Every unlinked mention is a link you've earned but haven't deployed. The work to get mentioned was already done — someone published your name in their content because it was relevant. All that remains is the polite request to convert the mention into a link. This is the highest-ROI link building activity available: 15-30% conversion on warm prospects vs 1-3% on cold outreach. This guide covers detection, prioritisation, contact finding, outreach patterns, and the measurement loop. Companion to broken backlinks and lost backlinks — the three together form the complete link recovery program.
The Brand Mention Monitor surfaces mentions across the web. Cross-reference with your backlink data (Search Console, Ahrefs, Majestic) to identify mentions WITHOUT corresponding backlinks:
Workflow:
1. Export all brand mentions from last 90-180 days
2. Export all backlinks pointing to your site
3. For each mention's source URL, check if it's in the backlink set
4. Mentions not in backlink set = unlinked mentions
5. Filter out:
- Social media (links work differently; rarely indexed for SEO)
- Sites with rel=nofollow policies (Reddit, Wikipedia citations)
- Sites that link competitors but rarely include outbound
links generally (their editorial policy)
- PDF / image-only mentions (can't add links anyway)
What's left: unlinked text mentions on sites that DO publish
external links editorially. These are your prospects.
Not all links worth the same outreach effort. A link from DA 80 publication is worth 50 links from DA 20 blogs. Sort prospects by domain quality:
| Tier | DA / authority | Outreach approach |
|---|---|---|
| 1 — Top priority | DA 70+ major publications, recognised industry sites | Personalised, multiple touchpoints if needed, sometimes phone follow-up |
| 2 — High priority | DA 40-70 mid-size publications, established blogs | Personalised email outreach |
| 3 — Standard | DA 20-40 smaller blogs, niche sites | Personalised email with templated frame |
| 4 — Low priority | DA under 20 small blogs, new sites | Batch email outreach OR skip entirely depending on ROI |
| Skip | Spam / link farms / low-trust sites | Don't pursue — you don't want links from these anyway |
For most B2B sites, focus quarterly outreach on top 20-40 prospects rather than spreading across hundreds.
The wrong contact = wasted outreach. Generic contact@ emails rarely reach editorial. Right contact varies by site type:
Target: The author of the specific piece Find: Author byline → LinkedIn → professional email Pattern: [first].[last]@publication.com is common Tools: Hunter.io, Apollo, ContactOut to verify email Backup: Editorial email IF the post is older and author may have moved on Authors care about article accuracy; appeal to that.
Target: Author OR editor depending on structure Find: About page, contact page, LinkedIn outreach Pattern: Often [name]@domain.com or specific editorial address Tools: hunter.io for domain pattern discovery If unclear, send to general contact with subject line specific enough to route correctly: "Editorial: small correction request for [article title]"
Target: Site owner / operator (often a single person) Find: About page, footer contact, social media Pattern: Personal email or contact form Smaller sites often respond better than large ones — single decision maker, personal investment in their content, faster cycle time.
Target: Specific section editor or industry-specific journalist Find: Masthead, contributor pages Pattern: Often individual emails of staff/contributors Trade pubs often have editorial calendars and welcome corrections — the angle "your article would be more useful with this link" works.
Subject: Quick correction request — your piece on [topic]
Hi [first name],
I really enjoyed your article "[exact title]" on [publication] — the
section on [specific point they made] was especially useful, and I
shared it with our team.
Quick note: you mentioned us ([your company]) in this paragraph:
"[exact paragraph or sentence containing your mention]"
Wondered if it would be possible to link our name to [specific URL]?
The [specific page] page has more context on what we do that your
readers might find useful.
Either way, thanks for the thoughtful piece.
Best,
[Your name]
[Your role at company]
[Direct contact if appropriate]
---
Key elements:
- Specific mention of their article (proves you read it)
- Specific point they made (genuine engagement, not flattery)
- Quote the exact paragraph (shows you're attentive, makes their
job easy)
- Specific URL suggestion (don't make them choose)
- Light, no pressure
Subject: Small correction for [article title] Hi there, I came across your article "[exact title]" while researching [related topic] — it's still the best overview I've found of [specific theme]. I noticed you mentioned [your company] in the section about [topic]: "[exact paragraph]" Wondered if you'd be open to adding a link to our [specific page]? It would help readers find the [specific information they'd want] you reference. Happy to provide any additional context if useful. Thanks for considering, [Your name] [Your role] --- For older articles where the original author may not be available, this works better than reaching out to author specifically. Editorial team can make the update.
Subject: Loved your [topic] post Hi [first name if known], Came across your post on [specific topic] and have to say it's one of the best treatments of [specific aspect] I've seen. I noticed you mentioned [your company] briefly. Would you mind adding a link to [URL] when you have a chance? It would help your readers find [specific value they'd get]. Either way — thanks for writing such a useful piece. Mind if I share it in our newsletter? [Your name] --- Smaller sites respond to genuine appreciation. The "mind if I share" offer adds value back. Don't make promises you won't keep on the sharing offer.
For 30-50 prospects per quarter: Week 1: Research and personalisation - Read each article thoroughly - Identify the specific paragraph mentioning your brand - Identify what specific URL you'd want linked - Find author / editor contact - Verify email deliverability Week 2-3: Outreach - Send 5-10 emails per day, personalised - Track sends in spreadsheet / CRM - Note any auto-responses, bounces Week 4-5: Follow-ups - One polite follow-up after 10-14 days for non-responders - Update tracker with responses Week 6+: Track results - Which links went live - Which had partial wins (different URL than requested) - Conversion rate per tier - Patterns: which template variants worked better
Per outreach campaign: - Prospects identified - Emails sent - Responses received (positive, negative, no-response) - Links added (per response) - Conversion rate (links / sent) - Tier-specific conversion rates Pattern recognition over multiple campaigns: - Best-converting subject lines - Best-converting opening lines - Best-converting closing requests - Best-converting time-of-day / day-of-week - Which industries / publication types respond best A/B test subject lines, opening sentences, specific asks across campaigns. After 3-4 campaigns you'll know what works for your specific category/audience.
Reclaimed links can be lost again — site redesigns, content updates, editorial purges. Monthly link monitoring catches losses early:
See lost backlinks for the recovery workflow when reclaimed links go missing.
Reclaimed links carry both classical SEO weight AND AI engine visibility benefits:
The investment in link reclamation pays both traditional and AEO dividends — same outreach, double the surface impact.
Monitor mentions vs backlinks; surface reclamation prospects.
Run Brand Mention Monitor →