If several websites link to the same page, they do not all have to use the same clickable words.
One writer might use the name of the website. Another might describe the page being linked to. Someone else might simply paste the URL. Those clickable words are called anchor text, and the differences between them create anchor text variation.
The safest way to approach that variation is not to build a formula for it. Let the wording of each link fit the sentence and the reason the link is there.
What Does Anchor Text Variation Look Like?
Imagine several writers linking to the same guide.
One might use the brand name:
BacklinkSense
Another might describe the subject:
guide to anchor text
Another might use a general reference:
this article
And another might show the URL itself.
These are different ways of referring to the same destination. As links from different sources accumulate, these differences become part of the page’s anchor text distribution.
Should You Try to Create a Specific Anchor Mix?
There is no universal percentage that every website needs to follow.
Trying to make a backlink profile fit a predetermined formula can turn diversification into another form of deliberate optimization. Instead of asking how many anchors of each type you need, look at whether the wording makes sense where each link appears.
If a writer is mentioning a company, its brand name may be the natural anchor. If a sentence is discussing a specific subject, a descriptive phrase may fit better. In another setting, a URL or generic reference may make sense.
The context should determine the wording rather than a fixed template.
What Can Make Anchor Diversification Risky?
Changing anchor text does not make a manipulative link safe.
For example, creating links primarily to influence rankings does not become natural simply because one link uses a brand name, another uses a keyword, and another uses a URL.
The same principle applies when you control the links and deliberately rotate through different anchor types. Different wording does not change how those links were obtained.
This is why diversification should not be treated as a way to disguise an artificial backlink pattern. You can see how variation develops across a profile in anchor text patterns over time.
What Should Determine the Anchor Text?
Start with the sentence.
The clickable words should help the reader understand where the link leads and fit naturally with the surrounding language. If the most useful wording happens to include the brand, use the brand. If a descriptive phrase makes the destination clearer, that may be the better choice.
Different writers and different contexts will naturally produce different wording. There is no need to make every link different simply for the sake of diversity.
That also means a new website does not need to manufacture variation quickly. Differences can develop as the site receives links from different sources and contexts. Our guide to anchor text for new and existing sites explains that distinction further.
If exact match anchors are being deliberately repeated, the more useful question is not which alternative phrase should replace the next one, but whether the linking approach itself has become overly controlled. That issue is covered separately in when exact match anchor usage becomes excessive.
For a broader view of how different anchors can appear together, see the anchor text distribution section.
