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Why A Mobile Measurement Partner (MMP) Is Crucial In A Privacy-First Mobile Ecosystem 

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The app marketing space is hugely competitive, and at the same time, data privacy has become the defining challenge for marketers. From Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) to Google’s Privacy Sandbox, user-level tracking is harder than ever. To stay competitive, you need partners that give you visibility while keeping you compliant. Among these, one of your most important allies is your Mobile Measurement Partner (MMP). MMPS play a central role in any app’s marketing strategy, both for user acquisition and retention. 
 

Key Takeaways

  • MMPs unify your data: They consolidate insights across paid, owned, and earned channels in one dashboard. 
  • True performance visibility: Go beyond just installs by tracking cost per impression, click, install, and deeper engagement metrics.
  • Better budget allocation: Identify which channels deliver real value and optimise spend accordingly. 
  • Unlock user insights: In-app event tracking shows not just where users come from, but what they do after downloading. 
  • Essential for privacy-first marketing: MMPs help navigate iOS privacy changes and ensure accurate measurement. 
  • Stay scalable: They simplify your tech stack, replacing multiple SDKs with a single, integrated solution. 
     

What is an MMP?

App marketers typically run user acquisition (UA) campaigns across multiple platforms and channels, including: 

  • Paid – Meta, Google, Snapchat, TikTok, Apple Search Ads, etc. 
  • Owned – Website, blog, email 
  • Earned – App reviews in independent magazines and review sites 
Search Ads on Apple.

Source: Apple Search Ads  
 

All this activity should lead to people downloading and installing your app, all of which is great, but also meaningless if you can’t track which activity generated each download. And in today’s privacy-first ecosystem, that visibility is harder to achieve than ever. With Apple and Google limiting user-level tracking, attribution can feel like a black-box.  

An MMP helps you cut through the complexity by attributing, collecting, and organizing app data in a privacy-first way, delivering a unified view of campaign performance across channels, media sources, and ad networks. It gives you this visibility of which channels are performing, and which aren’t.  

For each channel, it will deliver metrics such as: 

  • Cost per impression 
  • Cost per click 
  • Cost per install 
  • Cost per acquisition 

These insights enable you to optimise your marketing spend towards the best-performing channels so that you can scale up your UA activities most efficiently. This is particularly important when you consider that app user acquisition costs have increased by 60% in the last five years, reaching an average of $29 per user in 2024, according to research from SimplicityDX, reported by Business of Apps. Understanding where your budget delivers the best results is essential for staying competitive.  

But it doesn’t stop at downloads. The data MMPs generate enables you to dig deeper into the value of each install by looking at what happens “down-funnel” by setting up in-app events. 
 

Use In-App Events to Generate Valuable Insights from your MMP 

In-app events allow you to track what users do in the app after installing it. Each event is a key conversion point in the user’s journey through the app. They will differ depending on the type of app, but will typically include things like: 

  • User registration 
  • Newsletter sign up
  • Clicks on a push notification 
  • Makes a purchase  
  • Join your loyalty program 

You can set up the in-app events that are most relevant to your app and most useful in understanding the value of each user. Your MMP then enables you to track these back to where the install came from. This might reveal, for example, that Meta generates twice as many installs as Apple Search Ads, but that the users who install after clicking on an Apple Search Ads spend three times more in the app than those who came in via Meta.  
 

A graphic showing the value of different channels.

Simplified Reporting in one Dashboard

An MMP delivers all these insights in one unified dashboard, across all the platforms you use to find new users. It’s a far easier way to get a consolidated, real-time view of what’s happening. Even if you’re only active in one or two channels, the insights an MMP delivers into things like Customer Lifetime Value, churn, and conversion against the in-app events you set up far exceed what each platform will typically offer in terms of reporting. 

An MMP dashboard.

The Benefits of Using an MMP

In summary, the key benefits of using an MMP are: 

  • Unified reporting across all platforms in one dashboard 
  • Granular insights into cost per impression/click/install, customer lifetime value, churn, conversion in in-app events 
  • Insights that enable you to optimise your marketing spend and better allocate your budget. 
     

Why Skipping an MMP is a Risky Move

Falling Behind in Privacy Compliance 
With iOS privacy updates transforming the landscape, MMPs are critical for adapting to new tracking systems and ensuring accurate data collection. They provide the agility needed to stay ahead in a rapidly changing privacy environment. 

Misleading Performance Data 
Without an MMP, you’re forced to rely on self-attribution from platforms like Google, which often overinflate their numbers. We’ve seen examples of platforms over-reporting key metrics like installs, leading to inaccurate performance insights. This kind of misreporting can lead to budget misallocation and misguided strategy decisions. 

Missing out on Critical Insights 
MMPs allow you to measure and optimise performance beyond just installs, providing a more comprehensive view of user behavior and value. Leveraging MMP data can reveal that a lower CPI doesn’t always translate to higher-quality users. By analyzing the relationship between CPI and downstream metrics like trial start rates, marketers can refine their bidding strategies to drive better results. Without an MMP, such nuanced insights, and the resulting optimizations, wouldn’t have been possible. 
 

Overcomplicating your Tech Stack 
Skipping an MMP requires integrating multiple SDKs, such as Meta, which not only complicates the setup but also raises significant data and privacy concerns. 
 
 

Setting up your MMP for Success: Best Practices 

Most of the main MMP providers will have integrations across your tech stack, but this is a point worth checking with them when you are assessing providers. If the MMP is integrated across your tech stack, it will be easier to set everything up and gain the insights that will feed your app’s success. For example, if you have already set up in-app events in an in-app analytics tool such as Mixpanel, these can be carried across to the MMP platform to avoid duplicating effort. 
 

1. Define the In-App Events to Optimize Towards

The first step to maximizing the investment in your MMP is to define the in-app events you want to track. The chosen events should reflect meaningful interactions that signal user engagement or progression toward higher-value actions. It’s vital to define these events, not only to monitor when and how frequently they occur, but also to optimise your user acquisition campaigns to align with each funnel stage. Once the user completes an event, i.e.., installs or registers, the point of optimization within the campaigns may change to encouraging conversion to purchase, for example. 
 

2. How many In-App Events should I Track?

It’s not possible, or even desirable, to track everything that happens in your app. We normally recommend around 5-10 in-app events. These should be the key points you want users to convert against, and the ones you can optimise your campaigns towards. Events should describe an action a user takes and should be a combination of a verb and noun, for example: 
 

  • Registration Completed 
  • Watched Video 
  • Product Page Viewed 
  • Purchase Completed 
  • Subscription Purchase Completed 
     

Event names should be easy to read and not overly descriptive. Upper/lower casing is supported, and it is recommended that the verb should be in the past tense (see the example below). 

Top Events Charts.

 
Once you have defined the in-app events, create a tracking plan that details the naming convention for each event (e.g. subscription purchase completed); the point where it triggers (once a user selects the ‘confirm payment’ button on the billing page); and any parameters that provide more detail on that event (e.g., ‘monthly’, signaling that it is the monthly subscription they’ve purchased), then pass that onto your developers to in build as part of the SDK setup. Now you’re ready for testing. 
 

3. Test Everything to Ensure Success

Testing is vital to ensure that your app behaves as it should and that the in-app events are triggered correctly. Once the in-app events are set up, set up an app testing account to simulate the potential user journey and ensure the events show within the MMP testing environment. Use this account to complete each in-app event, ensuring that: 

  1. The events are triggered at the appropriate points 
  1. The tracking is functioning properly 
  1. The data returned is accurate and reliable. 
     

How to Choose the Right MMP to Boost your App’s Growth

A graphic showing how to choose the right MMP.

Choosing the right MMP to work with is all about finding one that is best aligned with your needs and expectations. Choosing the best mobile attribution platform is a detailed process, but essentially this breaks down into four key areas: 
 

  1. Cost and scalability – When allocating your budget for an MMP, you need to look at the bigger picture. As you expand your marketing efforts using an MMP, the associated costs are likely to rise, not just from increased spending on channels but also due to the higher volume of reported conversions within the platform. Remember to evaluate these costs and ensure they remain within your budget as your campaigns grow. 
  1. Functionality – Ask yourself, does the MMP do everything you need it to do? For example, does it provide a holistic view across multiple traffic sources and in terms of the granularity of data you require to understand each channel’s performance? Or, can it show you how much it’s costing you to acquire a click and a conversion? 
  1. Support level provided – Are you looking/able to run everything on the MMP platform yourself, or do you need the support of a managed service? Consider the level of support the MMP offers, especially for troubleshooting setup challenges or addressing questions about the data displayed in the platform.   
  1. Tech stack integration – Consider what level of integration the MMP offers with your existing tech stack, including in-app analytics tools, CRM tools, and DMPs (Data Management Platforms), and any other tools that you rely on to market and sustain your app. 
     

Final Word: Making the Smart Choice

Even the best app needs a constant influx of new users to replace those who churn and deeper engagement with loyal users. Your MMP is key to achieving this, offering a unified view of marketing performance across platforms. It reveals how many installs each platform drives, their cost, and long-term value. Without an MMP, you’re marketing blind as ASO’s future rapidly evolves. 

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Google adds ROI insights to Meridian marketing mix model

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Google is enhancing Meridian, its open-source Marketing Mix Model (MMM), to help marketers make smarter, more precise budget decisions.

Why we care. Understanding ROI across channels is increasingly critical. These new Meridian updates allow for a more precise understanding of what drives sales, factoring in both media spend and non-media variables like pricing and promotions.

The big picture. Here’s what’s new:

  • Non-media variables: Marketers can now include pricing, promotions, and other business levers to measure their impact on sales more accurately.
  • Channel-level contribution priors: New features let you guide the MMM with your own business knowledge, improving the relevance of insights.
  • Longer-term effects: Enhanced binomial adstock decay functions track how upper-funnel media influences purchases weeks later.
  • Optimized spending: Marginal ROI (mROI) priors help pinpoint where the next dollar delivers the highest return, using past campaign performance.

Support and community. Meridian now has 30 certified global partners and an active Discord community, offering guidance to deploy the tool effectively and translate insights into business growth.

The bottom line: These updates aim to transform Meridian from a measurement tool to a strategic partner for budget allocation. This means Meridian can help marketers optimize spend across immediate conversions and longer-term brand impact.

Read more at Read More

Thriving in AI search starts with SEO fundamentals

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Thriving in AI search starts with SEO fundamentals

The history of search offers clues about where we’re headed in the AI era – but there’s more to learn and more to do to move forward with practical steps.

AI changes the way people search. Instead of short queries that once required digging through blended results, users can now ask complex questions and get direct answers.

Much of the work to optimize for AI, though, overlaps with what SEO professionals have been doing for years. Our community is already adapting and well-positioned to take on this shift.

This article outlines practical steps to navigate the evolving landscape.

SEO, AEO, GEO: Defining the new terms

Before diving in, it’s worth addressing the terminology. It’s still new, and no single label has fully crystallized for this AI layer on top of SEO.

Two terms have gained traction:

  • AEO (answer engine optimization), which focuses on optimizing content so it’s chosen as the answer in AI-driven results like Google’s AI Overviews.
  • GEO (generative engine optimization), which describes a broader approach across generative AI platforms.

Neither feels perfect. AEO is a bit clunky, and GEO risks confusion with geography and local search. 

Still, these are the terms currently in use. For simplicity, I’ll use GEO in this article.

Dig deeper: The origins of SEO and what they mean for GEO and AIO

How GEO extends SEO

While tools like ChatGPT are undoubtedly cool – and early adopters, myself included, are spending a lot of time tinkering – the broader story is different.

For most people, AI will matter less as a standalone tool and more through its integration into phones, web browsers, and search engines.

GEO is a new layer that sits above SEO.

Often, tools like ChatGPT will search and compile information.

These tools provide a layer of abstraction and do much of the grunt work.

They still scan the digital world and then collate that information to simplify things for the user, while search engines like Google continue to provide the best overall digital map of the world.

If traditional SEO was about matching keywords, AEO is about being the best answer – and the easiest to integrate into an AI response.

