Unlinked Mention Outreach
Unlinked mention outreach is the link building strategy of identifying existing web references to a brand, product, or content that mention the brand name without hyperlinking to the website, then contacting the publisher to request they add a link. These are among the highest-converting link acquisition opportunities because the publisher has already demonstrated awareness of and interest in the brand-the only step remaining is adding the hyperlink.
Why It Matters
Unlinked mentions represent earned but unclaimed link equity. Publishers who mention a brand have already made an implicit editorial endorsement-converting these to linked mentions simply formalizes that relationship into a ranking signal. This strategy is also a leading indicator of AI visibility opportunity: if a publisher mentions your brand without linking, AI systems indexing that content may already be associating your brand with the topic, which a backlink would reinforce.
How It Works
Unlinked mention identification uses brand monitoring tools (Google Alerts, Mention, Ahrefs Alerts) to find web references to the brand name, product names, or key personnel that don't contain links. Results are filtered for relevance and domain authority, and outreach emails are sent to editors or content owners requesting link addition-typically framed as adding value for their readers rather than as a link request.
Use Cases
- SaaS companies monitoring for press mentions that describe their product without linking to the website
- Authors finding book or article references on educational sites without attribution links
- Brands identifying competitor comparisons that mention them as an alternative without linking
- Agencies finding client brand mentions in industry publications that reference the brand in passing
- Research publishers finding citations of their data or statistics without proper attribution links
Best Practices
- Set up brand monitoring for your company name, key product names, and key executive names
- Prioritize outreach to high-authority domains with editorial contacts over low-authority sites
- Frame requests as 'adding value for readers' rather than 'we need a link'-provide the exact URL to link
- Contact the author directly when possible rather than generic contact forms for higher response rates
- Monitor response rates and successful conversions to optimize outreach templates over time
- Time outreach within 30 days of mention publication-older mentions are harder to get updated
Frequently Asked Questions
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