When we talk about search engine optimization, our minds instantly go back to backlinks, blog posting, keyword research, page speed, and much more. But there is one thing that we often forget and underuse, and many businesses are still overlooking its importance – brand mentions.
Brand mentions are an important SEO asset that can make or break your business. Whether linked or unlinked, they not only boost your visibility in search engines but also improve authority and even contribute to trust signals in the eyes of Google and the target audience.
Today, we are going to explore everything about brand mentions, why they matter in SEO, how you can gain more brand mentions for further trust and credibility, and much more…!
What are Brand Mentions? A Quick Overview:
Before we dive deep, it’s important to understand what even brand mentions are. Let us simplify it for you.
Brand mention – as the name suggests, it means when any person, brand, product, or platform mentions and talks about your brand online. Now, these mentions could be anywhere. From social media posts to blogs and news to reviews, you just need to track who, how, and where your brand is mentioned.
There are two ways of brand mentions:
- Linked mentions
- Unlinked mentions
Linked Mentions:
Linked mentions mean your business is mentioned with a clickable link to your website. These links pass a positive signal to Google that your site is reliable and trusted, which means your website is near to ranking higher.
Unlinked Mentions:
On the other hand, unlinked mentions mean your brand is mentioned without a clickable link. We agree that these links do not provide an immediate SEO boost, but they still raise your brand’s authority, awareness, and ranking.
Do Unlinked Mentions Matter to Google?
Yes, they do. Google is quite serious about brand mentions. In fact, the search engine filed a patent in 2012 called “implied links,” which was all about mentioning a brand without a link. Based on the patent, Google can interpret these links as indicators of site authority, trust, and influence.
What is a Brand Mention for SEO?
Now, brand mentions for SEO are directly tracked back to 2012’s patent that introduced the concept of implied links.
An implied link is not a clickable link like a regular link. It’s just a mention or a reference to a website or brand. Even though you cannot possibly click the link, search engines can still notice it. They are not like regular links, but they help with SEO by showing brand relevance.
This is similar to brand mention – means your name is talked about but not linked to any source.
Linked Vs. Unlinked Mentions – What’s More Valuable?
Factors |
Linked Mentions |
Unlinked Mentions |
| Pass link equity | Yes | No |
| Improve SEO directly | Strongly yes | Indirectly |
| Build authority | Yes | Yes |
| Support E-A-T | Yes | Yes |
| Boost visibility | Yes | Yes |
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Brand Mentions SEO – Boosting Domain Authority, Trust, and Credibility:
We all know that a few years back, Google relied heavily on backlinks so it could judge how reliable and trustworthy a website is. Now this led many websites to focus more on link-building strategies, even including paid or spammy links.
Penguin and Fred Google updates even punished those bad link tactics. We know that backlinks are valuable and have great importance in SEO, but brand mentions without links are also important. In 2016, Bing mentioned that unlinked sources are as powerful as linked ones.
Especially if those links come from trusted sources, they can be of great importance and even raise rankings. This means SEO is more about trust and authority, and not only backlinks.
6 Powerful Ways to Earn Brand Mentions:
If you want to earn brand mentions, both linked and unlinked, then it’s time to apply some powerful tactics:
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Create High-Quality Content:
We all know one thing – content is king. If you are creating meaningful and SEO friendly content, then you can rank without any links. That’s why it’s important to craft and market content that naturally encourages brand mentions.
For creating high-quality content, you can use:
- Data-driven studies or whitepapers
- Original research
- Infographics
- Controversial or newsworthy takes
- Interactive tools or calculators
-
Engage Influencers and Industry Thought Leaders:
Influencers, bloggers, and experts are the ones who can mention your brand on their platforms, which gives you an instant boost. Even if they don’t link to your website, you still get brand exposure.
To engage influencers, you can:
- Offer guest post swaps
- Conduct interviews
- Launch joint webinars or live sessions
-
Pursue Digital PR and Media Coverage:
Think about pitching to online publications, business journals, or news aggregators. How about getting a brand mention on Forbes, TechCrunch, or any other popular publication?
Your authority can skyrocket, and you get higher rankings within a short time. Use PR platforms like:
- Qwoted
- Muck Rack
- Pressfarm
-
Leverage User-Generated Content:
You can encourage happy customers to write about your brand so more and more people can find you trustworthy.
There are many platforms where you can mention trusted brands, such as:
- Reddit threads
- Google reviews
- Social media posts
- Niche forums
-
Monitor and Respond to Brand Mentions:
There are lots of tools available online that help you track who’s talking about your brand. Some of the reliable tools are:
- Google Alerts
- Mention.com
- Brand24
- BuzzSumo
After that, you can engage with those mentions and either thank them, ask for a link, or build a relationship for future collaboration.
-
Contribute to Different Communities:
There are different communities out there where you can answer questions and share insights in places like:
- Quora
- LinkedIn groups
- Slack channels
Make sure you mention your brand in a meaningful and helpful way without being blocked or spammed.
Tools to Track and Analyze Brand Mentions:
There are lots of tools that help track and analyze brand mentions:
-
Google Alerts (free):
Basic but useful monitoring of your brand name across the web.
-
Mention:
Tracks social, blogs, news, and more in real time.
-
Brand24:
In-depth sentiment analysis and real-time alerts.
-
BuzzSumo:
Great for identifying viral content and who’s mentioning your competitors.
-
Ahrefs / SEMrush:
Identify linked and unlinked brand mentions from high-authority domains.
Avoid These Pitfalls While Brand Mentions:
- Spamming forums or comment sections with your brand name
- Paying for fake reviews or mentions
- Over-optimizing mentions with keywords
- Ignoring negative brand mentions
Can You Turn Unlinked Mentions into Backlinks?
Yes. If someone is talking about your brand on their platform, it’s a great opportunity to turn unlinked mentions into linked mentions.
Here are a few steps to do it successfully:
-
Step 1: Identify an Unlinked Mention
First, you need to identify an unlinked mention using Ahrefs’ Content Explorer or tools like BuzzSumo to find mentions that don’t include links.
-
Step 2: Reach Out
Reach out to them with a polite email and request a link. That’s how to do it:
“Thanks for mentioning [Your Brand] in your recent post! I really appreciated your perspective. Would you consider linking to our homepage or article so your readers can explore further? Either way, thank you again!”
-
Step 3: Offer Value:
Highlight the importance of this act, like how you can earn benefits from this link. You can even ask them to promote their content on your platform as a token of appreciation.
Build Your Reputation, Not Just Links – with Ascend Marketing!
If your competitors are being mentioned online and you’re not — you’re already falling behind. Every day you delay proper SEO and brand visibility, you lose rankings, traffic, and potential customers to smarter brands. Search engines notice who’s talked about… and who’s forgotten.
Don’t become invisible.
Let Ascend Marketing help you stay relevant with strategic SEO, powerful brand mentions, reputation management, and ethical link building that actually works.
The longer you wait, the harder it is to catch up. We help your brand stand out in search by combining ethical SEO, high-quality backlinks, and natural brand mentions.
Whether you’re just getting started or need to repair past SEO mistakes, we’ll build a strategy that earns trust from both users and search engines. Let us help you climb higher — the right way.
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