Reclaiming Unlinked Brand Mentions
Your business gets named on other websites more often than you might think: in a local news story, a supplier's case study, a blogger's recommendation or a round-up of useful services. Many of those pages mention you without linking.
Readers then have to search for you, and you miss a link that would help both people and search engines find your site. This guide shows how to sort unlinked mentions into ones worth a request and ones to leave, how to write a short request that editors are happy to act on, and how to track the results without pestering anyone.
Why unlinked mentions are the easiest links to earn
Most link building starts from scratch: you have to persuade a stranger that your content deserves a place on their page. Link reclamation starts from a far better position. The writer has already chosen to name you, usually because they found you useful, interesting or worth recommending. Adding a link is a small edit that helps their readers and costs them nothing.
That is why the success rate for polite reclamation requests tends to be higher than for cold outreach, although it varies a great deal by type of site. A small blogger who praised your product will often add a link the same day. A large newspaper may have a policy of not linking to businesses in certain stories, and no request will change it.
Reclamation covers a few related situations:
- Plain unlinked mentions. Your brand, product or a staff member is named but not linked.
- Links pointing to the wrong place. A link to an old domain, a deleted page or a misspelled address that now returns an error.
- Uncredited images or data. Your photo, chart or research figures are used without a credit or source link.
- Links to a competitor for your content. Occasionally a writer credits the wrong business for something you published.
This guide concentrates on the first and third. Broken links pointing at your site are covered in fixing broken backlinks, because the fix there is usually a redirect on your own server rather than a request.
The fix, step by step
Step 1
Export and filter the unlinked mentions
Export the unlinked mentions from your monitoring report into a spreadsheet with columns for the page address, site, date, the sentence that names you, and sentiment. Remove anything that is not a normal editable web page: social posts, forum replies, comments, podcast audio and syndicated copies of the same press release. Also remove complaints and negative mentions, which need a response rather than a link request. What remains is your working list of candidate pages.
Step 2
Score each mention for relevance
Give each page a simple score from one to three on three questions: is the site genuinely related to what you do or where you trade, would a reader benefit from clicking through to you, and does the site already link to other businesses in similar articles? Pages scoring high on all three go to the top. Pages on unrelated sites, scraper sites or pages that seem to exist only to sell links should be dropped, however large the site looks.
Step 3
Pick the best page on your site to link to
Decide the exact address you will suggest before writing to anyone. It should match what the sentence says: if the article praises your repair service, suggest the repair service page, not the home page. If they quote your research, suggest the page where the research lives. Check that the page loads quickly, is not behind a cookie wall that hides content, returns a normal success status and will still exist in a year.
Step 4
Find the person who can edit the page
Look for the author's name on the article and a contact route on their author page or the site's contact page. For news sites, the section editor or a corrections address is often right. For small blogs, the owner is usually the author. Avoid general sales inboxes and never use a contact form marked for advertising enquiries, because your message will be treated as a sales pitch. Note the contact and the route in your spreadsheet.
Step 5
Send one short, specific request
Write from your own named email address, not a no-reply system. Thank them for the mention, quote the sentence, give the one address you suggest and explain in a phrase why it helps their readers. Keep it under about 120 words. Do not offer money, free products or a link back in exchange, because Google treats paid or swapped links meant to influence rankings as link spam, and the offer can make an editor refuse outright.
Step 6
Follow up once, then close the record
If there is no reply after about ten working days, send one brief follow-up in the same email thread, with nothing new added except a polite reminder. If that also goes unanswered, mark the record as closed and move on. Repeated chasing turns goodwill into irritation, and the writer who mentioned you once may well mention you again, which is worth more than one link. Record every outcome, including refusals.
Step 7
Check the link and keep it working
When
someone says yes, open the page and confirm the link is present, points at the right address and loads.
Note whether it has a rel value such as nofollow or sponsored,
and accept it either way. Then add the page to a list you recheck every few months. If you later move
or delete the page you linked to, put a permanent 301 redirect in place so the link keeps working.
Which mentions are worth a request
| Mention | Worth asking? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Local news story naming your shop as a stockist | Often | Relevant to readers who want to visit; many local titles are happy to add a link. |
| Blogger recommending your product in a guide | Yes | The reader is actively looking; a link helps them buy the right thing. |
| Supplier or partner case study | Yes | You already have a relationship, so a quick message usually works. |
| Event listing or awards shortlist | Yes, briefly | Organisers often link winners and exhibitors once reminded. |
| National newspaper feature | Sometimes | Policies vary; ask the writer once, politely, and accept the answer. |
| Forum post, social post or comment | No | You cannot edit it, and asking the poster to add a link looks like self-promotion. |
| Complaint or critical review | No | Respond to the issue instead. Asking for a link would look tone-deaf. |
| Scraper or auto-generated site | No | A link from it has no value to readers and may not be wanted. |
A request that respects the editor
Editors and bloggers get a lot of link-request email, much of it automated and some of it offering payment. Yours needs to be obviously personal, obviously short and obviously easy to act on. A fictional example from a picture-framing business:
Subject: Thank you for including Northgate Framing
Hi Sam,
Thanks for mentioning us in your piece on getting old
maps restored (the section on conservation glass). We
were really pleased to be included.
