Brand Mentions vs Backlinks: Differences & SEO Benefits

If someone mentions your brand on another website, that’s good for visibility. If they link to your website, that’s a backlink. The two often appear together, but they aren’t the same thing and you shouldn’t measure them in the same way.

Backlinks have a high role in traditional SEO because links help search engines discover pages and are used as ranking signals. 

Brand mentions are valuable because they put your business in front of relevant audiences and can build awareness, reputation, and branded search demand. 

Since SEO takes a lot of time, it’s best to secure both brand mentions and backlinks to your domain. Let’s understand what each one does and use both where they make sense.

What Is a Brand Mention?

A brand mention is any online reference to your business, product, service, website, or people associated with your brand. It can appear on a news site, blog, forum, review website, podcast, social network, or industry publication. The mention doesn’t need to include a link to your website.

For example, imagine a marketing publication writes, “Ahrefs is one of the most popular SEO tools for backlink research.” That’s a brand mention. 

If another publication links the words “Ahrefs” to the company’s website, it becomes a brand mention with a backlink.

Brand mentions can also be indirect. Someone might mention your founder, product name, or a proprietary report without using your company name in the same sentence. For SEO and brand monitoring, it’s useful to track the different ways people refer to your business.

What Is a Backlink?

A backlink is a link from one website to another. If website A links to a page on website B, website B has earned a backlink from website A. You may also hear backlinks called inbound links or incoming links.

Example of a backlink

Backlinks can appear in articles, resource pages, directories, interviews, product reviews, partner pages, and other types of content. Their value varies based on factors such as relevance, context, authority, and how naturally the link fits into the page.

For example, a tax publication linking to an accounting firm’s guide to tax deductions is a relevant backlink. A random website with no connection to accounting linking to the same page is much less useful from a relevance standpoint.

Brand Mentions vs. Backlinks: What’s the Difference?

The simplest difference is that a brand mention talks about your brand, while a backlink links to your website. A mention can exist without a link, but a backlink always contains a hyperlink.

Brand mentions	Backlinks
Refer to your brand	Link to your website
May be unlinked	Always contain a hyperlink
Can build brand awareness	Can generate referral traffic
Can contribute to online reputation	Can contribute to link-based SEO signals
Come from PR, reviews, and media coverage	Come from editorial content, PR, resources, and outreach
Harder to measure as a direct SEO signal	Easier to track as an SEO metric

There’s also plenty of overlap. A newspaper article can mention your company and link to your homepage, giving you both a brand mention and a backlink from the same page.

Are Brand Mentions a Ranking Factor?

There’s an important distinction here.

Google has said that it doesn’t use every unlinked brand mention as if it were a hyperlink. 

When asked about whether unlinked brand or domain names act as “implied links” or pass ranking signals similarly to actual hyperlinks, Mueller clarified that Google does not treat unlinked mentions as fractional or substitute links. He explicitly noted:

“From my point of view, I don’t think we use those at all for things like PageRank or understanding the link graph of a website. And just a plain mention is sometimes kind of tricky to figure out anyway… First of all, if there’s no link to your pages then it’s not really a link there. So it’s not something that we would see, kind of like, oh it’s a half link worth of mention or something like that. It’s essentially, there is no link, so there is no signal passing like there would be with any normal link there.”

So, you shouldn’t assume that 100 unlinked mentions have the same SEO value as 100 backlinks.

That doesn’t make brand mentions useless. They can still bring people to your brand, generate branded searches, attract customers, support PR efforts, and create opportunities for links. Think of them as part of your overall marketing and authority-building efforts rather than as a replacement for backlinks.

Why Are Backlinks Important for SEO?

Backlinks are one of the fundamental ways search engines discover and connect pages across the web. Google’s PageRank system famously used links as a way to understand the importance of web pages, and links remain part of Google’s ranking systems today.

But the number of backlinks isn’t what matters most. A link from a relevant, trusted website can be considerably more useful than hundreds of links from unrelated or low-quality sites.

Backlinks Can Help Pages Get Discovered

Search engines crawl the web by following links between pages. A backlink gives crawlers another route to discover your content, particularly when other websites reference a newly published resource.

Your sitemap and internal links also help with discovery, so you don’t need backlinks for every page to get indexed. However, external links can give important content additional paths for both search engines and users to find it.

Backlinks Can Help Pages Rank

Links are votes of confidence from other websites, although modern Google rankings involve many other signals. A relevant backlink can help search engines understand that other sites consider your content useful or authoritative.

Context is important here. A backlink from a website that covers your industry and links to a closely related resource makes more sense than an unrelated link placed on a page solely for SEO purposes.

Backlinks Can Send Referral Traffic

SEO isn’t the only reason to earn backlinks. A link on a popular website can send visitors directly to your site, and those visitors may already have an interest in what you offer.

For example, an accounting firm that earns a link from a small-business publication may receive visitors who are actively researching bookkeeping or tax services. That traffic can create leads even if the backlink has no measurable effect on rankings.

Why Do Brand Mentions Matter?

