How To Turn Unlinked Brand Mentions Into Backlinks
Brand mentions can turn into a great strategy to acquire backlinks. Linked mentions already have a hyperlink linking to your website, but then there are also the unlinked mentions. These are mentions without a clickable link. So, without a backlink, there are various opportunities. In this article, we’ll discuss what unlinked mentions are, why they matter, the various types, how to find them, which ones not to pursue, how to turn unlinked brand mentions into backlinks, and five common mistakes.
I recommend you to read the complete off-page SEO guide if you’re interested in optimizing all the elements outside your website.
Table of Contents
What Are Unlinked Mentions?
Unlinked mentions are online references from people to your brand that don’t include a clickable link to your website.
This unclickable mention might be your company name, your product, your slogan, or even your name (if you’re the founder) showing up in an article or review. The only problem with unlinked mentions is that readers won’t be able to access your website from the website that referenced your brand.
From an SEO perspective, you’re missing out on backlinks that boost your domain’s authority and visibility in the long run. You have probably come across unlinked brand mentions without realizing it.
People who are talking about you, trust you already, or like what you offer. So, you have an opportunity to reach out and ask for a backlink as they already trust you.
Why Do Unlinked Mentions Matter?
Unlinked brand mentions matter because they show that other people in your industry already trust you and talk about you.
But without a clickable link to your website, you’re still missing out on SEO value. So, you won’t build website authority and you’re missing out on higher rankings over time, if you don’t turn them into backlinks.
Apart from the SEO value, you still get visibility, social proof, and credibility with real readers. Brand mentions (linked or unlinked) are proof that your brand and your reputation are growing.
They also help you see how other people perceive your brand and how they feel about your products or services. These insights may help you with your content planning, marketing campaigns, etc.
Types Of Unlinked Mentions
There are several types of unlinked mentions your brand can get:
- Direct brand mentions: SERPnav
- Misspellings and common mistakes: Serp nac
- Product or service mentions: SEO ROI Calculator
- Slogan or tagline mentions: Apple’s “Think Different”
- Brand key people mentions: Elon Musk
- Event mentions: if your company is organizing an event or webinar
- Image and content mentions: other websites using your infographics or content references.
These are some types of unlinked mentions. It’s all about specific aspects of your brand.
How To Find Unlinked Brand Mentions
Google Search Operator
Google search operator is the first way to find unlinked brand mentions. You can start with a basic search like:
“your brand name” -site:yourwebsite.com
Here you’ll get results about your brand, while excluding your own website.
If you want to exclude social platforms like Facebook, X, Instagram, etc.:
“your brand name” -site:yourwebsite.com -site:facebook.com -site:x.com -site:instagram.com
Next, for variations, you can run separate searches for:
- Misspellings
- Shortened versions or abbreviations
- Product names, key people, or slogans
To go to the next step, you can use the “intext:” option to find mentions inside the content:
intext:”your brand name” -site:yourwebsite.com
When you open a promising result, you can quickly check if your brand is mentioned. Use CTRL + F (or Command + F), and type your brand name or variation.
Google Alerts
Google Alerts helps you catch new mentions automatically. This way, you don’t rely on manual searches.
Go to Google Alerts and type your exact brand name in quotation marks:
“Your Brand Name”
You can fine-tune the alert by clicking “Show options.” You can choose:
- How often you want emails (when they appear, once a day, or once a week)
- Which sources you care about (if you click automatic, you’ll monitor each source)
- Language (choose any specific language you want, or “Any Language” if it doesn’t matter)
- Region (choose a specific region, or select “Any Region” if you want each region)
- “Only the best results” to reduce less quality websites
Then, type the email where you want to receive the alerts.
You can also create additional alerts for variations of your brand name, product names, or all important related terms. Think about the various types of unlinked mentions.
If your brand name isn’t linked, add it to your list of prospects to reach out to.
Check links to social media
Sometimes people only link to your social profiles, not your website. So, you’re missing out on that SEO value. Those pages are perfect candidates for a polite request to add a proper site backlink.
For this strategy you’ll need an SEO tool. I use SEMrush for this.
Type “instagram.com/yourinstagramname“ in the search bar (and select “Exact URL“).
Click on “Referring Domains.”
Select “Backlinks,“ and you’ll get all the backlinks of the domain. By clicking the the little box next to the website, you can check out the page that points to the social media profile.
Use Reverse Image Search
If people use images from your website without linking back to it, you’re missing out on easy backlinks. Reverse image search helps you track where your images appear across the web.