GEO: Strategic foundations 

There’s no firm consensus on GEO tactics, but most of what’s recommended is simply good SEO.

That said, tactics that lost ground in the zero-click landscape may regain utility in AI Mode, where the AI does the deep dive and collates information for users.

Here are some basic strategic foundations to put in place to set yourself up for visibility in AI tools.

1. Focus on your customers

I’ve long championed bringing traditional marketing thinking into SEO, and GEO is the natural evolution of that approach.

Know your audience. Create personas, gather feedback, and define their goals, pain points, and the jobs they rely on your product or service to support.

Customer insight is key to building a customer-first strategy that helps you stand out in the age of AI.

2. Real expertise wins

The web is full of derivative content that does little to stand out. This creates a problem for AI. 

Model collapse happens when AI keeps training on AI-generated content without new signals, leading to increasingly stale and inaccurate results.

The solution is what humans are still best at – fresh insights from: 

  • Interviews.
  • Original research.
  • Proprietary data

These provide AI with something new – and worth citing.

That’s an opportunity. Have a voice, and bring something original to the table.

Frameworks like the Value Proposition Framework and SCAMPER can also support your SEO content marketing process here. 

3. Branding is key

Homepage traffic is up as a result of mentions in AI tools.

Recent studies show engagement from AI-driven traffic may even surpass organic, long the gold standard for user engagement.

Make sure your branding is strong. 

Create unique names for your products and services so they’re easy to reference in AI tools and simple for users to search.

Get the newsletter search marketers rely on.

See terms.

4. Your website is important

Your website remains critical in the age of AI.

Anything you publish will likely drive brand searches and send people to your site. 

Structure it so visitors landing on your homepage can quickly explore and find more detail.

Dive into your customers’ wants, needs, and pain points – and answer the questions that matter most to them.

The ALCHEMY website planning framework can help guide this work.

5. Conversational content works

Think beyond static blog posts. Consider:

  • FAQs that are detailed and rooted in customer insight.
  • Step-by-step explainers.
  • Long-form guides that anticipate follow-up questions.

Structure your content to cover all your customers’ questions and concerns. 

Remember, many will turn to AI to learn more about you.

6. Beyond Google

Gen Z already uses TikTok and Instagram as search engines. 

YouTube remains the second-biggest search platform globally. 

AI-powered tools are simply the next step in the ongoing fragmentation of upper-funnel discovery.

Your approach should be to diversify your content so it surfaces wherever people look:

  • Your own website.
  • Third-party sites and industry publications.
  • Social platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
  • Search engines such as Google and Perplexity.
  • Video and professional platforms like YouTube and LinkedIn.

Think of modern AI SEO as search everywhere optimization.

Dig deeper: What’s next for SEO in the generative AI era

What to do next: Practical steps for marketers

AI is helping people research and make purchase decisions. Your role is to be part of the discussion.

Modern SEOs are in good shape – much of what AI requires builds on the strategic SEO work we already do.

Add in some PR, social media, and content creation (which often sit under the SEO umbrella), and you’re well on your way to a functional GEO strategy.

Getting started is crucial. To stay ahead:

  • Create content worth quoting: Write the piece an AI (or a human journalist) would want to reference. That means clear answers, evidence, original insights, and a point of view – not filler.
  • Anticipate the full conversation: Don’t just answer the first question – answer the follow-ups, too. If someone asks, “How does AI change SEO?” they’ll also want to know, “What should I do about it?” Build that into your content.
  • Structure for machines and humans: Use headings, lists, FAQs, and concise summaries to help AI parse your work. But don’t forget the narrative depth that keeps people reading.
  • Diversify your discovery footprint: Don’t rely on Google alone. Research your audience, understand their hangouts, and publish in the formats and places where they ask questions today: LinkedIn, YouTube, podcasts,and industry forums. AI tools crawl all of it.
  • Focus on authority signals: Show the human behind the content. Add author bios, cite sources, and link to your work elsewhere. AI engines, like search engines before them, lean on trust and authority.
  • Experiment, measure, refine: Try different formats, test and measure how your content shows up in AI summaries, track brand mentions, and adapt. SEO has always been iterative – this new era is no different.

The opportunity in the chaos

As SEO evolves into GEO – or whatever it may end up being called – this really is the best approach.

There’s no doubt a lot of change is happening. 

But much of it is part of the same gradual evolution we’ve seen before, where clicks declined and Google started answering questions directly.

AI now makes it even easier for customers to find the information they’re looking for. 

They may not read it on your site – at least not initially – but the AI will, and that’s the point.

Another strength we have as SEOs is that change is constant. 

If you’ve been in SEO for any length of time, you’ve lived through Panda, Penguin, Mobilegeddon, BERT, helpful content updates – the list is long (and may cause PTSD for many of us).

The key is to treat this as the next evolution. AI is being integrated into search, and it will likely become the way the masses adopt the technology.

Don’t see this as the death of SEO. 

Instead, view SEO and AI (or GEO/AEO, etc.) as close, contributing partners, and evolve your plan to match the changing landscape.

Your job as a marketer is to feed these tools the information they need to point customers to you and your clients.

This shift will likely mean fewer short-term manipulations and tactical opportunities – but better results for businesses that do the basics well. 

At its core, good SEO/GEO is just good marketing: understanding your customers, meeting their needs, and communicating clearly.

Amid the chaos lies opportunity. For those willing to embrace the challenge, experiment with new tools, and keep going.

That’s what we’ve always done as SEOs, which is why we’re best positioned to embrace this new world.

Dig deeper: SEO at a crossroads: 9 experts on how AI is changing everything

Read more at Read More

AI Max in action: What early case studies and a new analysis script reveal

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AI Max testing

Google’s AI Max for Search campaigns is changing how we run search ads. 

Launched in private beta as Search Max, the feature began rolling out globally in late May, with full availability expected by early Q3 2025. 

But will AI Max actually drive incremental growth or simply take credit for conversions your existing setup would have captured anyway? 

This article:

  • Breaks down the key metrics to track in AI Max.
  • Shares early results from travel, fashion, and B2B accounts.
  • Includes a Google Ads script to make analysis faster and easier.

Understanding AI Max

Think of AI Max as Google combining the best parts of Dynamic Search Ads and Performance Max into regular search campaigns. 

It does not replace your keywords. Instead, it works alongside them to find more people who want what you’re selling.

AI Max does three main things.

  • Finding new search terms your keywords might miss, using search term matching.
  • Writing new ad headlines and descriptions that match what people are actually searching for.
  • Sending people to the best page on your website instead of just the one you picked.

The real game changer came in July 2025, when Google began showing AI Max as its own match type in reports. 

Before this, figuring out what AI Max was doing felt like looking into a black box. 

Now, we can finally see the data and make smarter decisions.

Evaluating AI Max: Metrics that matter

When you’re looking at AI Max performance, start with the basics. 

Open your search term tab and look for the Search terms and landing pages from AI Max option. 

This lets you see AI Max results separately from your exact match, phrase match, and broad match keywords.

Compare conversion share and budget share

The first thing to check is how many conversions come from AI Max versus your regular keywords. 

If AI Max is bringing in 30% of your conversions but eating up 60% of your budget, you know something needs attention. 

Look at the cost per conversion, too. 

AI Max might cost more at first, but that’s normal while Google learns what works for your business.

Look beyond cost – focus on conversion rates

Don’t just focus on the cost. Pay attention to conversion rates. 

AI Max often finds people who are ready to buy but use different words than you expected. These new search terms can be gold mines if you spot the patterns.

One of AI Max’s biggest benefits is finding search terms you never thought to target. 

Look at your search terms report and filter for AI Max queries. You’ll probably see some surprises.

Let’s say you sell running shoes and target “best running shoes.” AI Max might show your ads for “comfortable jogging sneakers” or “shoes for morning runs.” 

These are people who want the same thing but use different words. The smart move is to add these high-performing terms to your regular keyword lists.

Identify irrelevant traffic 

If you’re getting clicks from people searching for “cheap shoes” when you sell premium products, add “cheap” as a negative keyword. 

AI Max respects negative keywords, so use them to guide the system toward higher-quality queries.

Dig deeper: Google’s AI Max for Search: What 30 days of testing reveal

Tracking the learning process

Every AI system needs time to learn, and AI Max is no different. 

Plan for a learning phase

The first few weeks often look expensive because Google is still figuring out what works. Don’t panic if your costs jump initially.

Track your performance daily during the first month

As AI Max learns your patterns, you should see costs stabilize and conversion rates improve. If things keep getting worse after three weeks, then it’s time to make changes.

Keep an eye on the types of search terms AI Max finds over time

Early on, you might see lots of random queries. As the system learns, the terms should become more relevant to your business goals.

Get the newsletter search marketers rely on.

See terms.

When things go wrong

The biggest mistake people make is changing too much, too fast. 

AI Max needs data to work properly, and constantly adjusting things prevents the system from learning.

That said, some problems need quick fixes. 

  • If AI Max is spending money on completely irrelevant searches, add negative keywords immediately. 
  • If the AI creates ads that violate your brand guidelines, remove those assets right away.

Watch your overall account performance, not just AI Max numbers. 

Sometimes, AI Max might look expensive on its own, but it actually helps your other campaigns perform better by capturing different types of traffic.

Planning for the future

AI Max is still evolving, and Google keeps adding new features. 

To adapt:

  • Build reporting systems that can grow with these changes. 
  • Set up automated reports for the metrics that matter most to your business.
  • Don’t try to control everything. 

The businesses seeing the best results from AI Max are the ones that:

  • Set clear goals.
  • Provide good data.
  • Let the system do its job. 

Your role shifts from managing keywords to managing strategy.

Start testing AI Max on a small scale if you’re nervous about it. For example:

  • Create one campaign with AI Max enabled and compare it to your existing campaigns.
  • Run an AI Max for Search campaign experiment and let Google evaluate if the experiment is statistically valid. 

Once you see how it works for your specific business, you can decide whether to expand.

Case studies: AI Max in action

These are early results from a limited data set and shouldn’t be viewed as statistically significant. 

I’m sharing them to illustrate what I’ve seen so far – but the sample size is small and the timeframe short. Take these numbers with caution.

Case 1: Tourism and travel

This advertiser already had a solid search setup and was seeing good results. 

Growth, however, was difficult because of heavy competition and the fact that strong keywords were already in play within a modern search structure.

Match type Avg. CPC (€) CVR (%)
AI Max €0.11 1.47%
Broad match €0.09 3.79%
Exact match €0.53 9.00%
Exact match (close variant) €0.22 7.11%
Phrase match €0.16 6.25%
Phrase match (close variant) €0.11 3.27%

AI Max generated additional conversions, but relative to the existing setup the impact was limited. 

The conversion rate was much lower than other match types. 

Because the average CPC was low, there was no cost spike, but performance still lagged.

Broad match – also known for surfacing broader, newer queries – had an even lower CPC (€0.09) and a conversion rate more than twice that of AI Max. 

In this account, AI Max’s contribution was minor.

Search term overlap analysis showed AI Max had a 22.5% overlap rate, meaning 77.5% of queries were new to the campaign. 

That’s a fairly good sign in terms of query discovery.

Case 2: Fashion ecommerce

This account focused on women’s clothing and already had a well-optimized campaign. 

The goal was to expand reach during the competitive holiday season, when exact match keywords became increasingly expensive.

Match type Avg. CPC (€) CVR (%)
AI Max €0.08 2.15%
Broad match €0.12 2.89%
Exact match €0.67 8.45%
Exact match (close variant) €0.28 6.78%
Phrase match €0.19 5.92%
Phrase match (close variant) €0.14 4.11%

AI Max performed well here, delivering the lowest CPC at €0.08 and a respectable 2.15% conversion rate. 

Although conversion rates were lower than exact and phrase match, the cheaper clicks kept cost per acquisition competitive. 

AI Max also captured fashion-related long-tail searches and seasonal queries that the existing keyword set had missed.

Notably, AI Max outperformed broad match with both lower costs and better conversion rates. 

This suggests its ability to better understand product context and user intent – especially important in fashion, where search terminology is diverse.

