Variations in A Tags counts how many keyword variations appear in the visible text of a page’s links. It returns a whole-number occurrence count summed across every anchor on the page — a description of how link text is worded, not a score to inflate.
| Factor ID | RG-KWD-032 |
|---|---|
| Family | Keyword Usage & Density |
| Measurement | Variation occurrence count |
| Measured zone | Anchor text |
What it measures
This factor counts keyword variations in the visible text of links — the anchor text a reader sees and clicks. It looks only at the words inside a link, not the URL it points to, and tallies how often recognized variations of the target keyword appear there across the whole page.
How RankGear measures it
RankGear parses the anchor elements from the script-free body of the page, then reads each one’s visible text. Within that text it sums case-insensitive, whole-word matches for each keyword variation, consuming the longest matches first so overlapping variations are not double-counted. Every anchor contributes to the page total.
What RankGear looks for
<a href="/on-page-seo-guide">on-page SEO checklist</a>
<a href="/keyword-research">keyword research basics</a>| Anchor text | Contributes to the count? |
|---|---|
| “on-page SEO checklist” | Yes — a recognized variation of the target keyword appears in the text |
| “read the guide” | No — descriptive but contains no keyword variation |
| “click here” | No — generic navigational anchor, no variation present |
How to optimize it
Use varied, descriptive anchor text that tells readers what the destination contains and reflects relevant topics naturally. Treat this factor as an observation of how your links are worded rather than a number to maximize — descriptive anchors that read well for people register variations naturally, while forcing the same keyword into every link works against clarity and adds no interpretive value.
Important considerations
- Every link occurrence contributes to the count; identical URLs are not deduplicated.
- The factor does not inspect the destination content — only the visible anchor text is read.
- Generic and navigational anchors (for example “read more” or “home”) may appropriately contain no variation.
- Avoid repetitive, keyword-rich anchor patterns; over-optimized link text reads poorly and does not improve how the page is understood.
- This is a correlation-based prioritization signal measured within a result set — not a lever that makes a page rank or guarantees a position.
Related factors
Part of the Factors reference · how RankGear measures · glossary.