7 ways to grow brand mentions, a key metric for AI Overviews visibility

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sleek, photo-realistic digital interface floating in a minimal, modern workspace. At the center of the interface, the word 'BRAND' appears in bold, glowing text.

Brand mentions have always mattered, but they’ve become mission-critical for organic visibility in the AI era. 

Brand building should now take priority over keyword-based strategies as your top priority in organic discovery.

Why? Because brand mentions from trusted sources are the top factor for visibility in AI Overviews, per a recent Ahrefs study.

There are basic block-and-tackle ways and more complex, strategic ways to build your portfolio of brand mentions. 

Along with a recommendation to get on your horse and get moving, I’ll break down the most important SEO initiatives driving growth in brand mentions for our clients.

1. Build your local SEO presence

Presumably, anyone reading this has long ago claimed and optimized their Google Business Profile, whether or not you have a brick-and-mortar presence. 

(Although I do find that franchises can forget to set up a profile for each location, consider this your reminder to confirm you’ve claimed them all.)

Otherwise, there are plenty of local platforms to include in your local SEO campaigns, such as: 

  • Local directories.
  • Chamber of Commerce sites.
  • Malls or marketplaces with store listings.

All of these are examples of properties where you can build your local portfolio. 

Dig deeper: AI and local search: The new rules of visibility and ROI in 2025

2. Claim your turf on high-authority review sites

Most industries have some kind of review site that serves as a trusted resource and buying guide. Think Capterra for SaaS or Angi for home-service professionals. 

Research those review sites for your vertical, and proactively claim and optimize your listings. 

If you don’t, someone may start one for you – it happens all the time on Yelp, for instance.

3. Leverage potential third-party entry points 

Many businesses have ICPs within specific types of organizations. 

For instance, let’s say you specialize in throwing the best children’s birthday parties ever. 

A brand mention on a local Make-A-Wish chapter would be an incredible source of awareness and bookings.

Consider all the kinds of organizations that would be providing a service to their end users by listing your business.

Then, explore your options for getting listed on their websites.

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4. Research and submit to niche directories

Particularly for service-based and B2B SaaS organizations, there are perfectly relevant niche directories that would be happy to include your site. 

If you’re a roofer, for instance, don’t settle for a link on Angi or the BBB.

Do your research and submit your site to sites like https://www.roofing-directory.com for inclusion. 

Note: Make sure part of your research can determine whether a site is legit, since AI Overviews and other AI search platforms will likely either ignore or ding you for mentions on junk sites.

5. Build your partner network

One of the most effective and under-leveraged marketing strategies is finding and nurturing great partnerships, and this is true for SEO. 

Think about all the organizations adjacent to your industry that can offer your services as a value-add (and vice versa) without representing any kind of competition.

These partnerships could be companies that:

  • Do more or less what you do, but for a different audience segment (i.e., retail vs. B2B office supplies).
  • Do something different but complementary to what you do (e.g., online event logistics for a company that offers catered in-person experiences).
  • Do something completely separate from what you do, but for an ICP that could benefit from your product or service (i.e., skating rink rentals, for a consortium of private hockey coaches).

This step requires creativity, but the potential benefits (not just in brand mentions but also in referral business) are substantial.

6. Get strategically aggressive with digital PR

Digital PR is a kind of bootstrapped PR initiative you can run without investing in PR providers (more on them in a second). 

The idea is to get placed in third-party publications, whether by getting your experts quoted or linking to a piece of your owned content.

You have several levers for building digital PR momentum, including:

  • Media sourcing platforms like HARO and Qwoted, which are built to connect journalists with expert sources for quotes, commentary, and insights.
  • Your owned media – such as your company’s blog and leadership social accounts – to publish strong POVs that can attract attention from journalists covering relevant topics.
  • Targeted outreach to publications by researching ideal outlets and proactively offering something of tangible value to open a conversation and build relationships.

I’ve seen brands get real traction this way, but it has its limits. 

Your brand may have contacts at industry outlets, but trusted sources with huge, more general user bases (e.g., The Wall Street Journal) are generally outside of a marketing team’s scope and almost never respond to cold outreach.

Dig deeper: Why PR is becoming more essential for AI search visibility

7. Invest in a PR partner

You may have been putting this off because it’s a significant investment, but the impact of PR-fueled brand mentions now carries extra weight. 

PR partners have always been effective for generating backlinks and awareness, and their contacts at top-tier business publications are more valuable than ever for organic visibility.

Unless you have an in-house PR resource who can drop an email to the New York Times or set up a lunch briefing with Forbes, a whole tier of potential brand mentions will remain out of your reach. 

We know this limits the clout you’ll appear to have when AI Overviews factors in which brands to cite for relevant queries.

Boost AI search visibility by growing brand mentions

Brand mentions have always played a meaningful role in SEO – not as spammy backlinks, but as authoritative citations that support E-E-A-T. 

Their outsized influence in AI Overviews is more than just a bonus; it’s a strong signal that brand strength is becoming a defining factor in organic discovery, now and in the near future.

Dig deeper: Want to beat AI Overviews? Produce unmistakably human content