Search term overlap analysis showed only an 18.7% overlap rate, meaning 81.3% of queries were completely new. 

That level of query discovery was valuable for extending reach in a highly competitive market.

Case 3: B2B SaaS

This account promoted project management software and had a mature strategy focused on high-intent keywords. 

Conversion tracking was strong, measuring both MQLs and SQLs. 

The client wanted to test AI Max for additional lead generation opportunities.

Match type Avg. CPC (€) CVR (%)
AI Max €0.89 0.76%
Broad match €0.72 1.23%
Exact match €1.84 4.67%
Exact match (close variant) €1.22 3.91%
Phrase match €1.05 3.44%
Phrase match (close variant) €0.94 2.88%

In this case, AI Max struggled. Despite a reasonable CPC of €0.89, the conversion rate was just 0.76%. 

That pushed CPA well above the client’s target, making AI Max the worst-performing match type in the account. 

It tended to capture too many informational searches from users not yet ready to convert.

Even broad match, typically associated with lower-intent traffic, outperformed AI Max with a 1.23% conversion rate at a lower CPC. 

The complexity of the B2B buying cycle favored exact and phrase match keywords over AI Max’s broader interpretation.

Search term overlap analysis showed a 31.4% overlap rate, leaving 68.6% of queries as new. 

However, these were mostly low-intent informational searches that didn’t align with SQL goals – underscoring the importance of high-quality conversion tracking when evaluating AI Max.

Wider industry sentiment

Advertiser feedback so far mirrors these mixed results. 

In a recent poll by Adriaan Dekker, more than 50% of respondents reported neutral outcomes from AI Max, while 16% saw good results and 28% reported poor performance.

Tips to analyze AI Max search terms

You can analyze AI Max queries in Google Sheets using a few simple formulas. If your search term report has the term in column A and match type in column B:

  • To check whether a search term appears in both AI Max and another match type:

=IF(AND(COUNTIFS($A:$A;A2;$B:$B;"AI Max")>0;COUNTIFS($A:$A;A2;$B:$B;"<>AI Max")>0);"Overlap";"No Overlap")

  • To count how many match types trigger a given term:

=COUNTIFS($A:$A;A2) can be used to count how many match types trigger on that search term.

  • To measure query length with an n-gram analysis:

=(LEN(A1)-LEN(SUBSTITUTE(A1," ","")))+1

These checks show whether AI Max is surfacing unique queries, overlapping with existing match types, or favoring short-tail vs. long-tail terms.

Because AI Max is still in early stages, it’s hard to draw firm conclusions. 

Performance may improve as the system learns from more data, or remain flat if your setup already covers most transactional queries. 

That’s the question advertisers will answer in the coming months as more tests and learnings emerge.

So far, results can be positive, neutral, or negative. 

In my experience, neutral to negative outcomes are more common – especially in accounts with strong existing setups, where AI Max has fewer opportunities to add value.

A Google Ads script to uncover AI Max insights

To make analyzing AI Max performance easier, I created a Google Ads script that automatically pulls data into Google Sheets for deeper analysis. 

It saves hours of manual work and includes the exact formulas mentioned earlier in this article, so you can immediately spot overlap rates and query patterns without manual setup.

The script creates two tabs in your Sheet:

  • AI Max: Performance Max search term data with headlines, landing pages, and performance metrics.
  • Search term analysis: A full comparison of all match types, including AI Max, with automated formulas.

The analysis covers:

  • Overlap detection between AI Max and other match types.
  • Query length analysis (short-tail vs. long-tail).
  • Match type frequency counts to identify competitive terms.
  • Automatic cost conversion from Google’s micro format into readable currency.

How to use it:

  • Create a new Google Sheet and copy the URL.
  • In Google Ads, go to Tools > Scripts.
  • Paste the script code and update the SHEET_URL variable.
  • Run the script to automatically populate your analysis.

With this setup, you can quickly calculate the same metrics I used in the case studies – like the 22.5% overlap rate in the tourism account or the 81.3% new query discovery in fashion. 

The automated workflow makes it easier to see whether AI Max is surfacing genuine new opportunities or simply redistributing existing traffic.

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A checklist for effective SEO QA

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Engineering teams usually have a quality assurance (QA) process.

Without it, they risk releasing work that hurts the user experience and creates unforeseen technical issues – including major SEO problems.

That’s where SEO QA comes in. Adding SEO-specific checks to existing QA protocols helps teams catch and fix issues before they go live.

But this step is less common than you’d think. Too often, it’s overlooked.

This article outlines what it takes to build an effective SEO QA discipline and provides a checklist SEOs and QA engineers can use to cover their bases.

Why SEO QA gets overlooked

Unless SEO is fully integrated with engineering, SEO-specific QA often gets overlooked.

As a result, SEOs may not flag problems until a tech audit – or worse, when they show up as organic KPI declines. 

This is especially common when SEO teams sit under marketing instead of product or engineering, since they’re excluded from regular milestones and lifecycle meetings. 

That makes it harder to communicate SEO’s importance, win buy-in, and establish it as part of everyday development.

Having a QA team within engineering is also no longer a given.

In agile environments, some teams prioritize speed over fully clean rollouts.

Others rely on AI tools to automate QA or monitor for technical issues, instead of employing dedicated QA engineers.

In short, there are plenty of reasons many teams lack a well-developed SEO QA practice.

What are the benefits of SEO QA?

For SEOs to be able to proactively find and resolve issues before they go out into the world, they need two things on a regular basis:

  • Opportunities to view upcoming engineering tickets and flag any that may have potential SEO impact. (A great reason for an SEO representative to be a part of sprint planning meetings.)
  • A chance to QA any of the flagged tickets before they hit production.

This has a few key benefits for the business:

  • Minimize the chances of deploying code that hurts SEO.
  • Catch and correct errors that hit production before they register with search engines.
  • Capitalize on SEO opportunities related to engineering work that’s already slotted for development.

The last bullet is just as much of a reason to implement SEO QA as the first two. 

It’s not just about catching bugs, it’s about maximizing value while minimizing resources. 

When SEOs have a chance to see what’s coming up, it allows them to connect the dots between SEO roadmap items and upcoming engineering initiatives to find potential areas of overlap. 

In turn, the business reaps the SEO benefits of work that’s already in motion, rather than spending additional resources to achieve the same goal later. 

Best practices: The 4 Ws of SEO QA

Alright, now that we’ve established why brands need SEO QA, let’s get into the logistics.

Who should perform SEO QA?

Ensure QA is performed by:

  • A technical SEO.
  • Or an engineer equipped with clear criteria shared by an SEO.

What should they check?

Define a checklist of core, critical SEO items that should be a part of QA for any ticket flagged as having potential SEO impact.

  • Refine this checklist on an ongoing basis, tailoring it to the nuances of your web stack, so no one makes the same mistake twice.
  • Automate “always-on” checklist items as much as possible to ease the resource burden over time. 
  • Supplement your checklist with any additional, project-specific SEO considerations outlined in product requirements documentation. 
  • Always check tracking, so no data is lost if GA4 or GTM issues arise.

When should SEO QA happen?

The cadence for SEO QA should mimic the site’s development release cycle and existing engineering QA processes. 

For instance:

  • If your site deploys code on two-week sprints, SEO QA should follow the same cadence.
  • After each release, run a crawl with JavaScript enabled.
  • Sites on platforms like Shopify or WordPress may release – and QA – less often.

Where should QA happen?

Test in staging before anything goes to production. 

Some elements might need to be tested in production if they affect indexing or crawlability of content. 

  • Example: The staging site might have the robots.txt set to disallow all URLs, since you don’t want staging to get indexed.

Implement monitoring tools as a safeguard that helps catch any errors that somehow make it to production.

  • Google Search Console: Make sure your account is set up, notifications are coming through, and check for issues weekly. 
  • Third-party crawlers: Set up a weekly crawl in any SEO tool, such as Semrush, Ahrefs, or Sitebulb.
  • Dedicated SEO monitoring toolsets: If you have the budget, certain third-party tools provide real-time auditing and monitoring. 

Building an SEO QA checklist

When SEO requests development work, they write the acceptance criteria in the product requirements and review the work before release.

But not all tickets that affect SEO go through that process, which makes an SEO QA checklist essential.

The checklist can be used by any SEO or QA engineer on any release flagged for SEO impact.

It’s a comprehensive list of core items, organized by category, to ensure issues don’t reach production.

Issue categories for SEO QA

Crawling

For pages to get indexed, search engines need to access URLs, crawl the content, and use it as context. 

That’s pretty fundamental to SEO, and a big reason we start here.

Note: Crawl issues often impact large swaths of the site because changes can occur across an entire page template or subfolder.

Crawling and indexing
  • Robots.txt: New or removed disallows that might impact URLs you do or don’t want crawled.
    • Are crawlers blocked from the site?
    • Are there any subfolders or parameters blocked that shouldn’t be? 
    • Are images or resources like JavaScript blocked?
  • Meta robots tags: Unintended changes from index to noindex, standard to nofollow, or vice versa.
  • Canonical tags: Were canonical URLs added, removed, or changed in ways that will cause issues?
    • For example:
      • Did Page 2+ of paginated listing pages canonicalize back to Page 1? 
      • Are filtered URLs properly canonicalized based on whether you want them indexed?
  • HTTP status codes: 3{xx} (redirect), 4{xx} (not available), or 5{xx} (server) errors resulting from changes
  • URL path: Changes to existing URLs that were not previously discussed with the SEO team.
  • Redirects: Are new redirects working properly, or did something break existing redirects?
  • Internal links: Are they coded using an <a href> tag, so crawlers can identify them?

Content changes

Are all of the following still available and correct?

Content changes
  • Navigation and footer.
  • Breadcrumbs.
  • SEO titles.
  • Meta descriptions.
  • Headings and other on-page copy.
  • Internal and external links.
  • Images, videos, and other media.
  • Related and recommended items widget.
  • User-generated content (especially reviews).
  • E-E-A-T signals, including author bylines and bios.
  • Hreflang and internationalization features.
  • Structured data: Is it crawlable, parsable, accurate, and reflecting visible information on the page? (Note: Google’s Schema Markup Testing Tool won’t work on staging URLs since crawlers are (hopefully!) blocked.)

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See terms.

JavaScript and CSS

You can see CSS issues because they visually impact the page. 

For JavaScript issues, you’ll need tools to understand whether crawlers can access critical content. 

Unless you’re already running a sitewide crawl with JavaScript enabled, test one or two pages from the affected template (i.e., blog, listing, product detail) using a tool like Rendering Difference Engine.

JavaScript and CSS
  • Page elements applicable to the template are available and functioning as intended, including pop-outs, filtering, sort function, and pagination.
  • Any page content that loads after a user interaction is available in HTML that search engines can crawl.
  • If the site serves source HTML, are key elements of the page different in the rendered HTML, such as:
    • Meta robots.
    • Canonicals.
    • Titles.
    • Meta descriptions.
    • Page copy.
    • Internal links.
    • External links.

Mobile

Google crawls mobile-first. So if you’re only checking on desktop, you’re skipping SEO QA.

Mobile
  • Does it look and function as it should? 
  • Are there any accessibility issues on a smaller screen? 
  • Is there consistency between the desktop and mobile versions of the site?

Tracking

If it’s not part of QA, broken tracking is a recipe for panic. 

The team will not find the issue until they see KPIs like organic traffic decline. 

Even worse, until it’s fixed, that’s historical data that you won’t get back. 

Tracking

Before launch on staging, check if:

  • All pages and templates have tracking code available.

The day after launch, verify that:

  • Internal analytics platform doesn’t show significant declines in KPIs or discrepancies with external reporting tools (e.g., GSC).

Optional: A/B testing

Not all A/B testing tools distinguish the control and variant for crawlers. 

They’re usually served one or the other version of the page randomly, which means your variant could impact SEO.

A/B testing
  • Aside from the variable, the pages should be identical to a crawler.

Refine over time

With every round of QA, engineers and SEOs will learn nuances and find new connections. 

