Amorphous Co95−xZr5Mx (M=Zr, Nb, Ti) and (Co91−x Ptx)Zr9 thin films have been prepared by rf sputtering and the deposition was performed in a dc magnetic field. The variations of Ku studied as a function of the concentration are reported. The experiments revealed that Ku cannot be explained by a pseudodipolar mechanism. A new model is proposed where it is assumed that Ku is the sum of two contributions Kau+Ksu where Kau and Ksu are the induced anisotropies related to the local anisotropy of the octahedral-icosahedral and trigonal-type clusters, respectively. In Pt-submitted films, a supplementary contribution to Ku is observed due to the pseudodipolar ordering, related to the induced moment developed by Pt.