Unlinked brand mentions are the new backlinks. Agree or disagree?
The old game was links. The emerging game is presence everywhere . Because LLMs pull from a diversity of sources, brands are realizing they need to be mentioned across the web to even show up in AI-generated answers. Unlinked brand mentions are increasingly treated as trust signals, almost like "implied links."
Which means Reddit threads, YouTube comments, and industry forums might matter more than your next guest post.
Let's debate: Are you actively chasing mentions now, or still pouring budget into link building? What's your split?
Asked by undamuy
2 Answers
I still put way more budget into link building than chasing unlinked mentions. Google says links are a ranking factor, so you kinda have to keep at it if you want to move the needle on organic. That said, I do encourage clients to get brand mentions in places like Reddit, Quora, and big news sites, especially for E-E-A-T and awareness, and I track branded searches as a KPI. But for rankings in classic search, links with authority still matter more, at least right now. Maybe 80/20 split for me, links to mentions. If you can get both in one campaign, awesome, but I would not skip links.
I disagree that unlinked mentions are the new backlinks, at least for classic Google rankings in 2026. Real links still move the needle for organic search visibility, period. But yeah, I'm definitely paying more attention to unlinked mentions now, especially because of SGE and Gemini type AI. We've started tracking them with Brand24 and also pushing for brand name drops in Reddit threads and podcasts. I still put about 70 percent of the budget into earning actual links and 30 percent into competitive brand visibility, because links drive rankings, but mentions are now on my dashboard for brand lift and AI footprint. Not ditching links though.