You’ll discover that certain types of updates are more likely to cause certain types of SEO issues, certain plugins are linked to certain types of problems, etc.

Your SEO QA checklist is a living, breathing document and a place to document all of this to make SEO QA more effective – and avoid repeating mistakes – no matter who’s carrying it out. 

Start with the list below and make it your own over time.

SEO QA checklist

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How to write an effective summary for your content 

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We know that most readers skim. We also know that search engines prefer clear and easy-to-understand content. Luckily, a good summary can help with both. A summary gives your reader the core ideas quickly, while also helping your chances of ranking your content. Learning how to write a summary helps you give your content the love it needs.

Table of contents

Key takeaways

  • A summary provides a concise overview of your content, helping readers and boosting SEO.
  • Effective summaries improve readability and help readers quickly determine content value.
  • To write a strong summary, identify key points, use clear language, and integrate keywords naturally.
  • Summaries differ from titles, introductions, and conclusions as they target readers already engaged with the content.
  • AI can assist in generating summaries, but always review and refine to ensure clarity and accuracy.

What is a summary?

If we are looking for the definition, we can say a summary is a short and focused overview of your content’s main points. A good summary answers three questions:

  • What is this text about?
  • Why should I care about it?
  • What will I learn from reading it?

Keep in mind, a summary is not a sales pitch or something in-depth. You need to strip it down and offer just the essentials for readers to understand in seconds.

Expert insights

Agnieszka Szuba: Yoast developer and researcher on summaries

“Summaries can provide a lot of value to both human readers and bots. And with the help of AI features like Yoast AI Summarize, they can be created very easily. So adding a summary can be a quick way to boost the readability and engagement of your content.”

Why are summaries important?

Now that we know what summaries are, let’s answer the question of why they are so important. There are many answers to that question, but we’ll answer that here.

Improves readability

One of the main aspects of a good text is its readability, but it’s hard to judge a book by its cover. Before readers decide to invest their precious time in reading your content, they need to know if it is worth it. A well-written summary helps them understand the value of your content in seconds. They’ll also get an idea of how your writing is.

Helps readers decide fast

As we mentioned, the time aspect is very important today. Everyone is busy, and people need to know whether your content is worth their time. So busy visitors want to know: “Is this worth my time?” A clear summary can help speed up that decision process.

Enhances SEO

Not only readers but also search engines are looking to understand your content. Search engines see if content matches user intent, and a good summary can help them figure that out.

A well-written summary mentions your target keywords naturally. Good ones increase the chance of your content appearing in highlighted search results like featured snippets. In addition, summaries may help reduce bounce rate because they can manage and set expectations for readers.

How to write an effective summary

Now that you know why summaries can be so helpful, let’s find out how to write effective ones.

Identify the main points

The most important thing is to identify the main points of the content that need to feature in the summary. To help you do this, ask yourself the following questions:

  • What’s the primary message of the content?
  • What are the two or three key takeaways?
  • What does the reader need to know?

Remember, keep it clean and simple. Avoid using examples, anecdotes, or secondary details that muddy the point you are trying to make.

Be concise and clear

Your summary needs to be as easy to understand as possible. Try to aim for three to five sentences (or 50 to 100 words). Cut filler words. Here’s an example:

Wrong: “In this article, we’re going to be talking about some of the most important aspects of writing summaries, which can really make a big difference.”

Right: “This guide covers three key rules for writing summaries: clarity, brevity, and keyword placement.”

Use simple, direct language

We’ve always been big fans of writing as clearly and simply as possible. One of those things to consider is jargon. Whenever you can, try to avoid using jargon. Write like you’re explaining it to a colleague over coffee.

Integrate keywords naturally

Your summary should include the main keywords of your article. For a summary of the article you’re reading now, the focus keyphrase would be “how to write a summary”. Also, try to fit in one or two related terms, but don’t force them. Always prioritize readability.

Match your content’s tone

The next thing to think about is making sure that the summary’s tone matches the content’s tone. For instance, a summary for a technical guide should be precise, while one for a lifestyle blog can be more conversational. Keep it consistent.

Dos and don’ts of writing summaries

For this article, we’ve created a helpful table that quickly outlines the main rules of writing summaries. Remember these!

Do Don’t
Focus on key takeaways only Add extra details or tangents
Keep it short and scannable Write dense paragraphs
Use keywords naturally Stuff keywords awkwardly
Match the tone of your content Switch to a different style
Test if it stands alone Assume readers know the context

Examples of weak vs. strong summaries

We’ve shown you the theory of good and bad summaries, but now let’s review a couple of examples to see it in practice.

A blog post (how-to guide)

Topic: “How to Start a Podcast in 2025”

Weak: “Starting a podcast can be hard, but this post gives you some tips on equipment, topics, and editing to help you get going.”

Strong: “Launch your podcast in 5 steps: Choose a niche, pick budget-friendly gear (under $200), record like a pro, edit with free tools, and grow your audience. Avoid rookie mistakes with our checklist.”

Why it works:

  • Numbers (“5 steps”) set clear expectations
  • Specifics (“budget-friendly gear,” “free tools”) add value
  • Actionable (“avoid rookie mistakes”) hints at practical advice

A product page (e-commerce)

Product: “Ergonomic Office Chair – Model X200”

Weak: “The Model X200 is a great chair for people who sit a lot. It has features that make it comfortable and good for your back.”

Strong: “Reduce back pain with the Model X200: Adjustable lumbar support, breathable mesh, and 360° armrests. Rated #1 for home offices under $300. Free shipping + 30-day trial.”

Why it works:

  • Highlights benefits (not just features)
  • Includes social proof (“Rated #1”)
  • Adds urgency (“30-day trial”)

A research report (B2B)

Topic: “2025 Digital Marketing Trends: AI and Automation”

Weak: “This report looks at how AI is changing marketing. It covers trends and stats that businesses should know about.”

Strong: “78% of marketers now use AI for content creation (up from 42% in 2023). This report breaks down:

  • Top AI tools for ROI in 2025
  • How automation cuts campaign costs by 30%
  • Case studies from brands like Nike and HubSpot.”

Why it works:

  • Leads with a stat to grab attention
  • Bullet points improve scannability
  • Names brands for credibility

News article

Topic: “New Study Links Screen Time to Sleep Disorders in Teens”

Weak: “A new study shows that teens who use screens before bed might have trouble sleeping. Researchers say this is a growing problem.”

Strong: “Teens with 3+ hours of nightly screen time are 5x more likely to develop insomnia, per a Harvard Medical School study. Key findings:

  • Blue light delays melatonin by 90 minutes.
  • Social media (not gaming) is the worst offender.
  • Solutions: ‘Screen curfews’ and orange-light filters.”

Why it works:

  • Quantifies risk (“5x more likely”)
  • Debunks myths (“social media vs. gaming”)
  • Offers solutions (not just problems)

Case study

Topic: “How Company Z Increased Sales by 200% with Email Marketing”

Weak: “Company Z used email marketing to grow their sales. This case study explains what they did and the results they got.”

Strong: “Company Z turned $5K/month into $15K/month in 6 months using:

  1. Segmented lists (3x higher open rates)
  2. Abandoned-cart emails (recovered 12% of lost sales)
  3. A/B-tested subject lines (‘Your cart misses you’ won)

Steps and templates included.”

Why it works:

  • Leads with results (“$5K to $15K”).
  • Uses numbers to prove impact.
  • Teases actionable content (“templates included”).

What did we learn from these examples?

  1. Start with the most valuable info (stats, results, or a bold claim).
  2. Use numbers (steps, percentages, time) to add credibility.
  3. Match the format to the content type (bullets for reports, emojis for social media).
  4. Avoid vague language (“some tips” → “3 proven strategies”).

Here’s a pro tip for you: Test your summary by asking yourself if it would make you click/read more. Does it work even if you skip the full content?

Summaries vs. intros, conclusions, titles, and meta descriptions

There are other options to help readers and search engines quickly understand your content. What’s the difference between these? Titles and meta descriptions are for getting people to click from the SERP, while summaries are for readers already on your content.

Element Purpose Length Audience Example
Title Grabs attention; tells readers (and search engines) what the content is about. 50-60 chars (SEO ideal) Searchers + readers “How to Write a Summary in 5 Steps (With Examples)”
Introduction Hooks the reader; sets up the topic and why it matters. 1-3 paragraphs Readers (and search engines) “Struggling to keep readers engaged? A strong summary can double your content’s impact—here’s how to write one.”
Summary Condenses main points for quick understanding. 3-5 sentences Readers who skim “Learn the 5 rules for summaries: cut fluff, lead with key points, use keywords, and match your content’s tone.”
Conclusion Wraps up; often includes a CTA or final thought. 1 paragraph Readers who finish the piece “Now that you know how to summarize effectively, try rewriting an old post’s summary and track the difference in engagement.”
Meta desc. Encourages clicks from search results. ~150-160 chars Search engines + potential visitors “Master the art of writing summaries with this step-by-step guide. Improve readability, SEO, and reader retention in minutes.”

Benefits and pitfalls of using AI for summaries

One of the best ways of using AI in your work is to use it to summarize content. It’s almost what it was designed to do. AI tools like Yoast AI Summarize can draft summaries in seconds. Of course, you need to keep an eye on the outcome and adjust where needed.

Benefits

There are many benefits to using AI to generate summaries.

  • The AI is fast: AI can generate a summary almost instantly
  • It’s consistent: The AI works very consistently based on your rules
  • It’s an additional content check: If it stumbles, your content’s points are not clear

Pitfalls

Using AI has a lot of benefits, but also risks.

  • Results might lack nuance or miss a certain emphasis or humor
  • It can also come out sounding very robotic or boring
  • It might focus on the wrong things, so it could highlight minor points instead of critical ones

Best practices for using AI to generate summaries

Always use AI as a starting point, then compare the AI summary to your key messages. If it needs adjusting, edit the summary for accuracy, tone, and flow. Then test it to learn if it makes sense alone.

In the real world, this would mean installing an AI plugin on your WordPress site or using Yoast SEO’s AI Summarize feature. Open an article on your site and add the Yoast AI Summary block. Have it generate a summary based on your article. Check the outcome and refine it to sound human and align with your goals.

Key takeaways generated by Yoast AI Summarize

Conclusion

A strong summary aims to please two different consumers: first, the readers who want quick answers and search engines that reward clarity and readability. Writing a good summary is all about keeping it short, direct, and keyword aware. Avoid fluff and focus on the key takeaways.

Today, it’s fine to use AI to help you with summaries, but always check them. If you are not happy, edit them.

Here’s a nice exercise: Find an old post, write a new summary based on these learnings, and see if engagement picks up. Often, it’s the small tweaks that have the biggest impact.

The post How to write an effective summary for your content  appeared first on Yoast.

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How to Build High Quality Backlinks (2025)

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Wondering why your site’s not ranking or showing up in large language model (LLM) results, even though your content is solid?

The answer might be backlinks. Specifically, the lack of high-quality ones.

Tools like ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews are starting to summarize answers without always linking to a source. That means fewer clicks, more brand mentions, and a big shift in how SEOs need to think about authority.

It’s important to remember, though, quality backlinks are still one of the strongest signals of trust and relevance even as search evolves. They play a key role in how Google evaluates which brands earn visibility and can increase the chances of a source being cited or surfaced in AI-generated answers.

If you want to show up in AI Overviews, earn brand mentions, or rank higher in organic search, you need a solid backlink strategy: one that’s built on quality, not shortcuts.

Let’s break down what that looks like in 2025, and exactly how to do it.

Key Takeaways

  • High-quality backlinks still matter, even in an AI-driven search world.
  • One link from a trusted, relevant source beats 100 weak ones.
  • Quantity and quality both have a place in your strategy, but quality should lead.
  • You can earn strong links through content, partnerships, and digital PR.
  • Smart SEO means earning links by adding value, not tricking Google.

Why Building Backlinks Is Important

Backlinks are votes of confidence for your site. Each tells Google, “Hey, this content’s worth checking out!”