Brand mentions can put your business in front of people who may not have discovered it through search. A mention in a respected publication can introduce your company to a relevant audience, even if the publisher doesn’t link to your site.

They can also create a second type of search demand. Someone might read about your company in an article today and search for your brand tomorrow when they need the product or service. That path won’t always show up as an organic visit from the original article, but it can still contribute to growth.

Brand Mentions Can Build Awareness

People tend to search for brands they know. If your company appears regularly in industry publications, podcasts, reviews, and expert articles, more people get familiar with the name.

That familiarity can influence future searches and buying decisions. A potential customer who has seen your brand several times may be more likely to click your result when your website appears alongside unfamiliar competitors.

Brand Mentions Can Support Digital PR

Digital PR campaigns produce a mixture of links and mentions. A journalist might link to your original research, while another publication might quote your findings without linking to the source.

You shouldn’t consider the second outcome a failure. If the publication has a relevant audience, the mention can still expose your company to potential customers and strengthen the reach of the campaign.

Brand Mentions Can Help Build Reputation

People look beyond your own website when researching a company. They may check reviews, news coverage, interviews, comparisons, and discussions before deciding if they can trust you.

That’s why third-party coverage matters. A business that appears in credible industry publications can build a reputation that its own marketing pages cannot create on their own.

Do Brand Mentions Help With E-E-A-T?

Brand mentions can contribute to the broader signals that help demonstrate expertise and credibility, but you shouldn’t reduce E-E-A-T to a checklist of mentions and links.

Suppose several reputable publications quote an accountant about changes to tax regulations. Those references can help establish the accountant as someone with relevant expertise, especially when the coverage accurately identifies the person’s qualifications and area of knowledge.

The same principle applies to businesses. Relevant third-party coverage can reinforce your reputation, but the underlying expertise, content quality, and experience still matter.

Brand Mentions vs. Backlinks for AI Search

AI search adds another reason to build a recognizable online presence. Search experiences such as Google AI Overviews can use information from multiple web sources to generate answers, which gives businesses a reason to think beyond traditional ranking positions.

That doesn’t mean unlinked mentions have suddenly become equivalent to backlinks. There’s no reliable formula such as “10 mentions = one backlink,” and you shouldn’t build an AI search strategy around one assumed signal.

Instead, build a consistent presence across relevant sources. Earn editorial links, publish original research, get quoted by experts and journalists, maintain accurate business information, and create content that other websites have a reason to reference.

How to Get More Brand Mentions

You don’t need to ask websites to “mention your brand.” Give them something worth talking about.

Publish Original Research

Original data is one of the easiest ways to give journalists and publishers a reason to cite your company. You could run a survey, analyze industry data, publish benchmarks, or study trends within your market.

Let’s say an SEO agency analyzes 10,000 accounting websites and discovers a major trend in local search visibility. That data can become an article, a press pitch, a social post, and a resource for journalists writing about accounting marketing.

Some publications will link to the research. Others may simply quote the findings and mention the agency. Both outcomes can extend the reach of the original study.

Become a Source for Journalists

Journalists need expert opinions when they write about specialized subjects. If you have genuine expertise, provide useful comments rather than sending generic promotional pitches.

A useful quote can get your name and company into an article read by thousands of people. If the journalist also links to your website, you’ve earned a backlink at the same time.

Create Something Newsworthy

Companies pitch stories that aren’t interesting outside the company. “We launched a new service” rarely gives a journalist a compelling reason to write about you.

Look for a wider story instead. New research, market changes, unusual data, expert predictions, customer trends, and original findings give publishers something their readers may actually care about.

Get Listed in Relevant Roundups

Industry roundups and listicles can generate both mentions and links. The key is relevance.

If you’re an accounting SEO agency, a roundup of accounting SEO agencies is relevant. A list of random SEO companies on an unrelated website is much less useful, even if it gives you a link.

How to Turn Brand Mentions Into Backlinks

One of the simplest link-building tactics is to find pages that mention your brand but don’t link to your website. You already have the hardest part covered: the publisher has decided that your brand is relevant enough to mention.

The next step is to check if a link would actually improve the article. If it would, send a short outreach email asking the publisher to add a link to the most relevant page.

For example:

Thanks for mentioning our research in your article. If useful for your readers, could you link the mention to the original study?

Don’t expect every publisher to say yes. Some websites have editorial policies that don’t allow external links, while others may simply prefer to keep the article unchanged.

How to Earn High-Quality Backlinks

Create Link-Worthy Content

The best link-building assets give people something worth referencing. High-quality research, statistics, studies, tools, templates, calculators, and genuinely useful guides can all attract links when promoted well. 

Link earning is more important than building links. Look at what already exists. If ten websites have published the same basic guide, another version probably won’t attract much attention. Find an information gap and create something that fills it.

Use Digital PR

Digital PR can help you earn links from publications that have real editorial standards. Instead of asking journalists to link to a service page, give them a story supported by original data or expert insight.

A successful campaign can generate dozens of mentions and links from different publications. It can also introduce your brand to people who may never have encountered it through traditional search.

