Naked URL Anchor
An anchor consisting of a raw URL (https://example.com). A natural and safe anchor type.
In brief
A naked URL anchor is anchor text that consists of the URL itself without any additional text. Examples: 'https://example.com', 'example.com', 'www.example.com'. This is one of the most natural anchor types, as users often copy and paste links exactly like this.
What is a naked URL anchor
A naked URL anchor is a link where the visible part (anchor) is exactly the URL it points to. This is the simplest and most natural anchor type.
Advantages
- Natural — regular users often link this way
- Safe — no risk of over‑optimisation (search engines won’t penalise many such anchors)
- Universal — works for all link types
Recommended share
The optimal share of naked URL anchors in a backlink profile is 15-20%.
When to use
- Social media profiles
- Forum signatures
- Comments
- Directories and catalogs
- Author bios
Variants
- https://example.com (with protocol)
- example.com (without protocol)
- www.example.com (with www)
- example.com/blog (with path)
Naked URL anchors don’t pass context, but they are very natural. A healthy backlink profile should include them along with branded and non‑anchor links.
FAQ
Common questions
No, it’s one of the safest types. However, a profile consisting entirely of naked URLs looks unnatural — diversity is key.
Links to HTTPS are preferred, but whether the anchor includes the protocol doesn’t matter. What matters is that the target URL is available over HTTPS.
Use the canonical version of your domain (usually with or without www as configured). Don’t mix variants across anchors to avoid confusion.
Direct contacts
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