Did you know that there are thousands of websites that mention your brand name, products, or services without linking back to your site? These are called unlinked mentions, and they are a goldmine of link building opportunities.
Unlinked mentions are valuable for SEO because they can boost your domain authority, traffic, and rankings. They can also help you build relationships with other webmasters, influencers, and potential customers.
But how do you find unlinked mentions and turn them into backlinks? And how do you automate the process so you don’t have to spend hours manually searching and emailing?
In this guide, we will show you how to do all that and more. Let’s get started!
How to Find Unlinked Mentions
The first step to reclaiming unlinked mentions is to find them. There are different types of unlinked mentions that you should look for, such as:
- Brand name: This is the most obvious one. You want to find websites that mention your company name without linking to it. For example, if your brand name is “Saasmatic”, you want to find sites that say something like “Saasmatic is a great tool for creating Saas products” without linking to your site.
- Products or services: You also want to find websites that mention your specific products or services without linking to them. For example, if you offer a product called “Saasmatic Builder”, you want to find sites that say something like “I used Saasmatic Builder to create my Saas app” without linking to your product page.
- Slogans or taglines: You can also look for websites that mention your slogans or taglines without linking to your site. For example, if your slogan is “Saasify your ideas”, you want to find sites that say something like “Saasmatic your ideas with this amazing tool” without linking to your site.
- Representatives or employees: You can also look for websites that mention your representatives or employees without linking to their profiles or bios. For example, if you have a founder, you want to find sites that say something like “{{founder_name}}, the founder of Saasmatic, shared his insights on Saas development” without linking to his profile or bio.
- Other relevant terms: You can also look for websites that mention other relevant terms related to your brand, industry, niche, or audience without linking to your site. For example, if you target Saas developers, you want to find sites that say something like “Saas developers need these skills to succeed” without linking to your site.
Now that you know what types of unlinked mentions to look for, how do you actually find them? There are two main ways: manually or automatically.
How to Find Unlinked Mentions Manually
The manual way of finding unlinked mentions is using Google search operators. These are special commands that you can use in Google search to narrow down your results and filter out irrelevant ones.
For example, if you want to find websites that mention “Saasmatic” but don’t link to it, you can use this search operator:
Saasmatic -site:saasmatic.io
This will show you all the pages that contain the word “Saasmatic” but exclude the pages from your own site (saasmatic.io).
The manual way of finding unlinked mentions is simple and free, but it has some drawbacks.
First, it can be time-consuming and tedious. You have to type in different search queries for different types of unlinked mentions and scroll through hundreds of results.
Second, it can be inaccurate and incomplete. You may miss some unlinked mentions that are buried deep in the search results or use different variations of your keywords.
Third, it can be outdated and unreliable. You may find some unlinked mentions that are no longer relevant or have already been linked by the authors.
That’s why we recommend using the automatic way of finding unlinked mentions, which is using tools.
How to Find Unlinked Mentions Automatically
The automatic way of finding unlinked mentions is using tools like Ahrefs. This is an online platform that can help you find and analyze unlinked mentions faster and easier.
Using Ahrefs
For example, if you want to use Ahrefs to find unlinked mentions, you can follow these steps:
- Go to the Content Explorer tool and type in your brand name, product name, slogan, or any other relevant term in the search box.
- Filter the results by language, domain rating, organic traffic, etc. according to your preferences.
- Click on the “Highlight unlinked domains” button to see only the domains that mention your term but don’t link to your site.
- Export the list of unlinked domains to a spreadsheet or CSV file for further analysis.
How to Contact the Authors of Unlinked Mentions
Once you have found a list of unlinked mentions, the next step is to contact the authors and persuade them to link back to your site. This is where most people fail or give up because they don’t know how to write effective outreach emails that get responses and conversions.
But don’t worry, we will show you how to do that with some tips and examples.
How to Write Effective Outreach Emails
The key to writing effective outreach emails is personalization. You want to make your emails as relevant, specific, and human as possible. You want to show that you have done your research, that you care about their content, and that you have something valuable to offer them.
Here are some tips on how to write personalized outreach emails:
- Use their name: Addressing them by their name is a simple but powerful way of showing respect and attention. You can usually find their name on their website, social media profiles, or email signature. If not, you can use a generic salutation like “Hi there” or “Hello”.
- Compliment their work: Praising their work is a great way of building rapport and trust. You want to show that you have read their content, that you appreciate their expertise, and that you share their interests. You can compliment them on their writing style, insights, examples, etc.
- Mention your brand: Introducing your brand is a crucial way of establishing credibility and authority. You want to show that you are not a random spammer, but a legitimate representative of a reputable company. You can mention your brand name, logo, slogan, products, services, etc.
- Add value: Adding value is the most important way of persuading them to link back to your site. You want to show that you have something valuable to offer them, that can benefit their content, their audience, or their goals. You can add value by offering a resource, a suggestion, a correction, a testimonial, etc.
- Ask for the link: Asking for the link is the final and most direct way of getting what you want. You want to make your request clear, simple, and easy to fulfill. You can ask them to add a link to your site, to your product page, to your blog post, etc.
Here is a free template of a personalized mail for unlinked mentions in action:
______________
Hello [name],
I recently came across your informative article on [topic] where you mentioned our brand, [company], but without a link. We really appreciate you including and discussing our [products/services] and the value we provide to [customer persona].
To help your readers learn more, I wanted to see if you would be open to linking [company] to our website at [url] the next time we are mentioned. We would be happy to provide a [case study, interview, guest post, etc] to share with your audience in return.
We believe a [type of content] showing how our [product/service] helped [customer achieve goal] would add tremendous value for your readers. Please let me know if this is something you would be interested in featuring.
Also, if there are any other ways we can collaborate to assist your readers, we are always open to suggestions. Feel free to reach out anytime. Thanks again for covering our brand!
Best regards, [name]
[company]
______________
Wrapping Up
Reclaiming unlinked mentions is one of the best ways to boost your SEO and grow your online presence. It can help you get more backlinks, traffic, and authority for your site.
However, finding unlinked mentions and turning them into backlinks can be challenging and time-consuming. That’s why we have shown you how to do it in three easy steps!
We hope this guide helps you reclaim unlinked mentions for SEO and achieve your online goals.
