The Backlink Arms Race Is Over: Here’s What Google Is Counting Instead

Link building, as you know it, has changed.

If you are still chasing backlinks like it was in 2015, you are already losing.

This might sound dramatic, but the reality is the world of SEO is changing faster than ever.

Ai is rewriting the rules, and things like Google's AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and other large language models are now the gatekeepers of visibility, and they are constantly evolving.

They are deciding who gets seen and who gets left behind.

In this video, I'm going to show you a better way to build authority that actually works in 2026 and beyond.

It's about brand mentions, citations, and the incredible power of digital PR.

Let's go.

Here's what we're going to cover.

First, we'll break down why traditional link building is becoming obsolete.

Then we'll dive into what we call the brand mentions era and how AI uses these mentions to determine who to trust.

Most importantly, we'll give you practical step-by-step strategies that you can implement today and the tools you need to track your success.

So let's get right into it.

So for years, the SEO world has been obsessed with one thing, backlinks.

And the more links you had, the more authority you had in Google's eyes, but the game has changed.

We are now in the era of brand authority.

It's not about the quantity of your links anymore.

It's about the quality of your brand's reputation across the entire web.

A recent massive study by Ahrefs analyzed 75,000 brands to see what factors correlated most with getting featured in Google's AI Overviews.

The results were shocking.

The correlation between traditional backlinks and AI Overview visibility was just 0.

218.

But the combination with brand web mentions, a massive 0.

664.

That's right, brand mentions are now three times more important than backlinks for getting your brand featured in the most valuable real estate on the search.

This is a seismic shift.

Why this change?

It's because Google's AI is now smart enough to understand context without needing a hyperlink.

Its natural language processing and entity recognition capabilities can see your brand name mentioned on a trusted site and understand that it is a vote of confidence.

It's building an understanding of your brand as a real-world entity.

I remember a couple of years ago, before AI became popular, someone had already mentioned that backlinks are getting less and less important.

And here we are.

Think about it this way.

The old way was like counting votes in an election.

The new way is like listening to what trusted experts are saying about you in a conversation.

One is a numbers game, the other is about genuine reputation.

In the age of AI, reputation is everything.

Let's get really clear on what we are talking about.

There are three types of mentions you need to know about.

First, you have your link mentions.

These are your classic backlinks, and yes, they are is still valuable.

A good link from a high-authority website is still a powerful signal.

Second, you have unlinked mentions.

These are simply your brand name, your product name, or even your CEO's name mentioned on a website without a hyperlink.

This is where the game has changed.

A study conducted by Editorial.

Link, which is a digital PR and link building agency, surveyed 518 SEO professionals, which comprises of in-house experts, freelancers, and agencies, I found that a staggering 80.

9% of SEO experts believe that a link mention directly affect organic search rankings.

If you think about the reason, it is rather clear.

Brand mentions are much harder to manipulate.

They are a natural organic signal of your brand's authority.

It's a real-world proof that people are talking about you.

And third, you have AI mentions.

An AI mention is when your brand is cited as a source or a recommendation within an AI generator answer, like a Google AI overview or a ChatGPT response.

Just look at the company Zapier.

They don't always have the most backlinks, but their content is so helpful that they are mentioned so frequently across the web that they have become a top brand for LLM citations.

They build their authority through content and mentions, not just links.

Remember that AHREF study?

It found that brands in the top quartile for web mentions get 10 times more AI overview citations. Ten times.

This is the power of building a brand that people talk about.

So if brand mentions are the new currency of authority, how do you earn them?

The answer is digital PR.

Digital PR is no longer a nice to have.

It's the core engine of SEO success in 2026 and beyond.

And again, the data is crystal clear.

A long-term case study by the agency Digital Loft followed five brands for two years, and the results of their consistent strategic digital PR efforts, an average growth of 124% in monthly organic sessions.

That's not a small jump.

That's more than doubling your traffic just by focusing on earning high-quality brand authority.

So this isn't just about sending out a press release and hoping for the best.

It's about strategically creating stories and assets that journalists and bloggers want to cover.

It's about earning high authority mentions that build real lasting brand recognition.

This is why the global PR market is projected to hit over 133 billion by 2027.

The smartest companies are shifting their budget from old-school link building to modern brand building.

They are investing in digital PR because it creates the raw material that the AI models use to decide who is a trusted source.

Let's talk more about the new SEO battleground.

As we know, AI overviews are appearing for about 30% of all searches.

But for problem solving queries, the questions your customers are asking, that number has reached 74%.

This is creating a new reality of zero-click searches where users get their answer directly from the AI, questioning the AI mode, and getting the answers they need without ever clicking on a website.

If your brand is not being cited in that answer, you are invisible.

This creates a new measurement we need to track, which is how often does the AI mention your brand versus your competitors?

When someone ask ChatGPT or Google AI a question in your industry, Is it recommending you or is it recommending someone else?