Reclaim Broken Backlinks

Websites change URLs, delete pages, and migrate content all the time. As a result, some backlinks eventually point to pages that no longer exist.

Find broken backlinks pointing to your site and check if you have a relevant replacement page. If you do, contact the website owner and suggest the new URL.

Reclaim Unlinked Mentions

Unlinked mentions are another link reclamation opportunity. Use a brand monitoring tool to find websites that mention your company, then filter out pages where you already have a link.

Look for mentions where a link would add useful context. A publisher citing your original research is a better opportunity than a passing mention of your company in a general news article.

Should You Prioritize Brand Mentions or Backlinks?

For pure link-based SEO, backlinks deserve more attention because they provide a direct link between websites. But that doesn’t mean you should ignore brand mentions.

If your only goal is to increase your backlink count, you may miss opportunities to build awareness and reputation. If you only chase mentions, you may leave valuable link opportunities on the table.

A better strategy is to create campaigns that can generate both. Original research is a good example because one study can earn media coverage, brand mentions, backlinks, referral traffic, and branded searches.

How to Measure Brand Mentions and Backlinks

Track the two separately so you can understand what your campaigns actually achieve.

For brand mentions, monitor the number of mentions, unique referring publications, brand sentiment, estimated reach, branded search volume, and referral traffic from linked coverage. You can also compare your share of voice against competitors to see how often your brand appears in important industry conversations.

For backlinks, track referring domains, relevant referring domains, new and lost links, linking pages, anchor text, referral traffic, and the pages receiving links. Don’t obsess over raw backlink totals because one relevant editorial link can be more useful than dozens of low-quality links.

Common Mistakes

Treating Every Mention Like a Backlink

An unlinked mention isn’t the same as a backlink. It can create awareness and referral searches, but it doesn’t give users a clickable route to your website.

Keep the metrics separate. A good SEO report should tell you how much media coverage you earned and how many links you acquired.

Chasing the Number of Backlinks

More backlinks don’t automatically mean better SEO. A website with 500 irrelevant links can have a less useful link profile than a competitor with 100 relevant editorial links.

Look at relevance, quality, context, and traffic when evaluating your link profile. Those metrics tell you much more than the raw number of links.

Asking for Links From Every Mention

Not every brand mention needs a backlink. A link should add value for the reader, not exist only to satisfy an SEO goal.

Prioritize mentions where the publisher is already referencing your research, data, guide, or another resource that readers may want to explore.

Buying Cheap Backlinks

Cheap link packages rely on irrelevant websites, automated placements, or networks created primarily for manipulation. Such links rarely provide useful traffic or meaningful editorial value.

Earn links through content, PR, relationships, research, and genuine contributions. It takes more work, but the resulting links have a real reason to exist.

The Bottom Line

Brand mentions and backlinks aren’t competing SEO tactics. They solve different problems.

Backlinks can help with discovery, referral traffic, and link-based ranking signals. Brand mentions can increase awareness, reputation, branded searches, and exposure to new audiences.

The smartest strategy combines the two. Create original research, publish genuinely useful resources, contribute expert commentary, build relationships with publishers, and promote stories that people actually want to cover. When a publisher mentions your brand, look for a natural link opportunity, but don’t judge the value of the coverage solely by whether it contains a hyperlink.

FAQs

Are brand mentions as valuable as backlinks?

They provide different types of value, so you shouldn’t treat them as interchangeable. Backlinks create a clickable connection between websites and can contribute to link-based SEO signals, while brand mentions can increase awareness and reputation. A relevant mention can still be valuable even when the publisher doesn’t link to your site.

Do unlinked brand mentions improve Google rankings?

There is no reason to treat an unlinked mention as the equivalent of a backlink. Google has not said that every unlinked brand reference passes the same ranking value as a hyperlink. However, mentions can still support awareness, branded searches, reputation, and other marketing outcomes.

How do I find unlinked brand mentions?

Use a brand monitoring or web monitoring tool to search for your company name, product names, founder names, and unique content assets. Export the results and identify pages that mention your brand without linking to your site. Then prioritize relevant publications where adding a link would genuinely help readers.

Can I ask a website to turn a brand mention into a backlink?

Yes, and unlinked mention reclamation is a common link-building tactic. Keep the request short and explain why the link would help readers find the source or additional information. Don’t push publishers that have editorial policies against adding links.

Are backlinks still important in 2026?

Yes. Backlinks are useful for discovery, referral traffic, and Google’s link-based systems, but link quantity alone is a poor measure of SEO performance. Relevance, quality, context, and the value of the linking page matter when evaluating backlinks.

Do brand mentions help with Google AI Overviews?

Brand mentions help broaden your business’s online presence, but there is no established rule that unlinked mentions directly cause a brand to appear in AI Overviews. Build a wider authority footprint through original content, credible third-party coverage, relevant backlinks, expert commentary, and consistent information across trusted sources.

Which is better for SEO, a backlink or a brand mention?

A relevant backlink provides a direct SEO benefit because it creates a link between two pages. A brand mention can provide valuable exposure and reputation even without a link. Ideally, your SEO and digital PR campaigns should aim to earn both.