keyword relevance and let backlinks handle authority. This is the foundation of any good SEO strategy.

What Google’s Algorithm Actually Evaluates

Google’s link analysis evaluates the linking site’s authority, the placement of the link, whether it is editorial or self-placed, and the overall pattern of your backlink profile.

Anchor text is one data point within that analysis. A profile where 40% of links use exact match anchors does not look natural, because no real brand acquires links that way organically.

Why Over-Optimised Profiles Get Penalised

Google’s Penguin algorithm, now part of the core algorithm, exists to address anchor text manipulation. When it detects an unnatural concentration of keyword-rich anchors, it can suppress pages in search results or apply a manual action.

The penalty is not always dramatic. Sometimes it shows up as a ranking plateau where positions do not improve despite new links. This is often Google discounting your links rather than rewarding them.

Recovery requires diluting keyword anchors with sustained branded link building. It is far easier to get the ratio right from the start. Our guide on safe anchor text ratios for 2026 breaks down the ideal distribution.

The Real Value of Branded Anchors

Branded anchor text does three things that keyword anchors cannot.

First, it builds brand recognition. When Google sees your brand name across multiple authoritative websites, it reinforces your entity in the Knowledge Graph with downstream benefits for branded search and AI-generated results.

Second, it keeps your profile safe. Every branded anchor pushes the overall ratio toward natural, reducing the risk that keyword anchors trigger a penalty.

Third, it passes the same link equity as any other anchor. The authority benefit is identical.

Stop Thinking of Branded Links as Wasted Budget

If your link building provider is delivering a healthy mix of branded, generic, and topical anchors with a small percentage of keyword-rich anchors, they are doing exactly what they should be. That distribution builds sustainable rankings.

The businesses that win at SEO in 2026 invest in authority through quality backlinks and handle keyword targeting through on-page optimisation. If you want to review your current anchor text profile, reach out to our team for a backlink audit.