Sites with more (and better) backlinks tend to rank higher. In fact, a study from last year noted that over 96% of websites ranking in Google’s top 10 positions had more than 1,000 backlinks from unique domains.

But—and this is a big one—not all backlinks are created equal.

Low-quality links from shady sites can hurt your content more than help. What you want are editorial, relevant, and trusted backlinks that align with your content and brand. These quality links can:

With that in mind, how do you know the difference between a high-quality backlink and a poor one? 

What Makes A Quality Backlink?

High-quality backlinks check three boxes:

  1. Relevance: The linking site is topically related to yours. Backlinks from respected tech blogs to your AI tool are good as gold.
  2. Authority: The linking domain has strong credibility and trust. Think of industry publications, .edu sites, or even top-ranking competitors.
  3. Natural placement: You’ve earned this link editorially. No one paid for it or jammed it into a comment thread.

As Alex Horowitz, Digital PR Specialist at NP Digital, explains: “A good backlink comes from a site with solid domain authority (DA 35+), consistent organic traffic of at least 1,000 visitors a month, and content that’s trustworthy and relevant to the client. A poor backlink opportunity usually is on sites with little to no traffic, low authority, or content that feels spammy or off-topic. If the link won’t add value for readers or align naturally with the brand, it’s likely not worth pursuing.”

There are other bonus factors to consider, too. Keyword-rich anchor text, used sparingly, can help. So does placement high in the page’s content. The signals are even better if the page linking to you has strong traffic or links.

Getting these links takes work, but the payoff lasts for a long time.

The Quality vs Quantity Backlink Debate

How many backlinks do you need?  This is a common question, and the answer is every SEO’s favorite:

“It depends.”

Do you need hundreds of backlinks? Not really.

Would you like to earn hundreds of great backlinks? Absolutely.

Quality and quantity both matter, but quality always wins. Quantity helps build a diverse link profile, especially from mid-tier, niche, or enthusiast sites. Quality delivers the real authority, trust, and rankings boost.

The problem is when people and marketers chase quantity for the sake of it by buying links, trading links, or spamming blog comments. That behavior isn’t just unsustainable, it’s unwelcome. It’ll tank your reputation among those sites you want cachet from and won’t help your rankings long-term.

Tips to Build Quality Backlinks

We know backlinks matter. We know good backlinks matter. How do we get them?

Never fear. These 14 tried-and-true strategies can help you earn high-quality backlinks in 2025 and beyond.

1. Emphasize What Benefits the Site Gets

Asking specific sites to link to you can work, but it requires being strategic. When reaching out, make it about them, not you. Instead of asking, “Can you link to my blog post?” you might try a message like, 

“Your readers might find this guide helpful. It includes a breakdown that expands on your section about [topic].”

Show them the value their audience will get. If it plugs into content already performing well for them, even better.

2. Write Relevant and Competitive Content

People don’t link to average content. They link to the best. That means standing out among the crowded pack. What does that look like?

  • Go deep. Cover the topic more thoroughly than your competitors.
  • Add visuals, statistics, and original research.
  • Include expert quotes or insights.
  • Match search intent. Don’t write a blog post when searchers want a product comparison.

No matter what you create, ensure your content reflects E-E-A-T: experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness.

You should be able to find several ways to make your content stand apart from the existing results, whether that’s creating a more in-depth and actionable article or citing research no one else has. 

That’s the exact approach my digital marketing agency used to get 20 top-tier media links like CNBC and Retail Wire for one of our clients in the personal finance industry. 

We created a data-driven asset that resonated with a large audience and was different from anything else out there. This allowed us to pitch to dozens of relevant media outlets that were more than happy to give us a link in return for a good story.

A personal finance case study from NP Digital.

3. Prove Your Site Is Legitimate

Getting links is a lot easier if your website positions you as a professional, trustworthy, and legitimate organization.

There are several elements that signify trust, and I recommend including as many of them as possible:

  • HTTPS certification (as well as other certificates)
  • A branded domain
  • High-quality web design
  • Links to your social profiles
  • Contact information, including the address of your company 
  • E-E-A-T signals like an about page, editorial standards, and author bios.

You can see I’ve got almost all of these elements in place in my website’s footer:

The Neil Patel website footer.

4. Make Your Pitches Short

Want to increase the response rate of your pitches? Practice brevity to make it easy for recipients to understand your pitch. 

Take a look at an example of a pitch:

An example of a backlink pitch.

There are many single lines, and it’s easy to find and click on the links. The email is to the point, and there’s no question what it’s about.

Here’s my advice for making your pitches concise and clear:

  • Keep paragraphs to two sentences or fewer
  • Write no more than five sentences
  • Use bullet points and bold font to make it easy for readers to spot the key points
  • State what you are asking for clearly 

5. Leverage Digital PR

Digital PR (DPR) may initially feel like a focus on building a personal brand, but that’s not the real focus. Instead, consider creating newsworthy stories for journalists, bloggers, and industry outlets to cover and link to.

This matters because PR campaigns can often land backlinks from the highest-authority sites; places like Forbes, TechCrunch, or industry trade publications are significant wins. Those links carry way more weight than dozens of smaller blogs.

Here’s how to use it:

  • Data-driven stories: Package up survey results or industry insights. Journalists love citing fresh numbers.
  • Expert commentary: Offer quick takes on trending news. Tools like HARO or Qwoted connect you with reporters in real time.
  • Unique hooks: Tie your brand to bigger conversations. For example, a fintech startup might publish a “State of Student Debt in 2025” report.

High-quality backlinks come when your story provides genuine value to readers and publishers. A strong DPR campaign earns more than mentions. You get citations that boost rankings.

6. Do an Original Study

Original research is often a backlink magnet. Why? Because everyone needs data to support their content, and they’d rather cite your study than come up with their own.

You don’t need to be a research firm to pull this off, though. Here’s how:

  • Run a survey with your customers or audience.
  • Use public datasets and analyze them in a new way.
  • Combine anonymized data from your own tools (if applicable).

For example, look at my agency’s route when building links for a logistics client. We used multiple, varying datasets to see how different roadside restaurants in America compared to one another for truck drivers and roadtrippers.

The trick is to tell a compelling story with your data, the kind journalists will want to write about. In our case, every driver wants to know the best place to stop, and the geo-specific nature of the report meant local news outlets could report on truck stops in their state. 

As a result, we garnered over 1,400 shares, likes, and comments across social media, a massive amount for such a niche industry. We also won a host of new rankings like “best truck stop food”.

A logistics case study from NP Digital.

7. Create an Infographic or Original Image

Infographics aren’t dead. They’re just evolved. In 2025, they’re bite-sized knowledge hubs that provide real value to readers.

These visuals are often easier to share, embed, and link to than walls of text. A great infographic travels across social media and blogs and can even get picked up by news outlets.

Here’s how to do it right:

  • Use tools like Canva or Venngage to create professional designs.
  • Focus on one core statistic, process, or concept. Don’t cram everything in.
  • Include embed codes so other sites can easily share and link back.

Look at this infographic example from Venngage that talks about the psychological impact of font choices on audiences. It’s a pretty robust dive into the typography of several popular Netflix shows and how title choices can play with mood and genre:

A Netflix infographic on font psychology.

Source: Venngage

8. Write Testimonials for Other Websites

This one’s simple, but it works. Companies love showcasing happy customers. When they feature your testimonial on their site, they usually link back to you. Here’s how to make it happen:

  • Reach out to SaaS tools, agencies, or vendors you use.
  • Offer a detailed testimonial that highlights specific results.
  • Make sure to include your full name, role, and website.

See examples below from MarketHire:

Testimonials from MarketHire.

These links aren’t just filler. They come from trusted, established brands that want to show off real customer success. That credibility makes them high-value backlinks, and all you did was share your experience.

9. Link Externally and Then Reach Out

Linking out to other sites doesn’t mean you’re giving away visibility. The trick is to follow through. Here’s how this works:

  1. Write a blog post and naturally link to a relevant site, tool, or expert.
  2. Reach out to the site or personality and tell them they’ve been included.
  3. Start a conversation. Eventually, they may return the favor with a backlink.

You can strengthen this strategy with your own internal linking. Google sees that your page is well-connected both internally and externally, boosting your crawlability and authority.

This is not an overnight backlink hack. Instead, it’s a trust-building move that snowballs into collaborations, mentions, and citations from quality sites.

10. Comment on Other Relevant Blog and Social Posts

Comments on blogs and social media posts are a great way to build relationships with people in your industry and occasionally snag yourself a backlink.

But before you start passionately commenting on posts and throwing out backlinks everywhere, let me explain something.

You might occasionally have an opportunity to include a backlink in your comment. However, the comment should primarily focus on building a mutual relationship with the author:

  • If you don’t know what to say, make the author’s day.
  • If you want to share a bit more, you can add some meaningful insight into the topic at hand.
  • If you want to craft a comment that merits a response from the author and helps build the relationship, add your own commentary to the discussion.

Here’s an example from Leanne Wong on how a comment can start a conversation that might lead to a backlink:

A comment conversation from Leanne Wong that could lead to a backlink.

Source: Leanne Wong

Whatever you do, add value with your comment. The more value you can add, the stronger your relationship will become— and that’s a recipe for a future backlink if ever I saw one.

11. Align Social Signals

If you’re serious about building out your link building strategy and rising through the ranks, then aligning social signals is a must.

Social signals communicate to search engines how active and updated your website is. The more active your website, the better your rankings. You’ll notice I link to all of my social profiles in the footer of this website and keep them all updated:

Neil Patel's social symbols in the footer.

You may not have the time to leverage every single social platform. In that case, choose one or two that you can keep up with, and post at least once a day on the platforms you’ve chosen.

Neil Patel's Instagram page.

Check that all of the information on your social profiles matches the information on your website. The company name, address, and phone number need to be aligned to communicate to search engines that your website is up to date.

This is a simple but effective way to build your rankings with very little extra work.

12. Find What’s Newsworthy

Timing is everything. If you can tie your content to breaking stories or trends, you can increase your odds of earning backlinks from journalists and bloggers covering it. Seek out opportunities in the following spots:

Picture this: Google rolls out a major algorithm update, and an SEO agency could publish a quick analysis within 24 hours. Journalists writing about the update may cite that content, earning authoritative backlinks.

Prefer a real life example?

My agency used this tactic to get backlinks from sites like The New York Times and The Atlantic for our client in the entertainment industry. Competitor research told us that a rival website had a lot of high authority backlinks to a page where fans could watch a trending television show from our client. But the link sent users to a broken page. 

An entertainment case study from NP Digital.

Our strategy was simple. We contacted every linking publisher and asked them to swap the broken link for our client’s, letting fans actually watch the show.

13. Find Brand Mentions

People may already be talking about your brand but not linking to it. That’s low-hanging fruit.

Use tools like Mention, BuzzSumo, or Ahrefs Alerts to track unlinked mentions. Then reach out:

“Hey [Name], thanks for mentioning us in your piece on [Topic]. Would you mind adding a link so readers can easily find the resource?”

These links are easy wins. The writer already trusts you enough to mention your brand—now you’re just helping readers (and your SEO) with a clickable source.

14. Look At Competitor Backlink Profiles

Your competitors’ backlinks are a roadmap for your strategy. If it’s working for them, it could work for you. But how do you start and what should you look for?

  • Use Ubersuggest, Ahrefs, or Semrush to pull competitor backlink reports.
  • Examine their homepage links, most-linked blogs, and referral domains.
  • Identify patterns: Are they earning links from industry directories? Guest posts? Data-driven reports?

Once you know what they’re doing, ask the big question:

Can I create something better?

If your competitor earned a link for “2024 Social media Trends,” why not publish a deeper “2025 Social media Playbook?” Provide more value. Pitch it to the same sites.

Competitor backlinks are more than insights. Use them as valuable opportunities for growth and wins.

Writing the Pitch to Get Your Backlink

Your content or idea may be strong, but the pitch determines whether you actually earn that backlink.

