With numerous SEO tools in search engine optimization (SEO), marketers are becoming more accessible than ever to track their digital marketing efforts. It is not wrong to say that online marketing is slowly overshadowing traditional marketing with the availability of multiple tools to determine the performance of SEO campaigns. When discussing SEO, many things strike a marketer’s mind like keyword research, target audience, on-site and off-site optimization, title, meta description, content quality, inbound & outbound links, etc. Balancing these SEO elements carefully in digital marketing is extremely important for any company to extract and enjoy the maximum benefit that this kind of marketing serves. Creating a balance between these elements doesn’t necessarily mean applying similar efforts; some parts of the SEO may ask for extra attention, and some might not. Most companies already understand this and hire a white label SEO company to manage their SEO marketing.
“Links” in SEO are a delicate element that requires additional attention to reap its advantages. Every company desires a good ranking on search engine result pages, and backlinks have the power to deliver it quite rapidly if Google senses that a particular website has created an atmosphere of reputation amongst its peers. Links in SEO have always been essential; companies have a separate segment in their marketing team that constantly works on link building, giving outbound links to authoritative websites, performing backlink analysis, etc.
Backlinks are links connected to an anchor text that redirects users from a different website to yours with just a click. In simple language, backlinks (inbound links) are like an incoming phone call from person A (another website) to person B (your website), and the person on the receiving end symbolizes reputation. Most phone calls are for an important objective, while a small portion of them may be spam calls, the same as backlinks. Most backlinks come from reputed and authoritative websites that have a positive motive of giving an inbound link to your website. A few of the backlinks may have the purpose of deteriorating a brand’s image.
These are linked brand mentions, i.e., the text denoting your website’s name, product, service, or any kind of information that contains a link, and the users can access or visit your website by clicking it. In another scenario, there may be a mention of your website without a backlink ‘unlinked mention’.
Unlinked mentions
Inbound links/backlinks are linked brand mentions which is very important for search engine optimization; it widens the website’s reach. A website generally receives linked brand mentions when it has already built its reputation up to an extent, and the other website is familiar with it. Unlinked mentions or unlinked brand mentions, on the other hand, are mentions of your website on other pages that don’t link back.
Are unlinked mentions useless?
There is a misconception revolving around unlinked brand mentions that they are not of much worth. It is probably less effective if you compare it with SEO links to your website, but that doesn’t make unlinked mentions useless. Getting unlinked mentions is a positive sign. Your website is getting there, the link-building SEO strategies have started to work out, websites have started to notice your website, and the content generation is in good hands and delivering what is expected. Though linked brand mentions are the desired results of link-building SEO strategies, unlinked mentions are not that bad. Unlinked mentions are the primary step; it shows that the brand is going in the right direction, slowly & steadily making its place in its respected field, providing a base for SEO links back to your website.
Benefits of unlinked mentions
It is extremely important to understand the benefits of unlinked mentions to capitalize on overall SEO marketing because the process of link-building SEO or getting an unlinked brand mentions requires exceptional handling of search engine optimization elements collectively. Though backlinks provide more significant benefits to your website, seeking unlinked mentions is also excessively essential for brand publicity, and making sure that these mentions convert into a linked one soon becomes a sole responsibility.
- Increased brand popularity – It’s a great indication that your website or brand is gradually becoming popular and is not far away from receiving SEO links (linked brand mentions). One of the main reasons for the website’s finding your page content vital, mentioning it in their content but not giving a backlink, is they are still processing or analyzing your website’s long-term authority and credibility. This is the reason why receiving unlinked brand mentions should be considered a positive sign that your brand’s popularity is increasing.
- Arouses curiosity – Brand mentions arouse curiosity amongst the audience. This curiosity may lead them to your website and, in a way, work as a backlink, though the mention must be received from reputed and authoritative sites. A classic example of this would be the Dogecoin cryptocurrency mentioned by Elon Musk; before he spoke about it, Dogecoin was not so popular. His mention aroused curiosity amongst people who followed Musk, interested in crypto, and rapidly increased Dogecoin’s popularity.
- Instills motivation – Knowing your link-building SEO process is going well, visible through unlinked mentions instills motivation and encourages you to put more effort into SEO links strategies. It is obvious that backlinks are the final destination or the desired outcome of link-building strategies but knowing that the website is getting popular, more brands are mentioning it in their content (linked or unlinked), igniting a push to work harder for SEO and links.