There are tools like Semrush or Ahrefs that tracks the mention, and we at Rank Math are developing something as well.

If you want to get notified when our tool is out, do subscribe to us.

But anyway, what are these LLMs looking for?

They are looking for the prevalence of your brand name across the web.

They are looking for co-occurrence, meaning is your brand mentioned alongside other authority sources?

They are analyzing the context and the sentiment of those mentions.

The AI is doing research for the user, and while this means fewer clicks overall, the traffic you do get is incredibly valuable.

In fact, some estimates show that the refer traffic from an LLM is worth 4.

4 times more than traditional organic traffic because the user's intent is so high.

They have already been told by the AI that you are the answer.

Personally, when I was looking for a confidence-building course for my kids, I rely on Google's AI mode, and it led me to my decision fast.

And that is the direction SEO is going towards.

So without further ado, let's get into the step-by-step strategies you can use to start earning brand mentions and building your authority.

Okay, theory is great, but you're here for action.

So let's get into the step-by-step strategies you can use to start earning brand mentions and building your authority today.

This is the foundation.

You have to create content that is so valuable and newsworthy that journalists want to cover it.

But how do you come up with the ideas?

First, use a framework called Spheres of Relevance.

Think about your brand.

For us at Rank Math, our core is SEO, but we have different spheres of relevance around that core.

Small business owners, bloggers, e-commerce stores, developers. Each

sphere is a gold mine for campaign ideas.

For example, you could create a study on how e-commerce stores are using AI in SEO or the biggest SEO mistakes bloggers make.

See how that works?

You are connecting your brand to a relevant audience with a specific interesting angle.

Once you have your angle, it's time to create the asset.

One of the most powerful ways to do this is with data-driven content.

But not just any data.

You need a compelling story.

A bad example is this.

What percentage of businesses use SEO?

This is too broad and we know the stats already.

It's not enticing and doesn't seem like anything new.

A good example would be, nearly half of new e-commerce stores, admit they ignore SEO for the first six months.

This is surprising, specific, and relatable to e-commerce stores.

That second headline is a story a journalist can run with.

But before you spend a single cent on a campaign, run your idea through a simple checklist. This is the most important thing.

Ask yourself, why should anyone care?

What unique information does this provide?

And most importantly, is this page promotional?

Because believe it or not, no journalist will talk about a page if it is promotional.

Your content has to provide genuine value.

If you need more examples of enticing headlines that journalists will run with, check out Search Engine Journal's webinar page.

Most of the titles here check everything we have talked about.

From here, you can apply it to your business or industry.

Before you spend a single cent, it's always good to do a self-check to improve your chances of succeeding.

This is about being strategic.

You want to create campaigns that can win both brand mentions and backlinks.

To create data-driven content that gets attention, you can use either one of the factors I'll be talking about to create either surveys to get information from the general public or collect data from official sources.

First is generational gaps.

Let's say that you are a local air conditioning servicing company.

Using generational gaps as a basis, you can ask the general public questions like, do you run your AC when you are not home?

What temperature do you keep your home at?

Have you ever slept without AC to save money?

Do you use smart thermostats?

When you get the data, you can create content with headlines like Gen Z homeowners keep their homes 5 degrees warmer than boomers to save money, assuming that is true.

This works because it creates generational debate, relatable, and ties to current economic concerns.

The second factor is regional rankings.

For example, the neighborhoods in Phoenix with the highest AC bills.

You will collect data like average AC repair cost by zip code, most common AC problems by neighborhood, energy consumption patterns across the city, and neighborhoods with oldest HVAC systems. From this data, you can create content with a headline such as, These Five Phoenix Neighborhoods Spend $500 more per year on AC bills.

Why this works is because the headline prompts hyper local content.

It creates neighborhood pride and concern, and it is easy for local news to cover.

The third factor is emotional confessions.

You could collect data through surveys like, what's the longest you have gone without AC before calling for help?

Have you ever tried fixing it yourself and made it worse?

What's the most desperate thing you have done to stay cool?

And your content headline could be, one in three Phoenix homeowners amid they sleep in their car when AC breaks during heatwave.

This works because it reveals surprising relatable human behavior, visual and emotional.

The fourth factor is tech anxiety.

You can start with an initial idea of finding out how comfortable are homeowners with AI-powered HVAC systems. You could survey locals with questions like, would you trust an AI to automatically adjust your home temperature?

Are you concerned about smart thermostats collecting data?

Would you let an AI diagnose AC problems remotely?

Do you prefer human technicians or automated systems. From here, you can create content headlines like, 67% of Phoenix homeowners don't trust AI to control their home cooling.

This works because it taps into current tech anxiety relevant to smart home trends.

Finally, the financial behaviors.

You can start with an idea of finding what homeowners regret most about their HVAC decisions and ask survey questions like, did you skip annual maintenance to save money?

Have you delayed repairs that became more expensive?

Did you choose the cheapest contractor and regret it?