Today’s editors, journalists, and site owners are bombarded with outreach. Generic templates don’t cut it. A valuable pitch is:

  • Short and personal: Under 100 words, customized for the recipient.
  • Value-driven: Show how your resource improves their article or helps their readers.
  • Clear: Include the exact link and context—don’t make them dig.
  • Credible: Reference your expertise, unique data, or why you’re a trusted source.
  • Timely: Tie your pitch to something current—like a trending topic or recent update.

Here’s an example of a pitch that works in 2025:

Hi [Name], I really enjoyed your recent piece on [Topic]. I noticed you mentioned [related stat], and we just released a new study with fresh data on this in 2025. I thought it might add value for your readers. Here’s the link: [URL]. Would you consider including it?

This kind of outreach blends relevance, authority, and timeliness: the same qualities that make backlinks valuable in the first place.

FAQs

How to get quality backlinks?

Use digital PR, original studies, expert content, and smart outreach strategies. Focus on building real relationships and offering value, not tricks.

How many high quality backlinks do I need?

For those in competitive spaces like finance or software, more high-quality backlinks will help you stand out. But it’s not just about the overall total. A good benchmark for many key pages is 20-30 strong backlinks. This number can make a real difference. Even five to 10 backlinks from top-tier domains can beat out hundreds from low-authority sources.

What is a high quality backlink?

It’s a link from a trusted, authoritative site relevant to your content and placed editorially.

How can I leverage social media to build backlinks?

Promote your content, join conversations, and tag influencers. When people see and share your content, backlinks tend to follow.

Is it okay to pay for backlinks?

Technically, it’s against Google’s guidelines. Tread carefully and focus on sponsored content, not spammy link buys.

How do I approach website owners to request backlinks ethically?

Be personal, brief, and helpful. Show them why linking to your resource benefits their readers.

How can I identify websites that are relevant and authoritative for link building?

Look for sites in your niche with real traffic, strong content, and domain authority (DA). Tools like Ubersuggest or Ahrefs help.

Conclusion on How to Get Backlinks

If you focus on creating content worth linking to and getting it in front of the right people, you’ll earn links that matter. These links improve rankings, boost traffic, and build long-term authority.

Want help building your backlink strategy? Check out how NP Digital can support your SEO goals. And if you’re new to this, view your backlinks today with our free backlink checker.

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‘Mistakes make you stronger’: PPC lessons from Inderpaul Rai

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In episode 325 of PPC Live The Podcast, I sat down with Inderpaul “Indi” Rai, group account director at WeDiscover, to explore the lessons learned from mistakes, team dynamics, and the evolving role of automation and AI in paid search.

Indi, a veteran with over a decade of experience in AdTech, MarTech, SEO, analytics, and multilingual paid search, shared candid insights on how errors can shape careers and client relationships.

Embracing mistakes to grow

Indi opened up about one of the most significant mistakes in his career: an automated budget feature in Search Ads 360 went unchecked during his holiday, resulting in the U.S. account overspending by a substantial amount.

Despite the magnitude of the error, the client’s response was surprisingly supportive – they recognized it as an honest mistake and collaborated to mitigate the impact.

Key takeaway. Mistakes are inevitable, but transparency, a calm response, and collaborative problem-solving can turn potential disasters into learning opportunities. Indi emphasizes that experiencing and managing errors is essential for personal and professional growth.

The importance of team communication and handover

Indi reflected on how the overspend could have been avoided with better team preparation:

  • Ensuring critical information isn’t solely in the manager’s head.
  • Documenting handovers thoroughly and leaving room for junior team members to step in effectively.
  • Establishing multiple layers of oversight to prevent single points of failure.

He stressed that team members should feel empowered to act and communicate when issues arise, even if the manager is unavailable. In his experience, the junior team caught the overspend themselves and waited for Indi’s return rather than panicking – a testament to clear communication and a supportive team culture.

Lesson for managers: Maintain composure during crises, focus on solutions over blame, and ensure your team knows their role in resolving issues.

Automation and AI: Tools, not crutches

The discussion turned to automation and AI, where Indi shared practical advice:

  • Treat AI as an assistant, not a replacement. Blind reliance on AI can lead to errors, especially if users don’t understand the subject matter.
  • Always validate outputs and run rigorous testing before implementing AI-driven changes. He cited an example from his past work rewriting product descriptions: AI produced repetitive, generic content that wasn’t an improvement over the original, highlighting the need for careful oversight.
  • Automation can enhance efficiency but requires clear rules, regular checks, and accountability to prevent mistakes like unmonitored budget overspend.

Insight. Automation amplifies efficiency but cannot replace thoughtful human oversight and strategic decision-making.

Client relationships matter

A recurring theme in Indi’s story was the importance of cultivating strong client relationships. The supportive response of a previously “difficult” client revealed that mutual respect, trust, and proven value can turn challenging situations into opportunities for stronger partnerships.

Lessons in leadership and mindset

Indi also shared broader reflections applicable beyond PPC:

  • Resilience matters: he likened his career journey to Rocky, emphasizing that success isn’t about avoiding hits but about how you respond and keep moving forward.
  • Learning through experience: setbacks are essential; they teach you to handle pressure, improve processes, and grow professionally.
  • Balanced guidance: leaders should manage crises calmly, focus on facts, and support their teams without panicking.

From mistakes to momentum

The conversation underscores that mistakes are not the end – they are a catalyst for learning, collaboration, and improvement.

From automation missteps to client communication, Indi’s insights provide a roadmap for PPC professionals aiming to thrive in a fast-evolving industry.

Whether refining handovers, managing automation, or responsibly leveraging AI, the core lesson remains the same: anticipate errors, respond calmly, communicate clearly, and use each experience to build stronger teams and smarter processes.

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Go beyond CTR with 6 AI-powered SEO discoverability metrics

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Thanks to AI-generated answers, CTRs are failing fast, and even page-one rankings no longer guarantee clicks. Google’s top organic results saw a 32% CTR drop after AI Overviews launched, plummeting from 28% to 19%. Position #2 fared even worse, with a 39% decline. Meanwhile, 60% of searches in 2024 ended without clicks; also, the projections show zero-click searches could surpass 70% by 2025. What does this mean for measuring success?

Table of contents

Key takeaways

  • AI-generated answers are drastically reducing CTRs, with top rankings seeing significant declines in clicks.
  • Traditional SEO metrics are no longer sufficient; marketers should adopt AI-powered SEO metrics to measure influence and visibility.
  • Six new metrics, including AI brand mention rate and semantic relevance score, provide insights into AI-driven search success.
  • Businesses must optimize for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) by ensuring content clarity and authority for AI responses.
  • Tracking AI visibility and implementing structured data are essential for maintaining brand relevance in an AI-first search landscape.

The era of measuring SEO success purely through traffic metrics is coming to a standstill. AI systems like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode deliver instant answers; therefore, brand visibility increasingly happens without clicks. Marketers will turn to AI-enabled discoverability metrics that capture actual influence. 

This guide explains why it’s important to go beyond CTR. It reveals six AI metrics that predict success in AI-driven search, plus strategies to measure and optimize your visibility when clicks disappear. 

How does this disrupt traditional SEO? 

Google’s AI Overviews (and similar features on Bing, etc.) generate a concise, multi-sentence answer at the top of the results page. These summaries cite source links, pulling content from high-ranking pages and knowledge panels. To the user, this is convenient: you get an instant answer without scrolling.  

For marketers, however, it means the user’s query can be resolved on-page. From the publisher’s standpoint, these overviews satisfy search intent without generating a click, effectively extending the trend of zero-click searches. In other words, the page may be used (quoted in the answer) but not clicked.  

AI Overviews significantly accelerate zero-click behavior. A finding suggests that zero-click searches jumped from ~24% to 27% year-on-year in early 2025. A Bain survey reports that about 60% of searches end without users clicking through to another site. 

In practice, organic listing CTRs are under siege. Top-ranked pages are losing share because AI answers capture attention. We see that Google’s new summarization features are faster and more convenient, which might mean that these become the default way people search, shifting discovery away from traditional blue links. 

Evidence of a drastic CTA decline

Multiple independent studies show massive CTR drops wherever AI summaries appear. Recent industry data paints a stark picture of CTR decline across prominent search positions:   

Position  2024 CTR  2025 CTR  Decline 
1  28.0%  19.0%  -32% 
2  20.8%  12.6%  -39% 
3-5 Average  15.2%  12.5%  -18% 

This data, compiled from over 200,000 keywords across 30+ websites, coincides directly with Google’s aggressive AI Overview expansion. From just 10,000 triggering keywords in August 2024, AI Overviews now appear for over 172,000 queries by May 2025. In practical terms, a top-ranking page that used to draw nearly three out of 100 searchers now gets under one.

Paid search is hit, too. In one study, paid CTR roughly halved in queries with AI Overviews: dropping from 21.27% without an AIO to 9.87%. In other words, even ads share the fate of organic results, AI answers grab a lot of the click-through “real estate.”  

These shifts mean many queries that once sent healthy website traffic now keep users on the SERP. In short, AI Overviews are dragging down CTRs significantly across positions and query types. 

AI Overviews are the zero-click accelerator 

Google’s AI Overviews represent more than a UI change because they reshape user search behavior. When AI Overviews appear:  

  • Organic CTR drops 70% (from 2.94% in the previous year to 0.84% in 2025)  
  • Paid CTR falls 54% (from 21.27% to 9.87%)  
  • Featured content gets answered directly without requiring website visits  

Major publishers report even more dramatic impacts. MailOnline found that CTRs plummeted to under 5% on desktop and 7% on mobile when AI Overviews were present, a blow to traffic-dependent business models.  

These drops aren’t limited to one sector. Industries heavily reliant on informational queries (health, science, how-to guides, etc.) report the biggest hit. For instance, Semrush notes that sites in health and science categories see the most AI Overview inclusion and significant organic traffic losses.  

AI Overviews primarily trigger informational and long-tail queries (definitions, tutorials, general knowledge), precisely the traffic that blogs, knowledge bases, and affiliate sites depend on.  

The evidence is clear. Zero-click search is rapidly rising, and organic CTRs are falling wherever AI-powered answers are available. 

What CTRs miss in the AI search era? 

Traditional CTR metrics miss a big part of the picture: invisible brand exposure. Your brand may be mentioned in AI responses without generating a single click, highlighted in knowledge panels without direct attribution, or recommended through voice search on smart devices. Even AI-generated summaries from platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini draw on your content. These shape user perception without leaving a measurable trail. 

The false correlation problem  

High CTR no longer equals high visibility in AI systems. Consider this example:  

  • Brand A ranks #1 organically, receives 500 monthly clicks  
  • Brand B gets cited in 50 AI Overview responses, receives 50 clicks  
  • Traditional metrics favor Brand A, but Brand B influences thousands more users through AI  

This disconnect means businesses optimizing solely for CTR may miss massive audience reach in AI environments.  

These numbers confirm the trend. A large (and growing) chunk of search queries never leads to an external click, instead being resolved by AI/Google. This doesn’t mean all organic traffic is lost; many queries (mainly transactional, local, or brand-specific) still send clicks, but the landscape is clearly shifting toward answering directly. 

Six AI LLM optimization metrics

With traditional click metrics weakening, SEO must evolve. CTRs and ranks still matter, but they’re incomplete indicators now. We must measure how content performs within AI-generated answers, even when no one clicks. As Cyberclick observed, your content might be “cited, referenced, or sourced by AI systems”, which they call zero-click visibility, yet none of that shows up in Google Search Console or analytics. In other words, your page could be the knowledge behind an answer, building authority, without any direct traffic trace.  

To account for this, experts recommend new AI metrics: 

1. AI brand mention rate 

Definition: Frequency of brand appearances in AI-generated responses across major platforms (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews).

This metric is critical because it has the strongest correlation with AI Overview visibility. The top 25% of brands receive over 169 monthly AI mentions, compared to just 14 for the next tier. Meanwhile, 26% of brands have zero AI mentions at all, revealing massive gaps and untapped opportunities in brand visibility. 

