Anchor text is the visible text inside a hyperlink. An anchor text analysis of an expired domain shows what language the backlinks use to point to it. A healthy profile contains brand names, the domain URL, and generic phrases. A bad profile is full of spam keywords, gambling or pharma terms, and adult content. Reading the profile tells you what the domain was used for, whether it was abused, and what history you are buying.
What is anchor text?
Anchor text is the clickable text in a hyperlink. In HTML, it appears between the <a> and </a> tags. When another website links to your domain, the text used in that link is the anchor text. For instance, a link saying <a href="example.com">best pizza in town</a> has the anchor text "best pizza in town."
The anchor texts pointing to a domain build a profile. If the domain about pizza gets 100 backlinks with anchors like "pizza," "local pizza," "pizza near me," that is a healthy, topical anchor profile. If the same domain gets 100 backlinks with anchors like "viagra," "casino," and "adult content," that is a spam profile.
Google uses anchor text as a ranking signal. Anchor text helps Google understand what a page is about. Spam anchor text is a red flag because it often signals paid links, a private blog network (PBN), or a hacked domain.
A healthy anchor text profile
A healthy backlink profile has a mix of anchor text types: brand names, the bare URL, generic phrases, and topical phrases.
There is no official ratio, and the mix differs by niche, but brand names and bare URLs usually make up a large share of a natural profile, with generic phrases like "click here" and "learn more" and topical phrases making up the rest. For example, a pizza domain would naturally get anchors like "best pizza in town," "New York pizza," and "pizza delivery." The key is balance and naturalness, showing organic backlinks from many sources.
Spam anchor text: the red flags
Spam anchor text stands out immediately: gambling, pharma, adult content, or money-keyword phrases that have nothing to do with the domain's topic.
If a domain used to be about gardening and the anchor text includes "casino," "viagra," "blackjack," or "adult cam," the domain was either hacked, used in a PBN, or sold links to spammers. These are all risks.
Common spam anchors include:
- Gambling and betting: "online casino," "sports betting," "poker," "blackjack"
- Pharmaceutical: "viagra," "cialis," "cheap meds," "online pharmacy"
- Adult: "adult," "webcam," "dating," anything explicitly sexual
- Weight loss and health fraud: "lose weight fast," "cheap diet pills," "natural fat burner"
- Financial fraud: "quick loans," "payday loans," "guaranteed credit"
If you see a handful of these anchors, it might be old spam that has since been removed. If they are pervasive (many of them, or a large share of the total), the domain was actively used for spam and carries serious risk.
Anchors in a foreign script
An anchor text in a foreign script (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Cyrillic, Arabic) on a domain that was supposed to be in English is a red flag. It often signals a domain hijacking or a takeover by someone else.
A legitimate global brand might get links in many languages, but scattered foreign-script anchors on an English domain suggest the domain was compromised, parked, or sold to someone from another country without the original owner's knowledge.
This pattern often appears with Japanese or Chinese spam, where hackers take over US or EU domains and inject keyword-stuffed links in Chinese or Japanese to boost sites in those languages. The domain's original English content gets replaced or sidelined.
If you see a significant cluster of foreign-script anchors on a domain that has no obvious reason to have them, investigate the Wayback Machine carefully. Check whether the original content was in that language or whether it is a sign of a takeover.
Money-keyword stuffing: the trace of paid links
When many anchor texts are exact-match keywords with high commercial intent, it is often a sign of paid links. Examples: "buy cheap widgets," "best mortgage rates," "fastest VPN," "cheap flights."
Exact-match money keywords as anchor text are risky because they violate Google's link spam policy. Google's policy defines link spam as "creating links to or from a site primarily for the purpose of manipulating search rankings."
If a domain has dozens or hundreds of links with exact-match commercial anchors, those links were probably sold. The domain's owner or a PBN operator sold the link equity to gambling sites, pharma, or other high-value spam sectors.
A few money-keyword anchors are normal if the domain is in a commercial niche. A pizza delivery domain will naturally get links with "order pizza," "pizza delivery," and "pizza place near me." The issue is density and consistency. If most of the anchors are exact-match commercial keywords, the links were likely sold or engineered.
Which tool to use
There are several free and paid tools to analyze anchor text. They each pull from different indexes and will show slightly different numbers, but the pattern is usually clear.
Backlink tools such as Ahrefs, Semrush and Moz can show anchor text distribution for a domain. Check each provider's site for current plans and free limits.
Google's own Search Console shows anchor text for a domain you own, in the Links report.
If you are vetting many domains before buying, you will need a paid tool. But for quick spot-checks, use whichever tool you have access to. You can also see how the scanning and scoring works for the history checks that are already done for you.
Example: a good and a bad profile
Imagine two domains, both old, both with 500 backlinks. Domain A has an anchor profile like this: 35% brand name and URL anchors, 25% generic anchors like "click here," 35% topical anchors like "guides about [topic]," "learn [topic]," and 5% miscellaneous. That is a healthy, natural profile. The domain is safe to buy.
Domain B has: 15% brand anchors, 10% generic anchors, 50% exact-match money keywords like "best cheap [thing]," "buy [thing] online," "[thing] for sale," and 25% spam anchors like "casino," "viagra." That is a red flag. The domain was engineered for search ranking through paid links and spam. The anchor profile alone tells you the domain has real risk.
Reading an anchor text profile is not a binary verdict. A few out-of-place anchors do not doom a domain. But a heavy concentration of spam, money keywords, or foreign-script anchors tells you the domain was built for ranking manipulation, not for real use.
hunter.domains does not show an anchor text report, so run this check yourself on any domain you are serious about. What it does do is read each domain's Wayback Machine history, including page titles and the script the content is written in, and reject gambling, pharma and adult spam, which are the same patterns you are looking for in the anchors.
Frequently asked questions
What should an anchor text distribution look like?
There is no official target. A healthy distribution mixes brand and URL anchors, generic anchors and topical or varied anchors, and the exact breakdown depends on the domain's niche. The key is that it is mixed and natural. If one category dominates, especially money keywords or spam terms, that is a warning sign.
Can spam anchors be cleaned up?
Not by you. Anchor text comes from backlinks, and backlinks point to your domain from other sites. You cannot change what text other people use to link to you. You can disavow bad backlinks in Google Search Console (if you own the domain), which tells Google to ignore them. But you cannot edit the actual anchor text. This is one reason why buying a domain with heavy spam anchors is risky: the links remain, and you cannot rewrite them.
Is there a free anchor text checker?
Yes, Google Search Console shows anchor text for a domain you own, in the Links report. For a domain you do not yet own, backlink tools such as Ahrefs, Semrush and Moz can show anchor text, and some offer limited free access, so check their sites for current limits. If you own the domain, Search Console is your most accurate option.
