To check anchor text, right-click a single link and choose Inspect to see the words between its <a> tags. For a whole page, run a crawler or a browser extension that lists every link. For your backlinks, open Google Search Console, go to Links, then Top linking text, which shows up to 1,000 anchors free.
You have probably landed here for one of two reasons. Someone sent you a "your link is live" email and you want to confirm the anchor says what you agreed. Or your rankings dipped and you want to know whether the links pointing at your site look natural. The method differs for each, so this page goes from one link up to your whole profile.
What counts as the anchor text of a link?
The anchor text is the visible, clickable text of a link, and nothing else. Google's link best practices define it as "the visible text of a link" placed between <a> elements. In this HTML, the anchor text is "link exchange guide":
<a href="https://example.com/guide">link exchange guide</a>
Two exceptions matter when you check. For an image link, Google uses the image's alt attribute as the anchor text. And if the <a> element is empty, Google can fall back on the title attribute. So an anchor checker that only reads visible words can report "(empty)" for a link Google actually reads as "Backlinkster logo".
How to check the anchor text of one link
For a single link, your browser already has everything you need. Use whichever of these is quickest.
Hover and read it
On most pages the anchor text is simply the underlined or coloured words you can click. Hover over them: the browser's status bar shows the destination URL. That confirms both halves of the link (words and target) in about two seconds.
Inspect the link in your browser
Right-click the link and choose Inspect (Chrome, Edge, Firefox) to open developer tools on that exact <a> element. You see the anchor text, the href, and any rel value such as nofollow or sponsored. This is the method to use when you need proof, for example when a partner says the link is dofollow and you want to see it yourself. Our guide to dofollow vs nofollow links explains what each rel value means.
Check the rendered version, not just the source
If the link is added by JavaScript, "View page source" may not show it at all, while Inspect shows the page after scripts have run. Google's guidance is to use the URL Inspection tool in Search Console to confirm JavaScript-inserted anchor text is "present in the rendered HTML". For a link on someone else's site you can't use URL Inspection, but Inspect in your browser is a close stand-in.
How to check all the anchor text on a page
To list every link and anchor on one page, use a browser extension or a crawler instead of clicking links one by one.
Use a link-listing browser extension
Link-listing extensions and SEO toolbars for Chrome and Firefox list every link on the current page with its anchor text and URL. This is handy when you are auditing a guest post or a page you are about to trade a link with: you can see at a glance whether the page already carries 40 outbound links to unrelated sites.
Crawl the page with an SEO spider
A crawler such as Screaming Frog SEO Spider records each link's anchor text, destination and rel attributes, and exports them to a spreadsheet. Its free version crawls up to 500 URLs, which covers a single page or a small site. Use this when you want to check your own internal anchors across many pages, not just one.
How to check the anchor text of your backlinks
To see the anchor text other sites use when they link to you, start with Search Console, then add a third-party tool for wider coverage.
Google Search Console: Top linking text
Open the Links report and find External links, then Top linking text, then click More. Google says this table covers "only links from outside your property", and image links with no text appear as "(empty)". Tables are limited to 1,000 rows, so a heavily linked site will see a truncated list. It is free, and it is Google's own view of your links, which is why it comes first.
Ahrefs Webmaster Tools and other backlink tools
Third-party crawlers find links Search Console's sample leaves out. Ahrefs Webmaster Tools is free for sites you verify and shows up to 1,000 backlinks at once. Ahrefs' Anchors report "shows you all anchor texts of backlinks pointing to a target website", and a Dofollow filter limits it to links that can pass ranking signals. Semrush and SE Ranking have similar anchor views in their paid plans.
Check one specific backlink
When a partner tells you a link is live, open their page and use Inspect on the link, as above. A backlink tool can take days or weeks to discover a new link, so don't wait for it to show up there before you confirm the placement.
What should you look for when you check anchor text?
Look for patterns across referring domains, not individual anchors. A few things are worth flagging.
| What you see | What it usually means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Mostly brand name, URL, page titles | A natural profile | Nothing |
| One exact-match keyword on many domains | Links that were built or bought | Stop building that anchor; dilute with branded ones |
| Spammy or foreign anchors you never built | Scrapers or negative SEO | Usually ignore; read our negative SEO guide before disavowing |
| "(empty)" on many links | Image links without alt text | Fine if they are logo links |
| Anchor differs from what you agreed | Partner edited the link | Ask them to fix it |
Count by referring domain before you judge the mix. One site linking 300 times with the same words is one data point, not 300. For the numbers to compare against, see what a healthy anchor text ratio looks like.
A worked example
Say Search Console lists 120 linking domains. After you group the anchors: 70 use your brand or URL, 25 use page titles or generic phrases, 15 use partial-match phrases and 10 use your exact money keyword. That is about 8% exact match (10 of 120). These figures are an illustration, not a benchmark, but a mix like this is unremarkable. If the same 120 domains showed 60 exact-match anchors, you would have a pattern worth fixing.
How Backlinkster handles anchor text in swaps
On Backlinkster, whoever starts a swap publishes the partner's article link first, and the submitted link must be an article URL on the member's own domain, not a homepage. Because the link sits inside a real sentence of a published article, you can check its anchor with Inspect the moment it goes live.
Frequently asked questions
What is the anchor text of this link?
It is the visible words you click. To read it exactly, right-click the link and choose Inspect: the text between the opening <a href="..."> and the closing </a> is the anchor text. For an image link, look at the image's alt attribute instead.
Is there a free anchor text checker?
Yes. Google Search Console's Top linking text table is free for any site you have verified and shows up to 1,000 anchors. Ahrefs Webmaster Tools is also free for verified sites. For a single page, your browser's Inspect tool or a free link-listing extension is enough.
Why does Search Console show "(empty)" anchor text?
Google lists links with no visible text, such as image links, as "(empty)". If the image has alt text, Google uses that as the anchor, so check the linking page to see whether the alt attribute is filled in.
How often should I check my backlink anchor text?
Once a quarter is enough for most sites, plus a one-off check after any link-building campaign or an unexplained ranking drop. Check individual links on the day a partner says they are live.
Can I check a competitor's anchor text?
Yes, with a third-party backlink tool such as Ahrefs, Semrush or SE Ranking, which crawl the web rather than relying on site ownership. Search Console only shows data for sites you own.
Related: What is anchor text? · What is a healthy anchor text ratio? · How to audit your backlink profile · How to find backlinks to your website