Anchor link – #-links for deep linking, jump-to results and semantic chunking

Definition

An anchor link is a link that points to a specific place on a page via an ID in the URL (e.g. /page#section). It is used for tables of contents, deep linking and to let Google and AI cite individual sections.

What is an anchor link?

An anchor link is a hyperlink that points to a specific ID attribute on a page via a hash (#) in the URL. The format is https://example.com/page#section, where #section matches an id="section" in the HTML. The browser automatically scrolls to that point when the link is opened.

Anchor links are also called hash links, fragment links, jump links or deep links.

How do you create an anchor link in HTML?

You need two parts: a target with an ID, and a link that points to that ID.

• The target: <h2 id="pricing">Pricing</h2>
• The link: <a href="#pricing">Jump to pricing</a>
• From another page: <a href="/services#pricing">See pricing</a>

In a CMS such as Webflow, you create anchor links by setting an ID on the element in Element settings and then linking to #id from any text or button link.

When should you use anchor links?

• Table of contents: An "On this page" menu on long guides lets the reader – and AI answers – jump straight to the right section.
• FAQ sections: Each question gets its own id so it can be linked to and cited individually.
• Pillar pages: Large content pages with several subtopics benefit from anchor links for deep linking.
• One-pagers: The navigation points to sections on the same page rather than separate URLs.
• Source references: Link directly to the paragraph that backs up a claim.

Do anchor links affect SEO?

Anchor links do not make the page itself rank higher, but they improve three factors that indirectly affect visibility:

• User signals: A lower bounce rate and longer sessions when readers reach the right section directly.
• Structure for crawlers: Clear IDs on headings help Google understand the page's hierarchy and content blocks.
• Jump-to results in the SERP: Google sometimes shows "Jump to" links directly below an organic result, which take the user straight to the right section via an anchor link.

Pages that rank for several related questions often get these featured-snippet-like deep links, which raises CTR compared with an ordinary result.

Anchor links and AEO – why IDs matter in 2026

When ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews cite sources, they increasingly link to exactly the right section with an anchor link. That only works if:

• Every H2/H3 has a unique, readable ID
• Each section is self-contained and makes sense without the surrounding text (semantic chunking)
• Questions and answers are clearly separated

A page without heading IDs misses the chance to be deep-cited – the AI has to link to the whole page instead, or skip it in favour of a better-structured competitor.

Best practice for IDs in anchor links

• Use lower case and hyphens: id="what-does-seo-cost" – not id="WhatDoesSeoCost".
• No spaces or special characters: Keep the format URL-safe. Non-ASCII characters (such as the Swedish å, ä and ö) should be transliterated.
• Descriptive, not numbered: id="pricing" is better than id="section-3" – for readability and AI citability alike.
• Unique per page: An ID may only appear once in an HTML document.
• Stable over time: Do not change IDs unnecessarily – external links and AI citations may point to them.

Common mistakes with anchor links

• Missing ID on the target: The link #pricing points to a section that does not exist – the browser stays at the top.
• A sticky header hides the heading: If the top menu is sticky, add scroll-margin-top in the CSS so the heading does not end up hidden beneath the header.
• Duplicate IDs: When two elements share an ID, the browser only finds the first one.
• Anchor links in an SPA without routing support: Some frameworks do not pick up hash changes and need explicit handling.

Anchor links in Webflow

Webflow supports anchor links natively. Set an ID on any element via Element settings → ID. Then link to it via Link settings → Page section and choose the element. To link to another page, choose URL and type /page#id manually.

Automatic "On this page" menus on CMS pages require a small script that scans the H2 headings and builds the list of links – Webflow has no built-in support for this in CMS templates.