If it would help your readers, our conservation framing
page explains the glass options you describe:
https://www.example.co.uk/conservation-framing
No problem at all if a link does not fit your usual
approach. Thanks again.
Alex Morgan
Northgate Framing, LeedsWhat makes it work: it names the article and section, it gives one address rather than a menu, it explains the benefit to the reader, and it gives an easy way to say no. It does not mention search engines, rankings or link value.
Phrases to avoid
- Anything implying they have made a mistake, such as “you forgot to link”.
- Requests for a particular anchor text. Let them choose the words.
- Asking for the link to be followed, or complaining about
nofollow. - Offers of payment, gifts, guest posts or reciprocal links.
Uncredited images and data
If a site has used a photograph, illustration or chart you own, or quoted figures from your research without saying where they came from, the request is slightly different. You are asking for a credit, and the link is part of that credit.
- Confirm you own it. Check your original files and dates. If a photographer or agency shot it, the rights may be theirs rather than yours.
- Ask for a credit first. Something like “Photo: Northgate Framing” with a link to the page where the image appears on your site.
- Keep the tone friendly. Most unattributed use is careless rather than deliberate, and a friendly note usually works.
- Escalate only if needed. If the use is commercial and the site refuses, you may have options under copyright law. Take advice before sending any formal notice; this page is not legal advice.
Nofollow, sponsored and ugc links
When a site adds your link, it may mark it with a rel attribute. nofollow
is a general signal not to pass ranking credit, sponsored marks paid or advertising links,
and ugc marks user-generated content such as comments. Since 2019 Google has said it treats
these as hints rather than strict instructions.
<a href="https://www.example.co.uk/conservation-framing">Northgate Framing</a>
<a href="https://www.example.co.uk/conservation-framing" rel="nofollow">Northgate Framing</a>Both links above send readers to you, and both help people find the business. Accept whichever the
site chooses. Many publishers apply nofollow to all outbound links by default, and asking
them to change it is a quick way to lose goodwill. If you ever arrange a paid placement, the link should
carry sponsored, and the content should be labelled as advertising under UK advertising
rules.
Keeping a tidy record
A shared spreadsheet is enough for most small businesses. Useful columns are: page address, site, date found, sentence quoted, relevance score, target address, contact, date sent, follow-up date, outcome and date the link was confirmed.
Review the sheet monthly. Over time it shows which kinds of site say yes, which contact routes work, and how many links you have gained. It also stops two people writing to the same editor. For links that already exist, the Links report in Google Search Console shows top linking sites, and the backlink fixes cover what to do when links disappear or break.
1. What is link reclamation?
It is the process of turning existing mentions of your business into working links. Usually that means finding pages that name you without linking and politely asking the site to add a link, but it also covers getting a credit for images or data used without attribution, and fixing links that point to old or deleted addresses. Because the site has already chosen to mention you, these requests are more welcome than cold outreach and succeed more often.
2. Is asking for a link against Google's guidelines?
No. Politely asking a site to link to a relevant page where it already mentions you is normal and not treated as spam. What Google's spam policies prohibit is buying or selling links meant to influence rankings, excessive link swaps, and similar schemes. So do not offer money, products, guest posts or a link back in exchange. A simple, free request that helps the site's readers is fine, and the site owner decides whether to add it.
3. Should I ask for a followed link rather than nofollow?
No. Accept whatever the site decides. A nofollow link still sends readers to your site, and Google has said since 2019 that it treats nofollow, sponsored and ugc as hints rather than strict rules. Many publishers apply nofollow to every outbound link as a matter of policy, and asking them to make an exception looks as if you care only about rankings. That is likely to make them less willing to mention you again.
4. How do I find the right person to ask?
Start with the author named on the article and look for an author page, a contact email or a professional profile. On small blogs the owner is usually the author and is easy to reach. On news sites the writer, the section editor or a corrections address is usually the right route. Avoid advertising inboxes and generic sales forms, because a link request sent there will be read as a sales pitch and is often ignored.
5. How many times should I follow up on a link request?
Once. Wait around ten working days after the first message, then send a short reminder in the same email thread. If there is still no reply, close the record and move on. People are busy and many never answer requests of this kind. Repeated chasing damages the goodwill that led them to mention you in the first place, and they may mention you again in future, which is more valuable than any single link.
6. Which unlinked mentions should I ignore?
Skip complaints and critical reviews, which need a reply rather than a link request. Skip social posts, forum replies and comments, which the poster may not be able to edit and where asking looks like self-promotion. Skip scraper sites, auto-generated pages and sites that exist mainly to sell links. And skip unrelated sites where a link would not help any reader. Focus your limited time on relevant pages that real customers actually read.
7. What if someone used my photo without credit?
First check that you own the rights, because a photographer or agency may hold them. Then write politely asking for a credit line and a link to the page on your site where the image appears. Most unattributed use is careless rather than deliberate, so a friendly note usually works. If the use is commercial and the site refuses, you may have legal options under copyright law, but get proper advice before sending any formal notice.
The Brand Mention Monitor tracks unlinked mentions of your brand across news, blogs, forums, social, podcasts and video, with sentiment scoring, so you can pick the relevant, positive pages worth a polite link request.
Open Brand Mention Fixes →