The Truth About Backlinks and AI Search

If you’ve spent years building backlinks, you’ve done the right thing for traditional SEO. But to get your brand consistently recommended by ChatGPT, Gemini, AI Mode, and Claude, backlinks alone aren’t enough.

AI tools aren’t just asking who has the most links. They’re asking who’s being talked about, where, and in what context. That makes web-wide brand mentions one of the most important signals for AI Search visibility.

Tim Cameron-Kitchen breaks down what brand mentions are, the four best ways to earn them, and how to turn it all into a prioritised plan.

You’ll discover:

- Why AI tools don’t always trust what your own website says, and the third-party sources they lean on instead

- How we used digital PR to get our own businesses featured in the likes of The Telegraph, Ideal Home and Hello!, helping take Elite Renewables from around 25 to around 80 leads a week

- How we got ZUGU recommended as the best iPad case in ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews by targeting the publications AI tools were already citing

- The review strategy that helped a U.S. personal injury law firm double its online review count, while staying within review platform guidelines

- How to approach Reddit and online communities without getting downvoted

- A step-by-step walkthrough of using Semrush One to find the websites where your competitors are being mentioned in AI answers and you aren’t

Want to see where your brand stands in AI Search? Request an AI Search Scorecard at https://exposureninja.com/review/ and we’ll show you where your brand stands against your competitors, what they’re doing to win AI visibility, and what you can do to catch up or stay ahead.

Read the full show notes: https://exposureninja.com/podcast/brand-mentions-vs-backlinks/

Sponsored by Semrush. *Try Semrush One* 👉 https://exposureninja.com/semrushone

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Exposure Ninja is an award-winning search marketing agency specialising in AI Search, SEO, and PPC. We grow B2B and B2C brands into industry leaders in search. Proudly B Corp Certified.

Book a consultation call to find out how we can turn your search visibility into more leads and revenue 👉 https://exposureninja.com/Follow Exposure Ninjahttps://linkedin.com/company/exposureninja