First, select the images that are strongly associated with your brand. Then use a reverse image search tool (like Google Images) to see where they appear on the web.
Go to Google Images and click on the camera icon.
Paste the image address in the search bar below, or upload the image from your computer.
Go to “Exact matches,” and you’ll get a list of websites where your image appears.
Here, you can select the websites that look promising, check the domain authority, and see if they’re a good fit for your list of prospects.
When Not To Pursue Unlinked Mentions
There are certain unlinked mentions that you should not target. Not every opportunity deserves your time and effort, as it won’t bring you much SEO value.
Here is a list of unlinked mentions you don’t have to pursue:
- Skip negative mentions
- Skip paid link demands
- Skip low-relevance websites
- Skip spammy-looking websites
- Respect no-link instructions
How To Turn Unlinked Brand Mentions Into Backlinks (Step-By-Step)
Now that we know how to find unlinked brand mentions and which ones we need to skip, it’s time to learn how to turn unlinked brand mentions into backlinks. Here is a little overview:
- Evaluate the website’s quality
- Find the right person to reach out to
- Craft a solid outreach email
- Follow up
1. Evaluate the website’s quality
Before deciding it’s worth reaching out to ask for a backlink, you should check the domain authority of the website. A high DA means better SEO value for your website.
Use the SEOquake Chrome extension to check the DA of a website. This extension displays a bar in Google results with DA and monthly traffic. It’s completely free to download.
You can also use a paid tool for even more information, like SEMrush. Just type the URL into the search bar and you’ll get all the information you need.
2. Find the right person to reach out to
To make your outreach more effective, you need to find the right person. You can start with the author of the piece of content, where you found the unlinked mention.
You can use LinkedIn or Hunter.io to collect their email. Target editors or webmasters if you can’t find the author.
3. Craft a solid outreach email
Now, it’s time to craft a short, personal, friendly email that actually gets results. Open with a thank you for the mention to build goodwill.
Politely suggest linking to your website’s URL. Ensure you explain how it helps their readers, this makes linking to your website more interesting for them.
Here is a script you can use:
Subject: Thanks for the mention!
Hi {{Name}},
Thanks for mentioning {{Brand}} in your article, we really appreciate it.
I was reading through it and found it super helpful.
I noticed our name is mentioned, but not linked. Would you mind adding a link to {{URL}}? It could help readers who want to explore the resource you referenced and get a bit more context.
Either way, thanks again for the mention.
Best regards,
{{Your Name}}
4. Follow up
If you didn’t get a response to your outreach email, send a polite follow-up. Wait 5-7 days, then reference your first email gently.
Ensure to emphasize the value for their readers without pushing too hard. Stop sending emails after the second follow-up to respect their time.
A little tip: use a spreadsheet to keep track of everything.
5 Common Mistakes While Converting Unlinked Mentions Into Backlinks
1. Using overly generic emails
If you send the same templated email to everyone just asking for a link, you’ll get ignored 99% of the time. The receiver will notice this and it will feel like spam.
Here is how you fix it:
- Personalize your email for each recipient. (Use their name, reference the article or piece of content)
- Explain the value for their readers.
2. Reaching out to low-quality or irrelevant websites
As mentioned in the section on which unlinked mentions not to pursue, you should definitely skip low-quality or irrelevant websites. Chasing them dilutes your efforts. These kinds of sites won’t give you proper SEO value.
Here is how you fix it:
- Evaluate the domain authority of each website.
- Check monthly traffic.
- Focus on reputable pages.
3. Over-aggressive follow-ups
There is nothing wrong with 1 or 2 follow-up emails, but if you’re almost stalking them with daily follow-ups, the chances of them responding will decrease massively. The recipients will be annoyed and you’ll burn bridges fast.
Here is how to fix it:
- Limit to one follow-up after 5-7 days.
- Always be respectful, this builds long-term relationships.
4. Lack of well-thought-out approach
Another common mistake is doing outreach without tracking or planning. If you don’t have a strategy to follow up, you’ll miss conversions. This is a waste of your efforts and time.
Here is how to fix it:
- Create a process (qualification, personalized emails and follow-ups).
- Keep track of opens and responses.
- Test subject lines.
5. Ignoring the potential of international mentions
If you ignore unlinked brand mentions, because they are in another language, or from a region you don’t target, you can miss golden backlinks. Some of these sites may hold a lot of SEO value and have a high DA.
Here is how to fix it:
- Be open to all the unlinked brand mentions.
- Filter on relevancy and domain authority instead of language and region.
