A brandless or non-anchor link, in Russian-language SEO usage "безанкорная ссылка", is a backlink whose visible anchor text is not a target keyword and not the brand name — typically a naked URL (https://example.com), a generic phrase ("here", "this site", "read more"), or an image link with no descriptive alt text.
Definition
A brandless or non-anchor link, in Russian-language SEO usage "безанкорная ссылка", is a backlink whose visible anchor text is not a target keyword and not the brand name — typically a naked URL (https://example.com), a generic phrase ("here", "this site", "read more"), or an image link with no descriptive alt text. The term groups together all the link anchors that carry no keyword-targeting intent.
Brandless links matter for the shape of a link profile. Because real editorial links frequently use URLs, generic phrases and brand names rather than optimised keyword anchors, a healthy natural profile contains a large share of brandless and branded links and only a small share of exact-match keyword anchors.
Link builders use brandless links deliberately to dilute an over-optimised anchor profile back toward that natural distribution.
In context
In iGaming SEO, where the value of commercial rankings pushes many sites toward keyword-heavy anchor building, brandless links are the counterweight. A site whose backlink profile is 40% exact-match commercial anchors is exposed; adding brandless and branded links — or, better, earning links that naturally use those forms — moves the aggregate distribution toward the range that reads as organic and reduces the manipulation footprint.
The concept is only meaningful as part of profile-level thinking. A single brandless link is unremarkable; what matters is the overall proportion of anchor types across all links to a page or site.
The most reliable way to get a natural brandless-heavy profile is to earn editorial links, because writers citing a source overwhelmingly use the site name or the URL. Deliberately building brandless links to correct a skewed profile is a legitimate remediation step, but it is treating a symptom of over-optimised link building rather than the cause.
Worked example
An affiliate's anchor audit shows 42% exact-match, 15% partial-match, and only 20% brandless/URL and 23% branded. It pauses keyword-anchor acquisition entirely and spends two quarters earning press mentions and resource links, which come almost entirely as URL and brand anchors.
The brandless+branded share rises to 68% and the site becomes eligible for rankings the skewed profile had suppressed.
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
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