What HVAC expense caught your off guard?

When you get the data, you could create content with headlines like, skipping $99 AC maintenance, cost Phoenix homeowners an average of 1,200 in emergency see repairs.

So even if you are a small player in the market, when the newsrooms, other related blogs, and content creators start referencing your data, your company will become an authority in your local area.

So tapping into either one of these factors to create data-driven content and headlines can improve your chances of getting featured by local journalists alike.

So you have created an amazing mentionable asset.

Now, how do you get it in front of the right people?

This is where media outreach comes in, and there are two powerful ways to do it, the proactive hunt and the reactive fish.

First, let's talk about the proactive hunt.

This is where you take your story and pitch it to journalists, but you can't spray and pray.

You need to be a sniper.

Before you email anyone, ask these three questions.

Specialty, location, and history.

What is their specialty?

Does this journalist actually cover your topic?

Don't pitch a tech story to a sports reporter.

Two, what is their location?

If you've local data like the most SEO-savvy cities in America, pitch it to local journalists in those cities.

They love local stories.

Three, what is their history?

Do they actually write about data and surveys?

A quick search on their publications website will tell you.

Use tools like Muckrack or Buzzsumo to find perfect journalists who are really looking for stories just like yours.

That's the hunt, but you also need to fish.

This is where services called Haro or Help A Reporter Out comes in.

It's a free platform that sends you daily media queries from journalists at major publications like Forbes, Business Insider, and the New York Times.

They are already writing a story, and they need an expert quote from these industries.

And that expert is you if you position yourself as an expert on their platform.

For example, a journalist might post something like this, asking for small businesses or blogging experts for their experience.

You spend 15 minutes writing a killer response with your best advice according to their requirements, and there you get a brand mention, and often a backlink in a major publication, if the reporter chooses your response.

This is the perfect complementary strategy.

The proactive hunt is for your big campaign-driven stories.

Haro is for distant daily opportunities to build your authority.

You hunt for big wins, and you fish for a steady stream of mentions.

You need to be tracking every time your brand is mentioned online.

You can use tools like Google Alerts, Brand24, or Semrush brand mentioning tool.

For example, you could go to Google Alerts, and let's say that we want to track our brand.

We can create an alert about Rank Math.

Remember to add a quote.

Otherwise, you'll be notified of all content that includes Rank or Math, which is not what we want.

You will click on this to create the alert, and we can add Rank Math SEO as well.

Every time a piece of content online includes your brand name, you will be notified via email.

And when you find high value unlinked mention on an authoritative site, you reach out.

Send a polite, personalized email to the author.

Thank them for the mention and gently suggest adding a link will be helpful for their readers to learn more.

This is called link reclamation, and it is a powerful way to turn a great signal into an even better one.

Firstly, I recommend that you turn every single blog post you have to look like a landing page and write your paragraphs that link relevant entities with meaning.

We have talked about in detail in this video right here.

If you want to understand exactly what I mean, you can check it out.

We have left link in the description.

Secondly, you want to help Google and other AI models understand who you are as a brand.

Make sure that your brand has a presence on platforms like Wikipedia and CrunchBase.

Keep your name, address, and phone number consistent everywhere.

Keeping your business details up to date and having your content entity reach can help search engines and AI models understand your brand better.

This is a powerful signal that many people overlook.

When people are searching for your brand name directly, it tells Google that you are a trusted, recognized entity.

But how do you get people to do that?

First, you create content that solves problems with your product.

But the real secret is to run ads that prompt branded searches.

Look at these two brilliant examples, starting with Agoda.

They are training you to stop searching for cheap flights and start searching for a Agoda cheap flights.

They are engineering specific search behavior to bypass their competitors.

One. Com does it differently.

Let's take a look.

They all thought I was choking when my bird call website went live.

My name is Yusuf, and I made a bird call instrument for the Whoopers Warn.

I make bird calls for quite a lot of birds, and I noticed that I couldn't do the Whoopers Swan call myself, so I had to make an instrument.

Being in contact with nature is important to me, so I made a website with my sounds.

Then, Eino found it.

Now we're making Whoopers Swan music for everyone.

Eino is my best.

He's a good guy.

They tell a quirky, memorable story about a man who makes a website for swan sounds.

It's so unique that when you later think, I need to make a website, you remember the Swan guy and search for make a website with one.

Com.

Both ads have the same goal, to get you to search for their brand name plus a keyword.

This is a powerful way to build brand authority and capture high intent traffic.

Think about how you can create ads that don't just sell, but also train your audience to search for you.

So These are the strategies to grow your influence in this zero-click search environment.

Do you have any other digital PR strategies I have not discussed?

Do let me know in the comments down below, and don't forget to smash that thumbs up.

Our channel is all about helping you grow your brand traffic, and if you haven't subscribed to us yet, consider doing so.

This is Jack from Rank Math.

I'll see you in the next video.