How to measure:

  • Manual query testing across LLM platforms using brand-related searches  
  • Custom monitoring scripts to track brand mentions in AI responses  
  • Competitive benchmarking against industry leaders  

Optimization tactics:  

  • Create quotable, cite-worthy statistics and insights that AI systems prefer  
  • Build topical authority through comprehensive content coverage  
  • Increase web mentions across trusted, high-authority sources  
  • Develop thought leadership content that positions your brand as an expert source  

Pro tip: Yoast AI Brand Insights can help track and optimize your brand’s visibility across AI platforms, giving you actionable data to improve mention frequency and context. 

2. Semantic relevance score 

Definition: Measurement of content alignment with search intent through vector embeddings rather than keyword matching  

This metric is critical because AI systems rely on semantic similarity rather than exact keyword matches when selecting content. It predicts the likelihood of being included in AI-generated answers across different platforms and measures how accurately content aligns with queries beyond surface-level optimization. 

How to measure:  

  • OpenAI Embedding API for content-query similarity scoring  
  • Go Fish Digital’s Embedding Relevance Score tool for automated analysis  
  • A/B testing content variations to identify the highest-scoring approaches  
  • Topic clustering analysis to understand semantic relationships  

Optimization tactics:  

  • Focus on comprehensive topic coverage rather than keyword density  
  • Use entity-based content strategies that connect related concepts  
  • Optimize for question-answer formats that AI systems prefer  
  • Create contextually rich content that covers user intent fully  

Advanced strategy: Implement structured content hierarchies using clear H2/H3 sections that mirror how AI systems process information for responses. 

3. Structured data implementation score 

Definition: Percentage of pages with proper schema markup and AI-readable formatting  

This is critical because AI systems strongly favor structured, machine-readable data over plain text. Schema markup improves AI comprehension, boosts the chances of being cited, and enables rich snippet appearances that reinforce visibility alongside AI Overviews. 

How to measure:  

  • Schema markup validation tools to audit implementation coverage  
  • Percentage of key pages with relevant structured data types  
  • Rich snippet appearance tracking across target queries  
  • Technical SEO audits focusing on markup completeness  

Optimization tactics:  

  • Implement FAQ and HowTo schemas for informational content  
  • Use comprehensive schema types (Organization, Product, Service, Review)  
  • Create clean, markdown-friendly content formats that AI can easily parse  
  • Optimize internal linking structure to support entity relationships  

Note: Yoast SEO Premium includes advanced schema implementation features that can automate much of this optimization process.  

4. Citation quality index 

Definition: Quality weighting of attributed mentions and source links in AI responses  

This index is critical because it fuels both traffic and trust within AI recommendation systems. Quality citations strengthen brand authority in LLM training, while linked references deliver three times more value than unlinked mentions. 

How to measure:

  • Track citations with proper source attribution across AI platforms  
  • Monitor the authority scores of sites that cite your content  
  • Measure click-through rates from AI citations when available  
  • Assess citation context quality (positive, neutral, negative sentiment)  

Optimization tactics:  

  • Create authoritative, research-backed content that merits citation  
  • Build relationships with industry publications and thought leaders  
  • Optimize content for “cite sources” inclusion with clear attribution  
  • Develop proprietary data and insights that become go-to industry references  

Advanced tracking: Use tools like Brand24 or Mention.com to monitor unlinked brand citations that may influence AI training without generating trackable links.  

5. Query match coverage 

Definition: Breadth of related queries where your content appears in AI responses  

Query match coverage is essential because AI systems favor comprehensive topical coverage over a narrow focus. And broader query coverage indicates higher entity authority. It also predicts inclusion across multiple AI response types and platforms  

How to measure:  

  • Topic clustering analysis to map query coverage  
  • Competitive content gap analysis to identify opportunities  
  • Query coverage mapping across your content portfolio  
  • AI response monitoring for related search terms  

Optimization tactics:  

  • Create pillar or cornerstone content with comprehensive topic coverage  
  • Answer related questions thoroughly within single content pieces  
  • Build content clusters around core topics using internal linking  
  • Develop FAQ sections that address query variations  

Content strategy: Use tools like Yoast’s content optimization features to ensure your content covers topics comprehensively for AI visibility.  

6. AI positioning score  

Definition: Average placement position of your brand/content within AI-generated responses  

AI positioning score matters because earlier placement in AI responses gets far more attention. First-position mentions see up to three times higher engagement, and strong positioning directly boosts perceived brand authority. 

How to measure:  

  • Track the mention position across AI responses manually  
  • Calculate the average placement across multiple queries over time  
  • Monitor position trends to identify optimization success  
  • Benchmark positioning against direct competitors  

Optimization tactics:

  • Optimize content for primary source citation by AI systems  
  • Build first-party research and proprietary data that AI prefers  
  • Create definitive resources that become category authorities  
  • Focus on expertise signals (author credentials, source authors) 

Why CTR still matters (and how to optimize it) 

Even as AI visibility metrics rise in importance, CTR still plays a crucial role. Clicks directly drive conversions and sales, making them essential for revenue. A strong CTR also signals clear content-query alignment, which boosts overall visibility. Over time, pages with consistently higher CTR often gain better placement in AI-generated citations, which creates an advantage. 

CTR optimization in the AI era

Write for click-desire, not just keywords

Today, writing for click desire is more important than ever. Instead of focusing only on keywords, craft curiosity-driven headlines that promise insights users won’t find in AI summaries. Pair these with benefit-focused meta descriptions that highlight exclusive value, and tease proprietary data or tools that can only be accessed on your site. 

Enhanced SERP presentation

Equally important is how your content presents itself in the SERPs. Comprehensive schema markup can unlock rich snippets, while optimized title tags and emotionally engaging meta descriptions help your results stand out. Structured snippets are also powerful for showcasing your unique selling propositions directly on the results page. 

Mobile optimization

Finally, mobile optimization ensures that once users click, they stay engaged. Fast page load speeds provide immediate satisfaction, while scannable content structures make information easy to digest on smaller screens. Queries here often carry higher intent, making them a valuable source of qualified clicks.

Curious to know how AI sees your brand?

Unlock instant AI brand visibility insights, track mentions, and boost your authority with our Yoast SEO AI+ package.


Start your journey with smarter AI SEO now!

The bigger picture: Generative SEO (GEO/AEO) 

Traditional SEO is shifting fast. With AI-driven search platforms like Google’s AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity shaping results, businesses now need to optimize for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) or Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). 

In simple terms: Instead of fighting for clicks on SERPs, the new goal is to have your content chosen as trusted source material in AI-generated answers. 

What GEO/AEO means for your content 

AI-powered search engines “read” and select content differently from Google’s classic algorithm. They prioritize: 

  • Clarity & structure → short, factual sentences 
  • Explicit answers → direct responses to common queries 
  • Scannable formats → helpful headings, bullet lists, and one idea per paragraph 
  • E-E-A-T compliance → expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness 
  • Credible sources → supported by citations 

How Yoast helps you optimize for GEO 

The Yoast SEO plugin includes features designed for this new search reality: 

  • llms.txt generation → creates a “map” for AI assistants, highlighting your key content in plain text 
  • Readability checks → sentence length and reading ease tools help you write concise, AI-friendly content 
  • Green lights, simplified → signals that your content is structured for both humans and AI systems 

Want more? Learn how to optimize content for LLMs, and read all about our new llms.txt SEO feature. 

The role of branding in GEO 

Here’s what many miss: AI Overviews strip away logos, design, and slogans. All that remains is text. That means your brand identity must live in your words. 

To stand out in AI-generated answers: 

  • Use brand-specific language and stories 
  • Strengthen authority with schema markup and citations 
  • Make sure your brand’s voice and expertise come through clearly 

This is where AI Brand Insights comes in. This feature will: 

  1. Track how AI assistants mention your brand. 
  2. Show how your business is represented in AI-generated answers. 
  3. Help refine your brand narrative in the age of AI search. 

In short: GEO isn’t about SERP position alone; it’s about what AI “knows” and shows about your brand. 

See how visible your brand is in AI search

Track mentions, sentiment, and AI visibility. With Yoast AI Brand Insights, you can start monitoring and growing your brand.

Learn more »

Essential takeaways 

  1. CTRs remain essential but insufficient for measuring true search success 
  2. AI brand mentions and citation quality predict long-term visibility better than traditional rankings
  3. Structured data and semantic optimization determine inclusion in the AI-generated responses
  4. Multi-platform visibility tracking is essential as search behavior fragments across AI tools

Ready to optimize visibility in AI search? 

The transformation to AI-powered search is already here. Early adopters who implement comprehensive AI visibility measurement today will establish competitive advantages that build over time.  

Start tracking your AI mentions immediately using the frameworks outlined above. Audit your content for AI-friendliness and implement structured data optimization. Most importantly, build authority through comprehensive topic coverage and citation-worthy insights that position your brand as an industry authority across traditional search and AI platforms.  

The brands that thrive in the next decade will not be those with the highest CTRs; they will be the ones that understand how to build influence and visibility in an AI-first search world.  

Join the waitlist for AI Brand Insights and be among the first to shape how AI sees your brand. 

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Brand Mentions SEO: How to Use Them to Improve Rankings

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Brand mentions are a form of social proof, and they carry more weight than many marketers realize.

They work because people trust what others say about you more than what you say about yourself.

Search engines are starting to act the same way.

When your brand gets mentioned online, even without a link, it sends a strong signal. It tells Google you’re credible. It tells AI models you’re relevant. And it influences how your brand gets pulled into AI summaries and what search engines consider credible.

So, if you’re only chasing backlinks, you’re missing part of the SEO equation.

In this article, I’ll break down what brand mentions are, why they matter for SEO and large language models (LLMs), and how to get more of them.

Key Takeaways

  • Brand mentions, linked or unlinked, build trust with both Google and AI models.
  • Search engines treat mentions as implied links, which support rankings and authority.
  • Large language models (LLMs) use brand mentions as signals for credibility in AI Overviews and generated answers.
  • Digital PR, guest posting, and thought leadership are proven ways to earn high-quality mentions.
  • Tools like Google Alerts, Brandwatch, and Mention help you track where and how often you’re mentioned.
  • You can often convert brand mentions into backlinks with a simple outreach email.

What Is a Brand Mention, and Why Do You Need Them?

A brand mention is any time your business, product, or domain name gets referenced online. It doesn’t need a link to carry value.

Mentions show up in blog posts, podcasts, review sites, and even Reddit threads. These are known as implied links: non-clickable references that tell Google your brand matters. For example, Asana is mentioned (but not linked to) in this article about project management tools.

Example of an implied link: brand mention without a hyperlink in a blog post.

Source: Lark

Search engines use mentions to connect your brand to key topics and measure your credibility. A steady stream of mentions from trusted sites strengthens your authority and signals that you’re relevant in your space.

Mentions also help with AI discoverability. Large language models use brand references to learn which companies to trust. The more often your brand appears in high-quality content, the more likely you are to show up in AI-generated answers.

The benefits don’t end there. Mentions also build brand recognition, drive referral traffic, and often lead to backlinks over time.

If you’re building a visibility strategy, brand mentions need to be part of it. They’re a core signal of authority in both traditional SEO and AI-powered search.

Implied Links and Google

The key thing to know about brand mentions? Google treats them as implied links.

Trusted references, even without a hyperlink, strengthen your credibility and relevance in the algorithm’s eyes. They’re extra signals that help Google connect your brand to topics and decide if you should rank.

LLMs rely on them, too, scanning unlinked mentions across reputable sources to figure out which companies belong in AI-generated answers.

The takeaway? Think of mentions not as background chatter, but as authority signals that influence rankings and AI results.

How Search Engines and LLMs Process Brand Mentions

As we’ve established, search engines and LLMs rely on signals that help them understand how your brand fits into the broader digital ecosystem.

How Google Processes Brand Mentions

Google’s algorithms crawl billions of web pages to find context around specific entities. When your brand name is mentioned, even without a link, Google uses that data to:

  • Associate your brand with key topics
  • Measure how often and where your brand is discussed
  • Evaluate the credibility of sources that mention you

These signals contribute to an entity profile that shapes how Google understands your brand. That profile helps determine whether your content is a good match for user queries. Take a look at the Knowledge Panel that pops up when you enter my name.

