Brand mentions are more valuable than backlinks
Today’s opinion post is by Alyssa Shupnacki, Content Lead at Thrive Media Group. She has over 15 years of experience in marketing, SEO, and analytics.
Backlinks were king for ages in SEO, but something interesting is happening now. Brand mentions are quietly becoming more valuable, and I’ve noticed many marketers haven’t caught on yet.
I’ve spent years chasing backlinks, but the internet has changed. People scroll past countless links and ads every day, barely noticing them anymore. But when someone casually mentions a brand in their content? That hits different. It’s like overhearing a coworker recommend a great product - no pressure, just genuine praise.
Brand mentions work because they’re natural. No one’s forcing them into content or negotiating for placement. They pop up in conversations, reviews, and articles because someone thought to include them. After running countless campaigns, I’ve seen how much more impact these organic mentions have compared to obviously placed backlinks.
Search engines have gotten pretty sophisticated too. They’re picking up on context, tone, and relationships between pieces of content. Back in 2015, I remember when getting a link was everything. Now Google cares about the whole conversation around your brand, not just who’s linking to you.
Here’s what makes brand mentions so powerful:
- They build trust. When your brand comes up naturally in trusted content, people take notice. I’ve seen companies gain more traction from a single authentic mention than dozens of backlinks.
- They broaden reach. Some quality sites have strict no-link policies, but they’ll happily name-drop relevant brands in their content.
- They create cumulative value. Every mention adds up, from Twitter conversations to Reddit threads to industry blogs.
Backlinks still matter - I use them in my own strategies. But focusing only on backlinks misses a huge opportunity. While backlinks work mechanically for SEO, brand mentions shape how real people think about and remember your company.
Marketing ultimately comes down to sticking in people’s minds. Brand mentions do this naturally - they’re part of normal conversations and content. I’ve watched brands grow purely through word-of-mouth and mentions, without any aggressive link building.
Getting backlinks sometimes leads to questionable tactics (we’ve all seen those spammy link requests). Brand mentions are harder to game - they have to be earned through good products and genuine relationships. Slow process? Sure. But it builds something real.
Measuring brand mentions takes more work than counting links. You need good monitoring tools and analytics. But the insights are gold. You learn how people talk about your brand, not just who links to it.
Consider shifting some focus from pure link building to cultivating organic brand mentions. In my experience, being naturally woven into industry conversations builds more lasting value than chasing link counts. The metrics might not be as clean, but the impact runs deeper.