- Builds trust – One thing that unlinked mentions deliver equally to the brand compared to linked mentions; it builds trust. If your website or page content is getting mentioned on other websites, it indicates that other websites have started to accept your website content as a credible source of information. Unlinked brand mentions manage to create an atmosphere of trust for other websites and the visitors of the page where your brand has been mentioned.
Converting unlinked mentions to backlinks
It is a positive sign that your brand is getting unlinked mentions across websites, strengthening your brand image, and users or other website owners are starting to become familiar with the content and website. As much as getting any kind of brand mention is important, working a way forward to convert unlinked mentions to backlinks is necessary to obtain the wholesome benefits of SEO and links. Backlinks let the users reach your website smoothly and go through all the vital information that is there to be offered to them without taking much of their time and manual efforts to type for your website in the search bar to find it. No doubt, unlinked mentions are a critical component for search engine optimization, but compared to linked ones, they are fairly behind, and that is why the need to convert them is there.
How to convert unlinked mentions to linked mentions
Now, we know the worth of SEO and links and the necessity to change the unlinked mentions into backlinks. These are some vital strategies that can be considered when trying to get links in SEO instead of brand mentions.
- Use tools to find them – With an increased amount of unlinked mentions, several tools have been developed by the different trusted brands to find these mentions. These tools (advance search modifiers by Google, content explorer by Aherf, brand monitoring Semrush) can be easily used to locate brand mentions and analyze the critical aspects of not getting a linked mention instead.
- Prepare a pitch – Whenever you find any unlinked mention of your website, approach the other website owner with an appropriate & quality pitch to convince them to insert a backlink of your website in their mention. The other website owners should always know the credibility of your website; this assures them that your page is a good option to associate with and increase their link-building SEO network, benefiting both the websites in Google ranking.
- Create exceptional content – The leading factor in getting brand mentions and backlinks is content. Every website on the search engines likes to mention content that might be useful to their website visitors; they always look for a credible and trustworthy website. If your website content is exceptional, unique, and provides the optimum information to the users, then the chances of acquiring an inbound link rather than just an unlinked mention are very high. Giving a backlink affects not only the search engine ranking of the tagged page but also the website mentioning it because Google gives the highest priority to a good user experience, and the users shouldn’t be directed to a useless and irrelevant backlink destination. So, giving or acquiring a link is a two-way procedure for website optimization, which is why there is so much concern related to giving a backlink; exceptional content makes it easy.
- Increase your website visibility – Increase your website visibility, let the users of the different websites know that there is an XYZ white label SEO company new in the field that offers different services, including link-building SEO service, market research, backlink analysis, SEO analytics, etc., be it any service that your brand offers, just let the different website surfers know by online advertising your website, engaging in guest posting, or commenting on the feedback & comment section giving a website link. In this way, the website’s reach will increase, and the exceptional content that has been created will attract the users, entice them to promote it further, or give backlinks for reference. The increase in website visibility signals that this is a reputed website, so getting backlinks over unlinked mentions becomes easy.
- Use infographics – There are a lot of users who won’t go through the entire content, no matter how exceptional or well-researched it is. A creative infographic that provides the crux of the whole content is very useful for website visitors to get the required information quickly. Therefore, if other websites want to reference your infographic for a particular topic, they won’t just give an unlinked mention because that way, it will be hectic for the users to find the exact infographic destination, but will insert a backlink in the text.
Do we need to seek unlinked mentions?
Unlinked brand mentions are critical for newly formed or growing brands that are way behind their giant competitors. Any mention of these rising brands or websites is equally important as it will act as a base for future growth in the SEO and links sphere of the digital marketing world. Seeking unlinked mentions depends on the stage at which your brand currently stands; for a well-established brand, there may or may not be much effect of unlinked mentions as they have already created an identity.
Conclusion
Both linked and unlinked mentions hold a proportionate amount of worth in SEO and links as both are valuable in shaping your website ranking. The importance both these terms have, varies from company to company. Some may find unlinked mentions more useful than others, depending on the aspirations and goals associated with their brand. One must not jump to a conclusion on what is more important or not; instead, focus on optimizing the unlinked mention into a backlink to add extra value to their website ranking points. Obtaining backlinks requires efficient link-building strategies that can be carried out with the help of a reputed white label SEO agency to reduce the margin of errors. A good white label SEO agency will help link building and perform backlink analysis to eliminate the possibility of obtaining a bad quality backlink. Though it totally depends on the website’s owner whether they need expert help or they are capable of performing it themselves, whatever the situation may be, link building or obtaining linked mentions should be done carefully as its mishandling can take a toll on your website ranking.
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