GlossarySEO
What is an unlinked mention?
Also called: unlinked brand mention, brand mention without link
Definition
An unlinked mention is a web page that names your company or product without linking to your site. Where a link would help readers, it's an easy opportunity to ask for one.
Unlinked mention, explained
People mention products they use or have seen all the time, and they often don't link: a newsletter lists tools, a blogger names what they use, a roundup mentions your launch, a forum answer recommends you. Those mentions still have value. They build awareness, and they contribute to how search engines and AI systems understand what your brand is and what it's associated with.
Finding them takes two free tools. A Google Alert on your brand and product names, each in quotes, emails you when new pages match. For mentions that already exist, search Google for "YourBrand" -site:yourbrand.com: quotes match the exact name, site: limits results to a domain, and the minus sign leaves that domain out. Add after: with a date to see recent pages, then open each result and check whether it links to you. Paid SEO tools with a mentions feature automate that last check. Our guide to backlinks for a new startup has the full ask-and-log workflow.
Then triage. A friendly, relevant mention in an article about your category: worth a short request for a link. A passing mention in a long list: maybe. A critical review: don't ask for a link, but read it, because it's feedback. A mention on a site you'd rather not be associated with: leave it.
The request itself should be short and useful: thank them for the mention, suggest the specific page that fits the context, and make it easy. Don't ask for specific anchor text or dofollow; let them link however their site does.
Even if nobody links, mentions matter more than they used to. AI assistants describe products using what the web says about them, linked or not. Tracking mentions shows you how you're being described, which is sometimes the more important finding.
Why it matters for founders
An unlinked mention is a link that almost happened. Converting the relevant ones is quick, and monitoring them all shows how the web and AI describe you.
Example
A productivity newsletter names a startup's app in a list of "tools I use daily" without a link. The founder sends a two-line thank-you with the product URL, and the author adds the link to the web version.
Common mistakes
- Asking for links on critical or irrelevant mentions.
- Demanding specific anchor text or dofollow links.
- Not monitoring mentions at all, so errors in how you're described go unnoticed.
Sources
Checked · Updated
Related terms
- Brand mentionA brand mention is any place your company or product name appears on the web, in articles, forums, reviews, directories or AI answers, whether or not it links to your site.
- Link reclamationLink reclamation is recovering links you have lost or should already have, by redirecting old URLs that still have backlinks, asking for broken or removed links to be fixed, and turning unlinked mentions into links.
- BacklinkA backlink is a link from another website to yours. Search engines use backlinks to discover pages and as one signal of which pages are trusted and worth ranking.
- Anchor textAnchor text is the visible, clickable text of a link. Search engines read it as a description of the page being linked to, so clear, specific anchor text helps both readers and rankings.