Google Knowledge Panel featuring biographical information about Neil Patel.

If you are mentioned consistently on high-authority, topic-relevant pages, your chances of ranking increase regardless of whether you earned a backlink.

How LLMs Process Brand Mentions

Large language models do not crawl the web in real time. Instead, they are trained on massive text datasets that include web pages, articles, transcripts, and public databases.

When your brand appears frequently in quality sources, LLMs begin to associate it with specific topics, qualities, and relevance. That’s how you get:

  • Included in AI-generated responses
  • Suggested as a resource in conversational tools
  • Recognized as a relevant entity in related topics

See some of the brand names mentioned in the AI Overview below.

Google AI Overview result for the query ‘what’s the best marketing automation platform?’

Just like Google, LLMs reward consistent, high-quality brand visibility. Mentions lay the groundwork for trust and inclusion.

While backlinks are still useful, brand mentions are more likely to appear in AI-generated responses. That’s because LLMs extract entities and context from plain-text references, not just hyperlinks. Check out how Ubersuggest gets namedropped along with several other tools in the ChatGPT answer below.

ChatGPT response showing brand mentions without hyperlinks.

Even without links, brand mentions increase the likelihood of being cited in tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google’s AI Overviews, or Bing Copilot.

Mentions help models “learn” that your brand is relevant to a topic. The more consistently you appear across reputable sites, the more likely you are to become part of the model’s output when users search for solutions.

The Role of Brand Mentions in an SEO Strategy

Most SEO strategies focus on content, backlinks, and technical fixes. But brand mentions for SEO are just as important.

Think of them as the connective tissue between your content and the broader web. They help search engines confirm that you’re a real entity doing real work, and that people are talking about it.

Mentions complement what you’re already doing. If you’re investing in content marketing, digital PR, or thought leadership, you’re likely earning mentions already. Now it’s time to track and amplify them.

An article from Campaign headlined ‘Google’s AI Overviews is boosting revenue in ads and affiliates for some marketers: report.

Source: Campaign

The bottom line is this: Brand mentions don’t replace traditional SEO efforts. They strengthen them. And in an environment where visibility is increasingly AI-driven, you can’t afford to overlook them.

Find Sources for Brand Mentions

Once you start earning brand mentions, the next step is knowing where they show up.

Most brands get mentioned more than they realize. It could be a blog reference, a podcast quote, a casual shoutout on social media, or a Reddit discussion.

Google search results showing Reddit discussions where brands like Notion and Asana are mentioned without links, illustrating brand mentions as implied links.

The key is to track these mentions consistently so you can measure your reach, spot missed opportunities, and even turn unlinked mentions into backlinks.

Here are a few tools that can help you find, monitor, and manage brand mentions across the web.

Google Alerts

Google Alerts is a free, simple tool that tracks brand mentions across indexed web pages.

You can set up alerts for your brand name, product, domain, or even competitor names. When a new mention appears, you’ll get an email notification.

To set one up:
1. Go to google.com/alerts.
2. Enter your brand name in quotes (e.g., “Neil Patel”).
3. Click “Show options” to customize frequency, sources, and region.
4. Hit “Create Alert.”

You can create multiple alerts to monitor different products, team members, or brand terms.

Google Alerts setup screen showing brand name alert and customization options.

It’s not the most advanced tool, but it’s great for catching early mentions and easy wins.

Mention

Mention is a real-time media monitoring tool that tracks brand mentions across websites, blogs, forums, and social media platforms.

The Mention Homepage

It offers far more data than Google Alerts, with filters to segment mentions by sentiment, platform, or influence level.

You can set alerts for your brand, product names, executives, or even keywords your audience cares about. Mention also assigns influencer scores, helping you identify which mentions are worth acting on.

Mention dashboard showing real-time brand mentions, influencer scores, and sentiment filters.

It also lets you respond to mentions directly inside the platform, making it easy to engage or follow up when it matters.

While it’s a paid tool, the extra visibility is worth it, especially if you’re running a content or PR-driven strategy.

AnswerThePublic

AnswerThePublic isn’t a traditional mention-tracking tool, but it’s one of the best for discovering how people talk about your brand (or brands like yours) online.

Enter your brand name or a relevant keyword, and you’ll get a visual map of real user questions, comparisons, and search phrases.

AnswerThePublic results showing long-tail questions and comparisons related to a brand.

This helps you spot indirect mentions and gaps where people are asking about your product category but not naming you yet.

You can use this data to create content, launch PR pitches, or see how people discuss competitors in public conversations.

It’s especially helpful if you’re building a strategy around long-tail mentions or brand positioning.

Hootsuite

Hootsuite is best known for social media management, but its monitoring features make it a strong tool for tracking brand mentions across multiple networks.

You can set up custom streams to monitor your brand name, product terms, or campaign hashtags in real time.

Hootsuite monitoring dashboard tracking brand mentions across social platforms.

Source: Blackbird Publishing

These streams work across platforms like X, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube, giving you a consolidated view of what people are saying.

You can also respond directly from within the dashboard, making it easy to engage or de-escalate in the moment.

Hootsuite is especially useful for spotting fast-moving mentions and user-generated content (UGC) that might not show up in traditional web results.

Brandwatch

Brandwatch is a powerful brand intelligence platform built for teams that need enterprise-grade insights.

It monitors millions of sources, including blogs, forums, news sites, reviews, and social platforms.

Brandwatch uses AI to detect patterns in sentiment, topic clusters, and brand perception across these different areas.

Brandwatch dashboard showing brand mention trends, sentiment analysis, and topic clusters.

Source: Brandwatch

For SEO teams, this means you can track how often your brand is mentioned, what context it’s being mentioned in, and whether those mentions are trending positive or negative.

Brandwatch is especially useful if you’re running large-scale PR campaigns, managing multiple brands, or need to report on brand visibility over time.

How to Get Brand Mentions

If you want more people talking about your brand, you need to give them something worth talking about.

Earning mentions is about showing up in the right places, with the right message, at the right time.

Here are five proven ways to earn more brand mentions across blogs, media, social, and communities.

Guest Blogging

Guest blogging still works, when you do it right. Forget the old tactics of mass-pitching templated posts to low-quality blogs. Instead, focus on targeting high-authority, niche-relevant sites where your content can actually deliver value.

Here’s how to approach it:

Start with Ubersuggest. Type in a topic your audience cares about. Then go to the Content Ideas report to see top-performing articles related to that topic.

Let’s use social media marketing as an example topic.

Ubersuggest content idea results for the term ‘social media marketing’.”

Make a list of 25 to 50 potential sites that already publish similar content and get solid engagement. Prioritize blogs with real audiences. 

Maybe you want to create a blog post titled Must-Listen Social Media Podcasts for 2025. The fourth listing, businessgrowth.com, is a good website to target, as one of its top-performing pieces of content on this subject is The Best Social Media Books for Your Holiday Reading. It’s similar to what you want to pitch.

Pitch content that fills a gap. From there, visit each website, read the guidelines carefully, and follow the rules. Make sure you know exactly what the blog wants. Review their existing articles. What’s missing? What’s outdated? What fresh angle can you offer?

Include natural brand context. You don’t need to force a link. A casual mention of your brand as part of a relevant example or tip is enough.

Finally, promote the heck out of your post. Go social, email people, do whatever it takes. Every live guest post becomes another opportunity for people and platforms to talk about your business.

Launch Social Campaigns Built for Sharing

Want organic mentions across X, Reddit, LinkedIn, and beyond? Create campaigns people want to join. The right social campaign can make a huge difference.

Great campaigns are interactive, emotional, and aligned with what your audience is already doing.

Once you have a thorough understanding of your audience, create a campaign that capitalizes on their interests.

Make sure your campaign has clear-cut objectives, and make sure you choose the right platform for the right campaign.

After you have the baseline information, these tactics make great starting points:

  • Run a user-generated content challenge. Ask people to share photos, workflows, or tips related to your product. Incentivize with visibility rather than just prizes.
  • Create branded hashtags that are easy to remember and invite participation. Track these through tools like Hootsuite or Brandwatch.
  • Build real-time engagement. Respond to posts, reshare creative entries, and feature participants. This increases visibility and encourages more organic mentions.
LinkedIn post from Surreal cereal explaining their marketing experiment of using intentional typos to grab attention.

Social media moves fast. When you nail timing and context, brand mentions follow naturally.

3. Use Digital PR to Earn Media Mentions

PR isn’t just for huge companies. Digital PR makes it possible for startups and solo founders to get featured in major publications, podcasts, and niche blogs. 

Think of it as link building’s cousin: Instead of chasing backlinks directly, you’re landing coverage that earns you credibility and visibility in the form of implied mentions.

Here’s how to get started:

  • Sign up for HARO (Help A Reporter Out), Featured.com, or Qwoted. These services send daily prompts from journalists looking for sources.
  • Respond quickly. Reporters work on tight deadlines. Give short, quotable responses that make their job easier.
  • Don’t over-promote. Lead with value, and let your brand name appear naturally in your title or quote attribution.

Even without a backlink, appearing in articles in niche trade outlets or contributor-friendly sites like Forbes or TechCrunch gives your brand SEO value through implied mentions.

Deliver Experiences Worth Talking About

Customers talk about what stands out. If your onboarding is frictionless, your support is personal, or your product actually solves a real problem, people will mention you. In reviews. On Reddit. In tweets. In YouTube comments. 

To maximize these customer service moments:

  • Ask happy customers to share their experiences. It doesn’t need to be a testimonial, just a screenshot or a quick post.
  • Monitor brand sentiment and UGC through review sites and brand monitoring tools. You’ll uncover mentions you didn’t know existed.
  • Respond. Publicly. Engaging with brand mentions, even untagged ones, builds community and visibility.

This is the long game. But it pays off with a steady stream of positive, authentic brand mentions over time.

If you have truly great support and guide your customers, you’ll get rave reviews all over the web.

You can also monitor your mentions on review sites like Yelp.

If you get positive feedback, thank the customer. If you get negative feedback, try to reconcile the situation.

It’s a simple tactic, but it brings big results.

5. Partner with Influencers and Creators Who Actually Use Your Product

Influencers aren’t limited to big names in the B2C space anymore. In fact, micro-influencers and niche creators can deliver more brand value than big names, especially if they’re embedded in your industry.

Here’s how to collaborate with these influencers strategically:

  • Identify creators who already align with your space. Look for podcast hosts, Substack writers, YouTubers, or LinkedIn voices who talk to your audience.
  • Offer them value. That could be early access, behind-the-scenes insights, or co-branded content.
  • Don’t force a script. Let them reference your brand in a way that fits their tone and audience.

These types of mentions often feel more real, get shared more often, and are more likely to be picked up as brand signals in search or AI-generated content.

Turn Mentions Into Links

I know what you’re thinking: “Didn’t you say Google is moving away from links?”

That’s true. But it hasn’t happened yet.

As of right now, high-quality backlinks still matter. They still influence your rankings in the SERPs.

So one strategy you can use is turning unlinked brand mentions into backlinks.

The first step is to find an unlinked mention using one of the tools I showed you. Hootsuite, Google Alerts, Mention, or Brandwatch all work well.

Next, use Ubersuggest to check the domain score of the site:

Ubersuggest Traffic Overview dashboard for the site ‘neilpatel.com’”

After entering the domain and clicking “Search,” you’re taken to the Traffic Overview with the following data:

  • Domain Authority
  • Organic Traffic
  • Backlinks
  • Top Pages

If the site has a good score (generally 40 or higher), contact the site and ask them nicely to change the mention into a link.

You should either contact the site owner or, if the mention is in an article, the author of the content.

Simple works fine. Try something like this:

Hi [Name of site owner or content creator],
I saw you mentioned my site in [name of article or content here]. Just wanted to say thanks for the mention.
If it’s not too much trouble, would you mind linking to our homepage here: https://example.com?
Either way—appreciate the shout-out.
Sincerely,
[Your name]

That’s all there is to it. No pressure. Just a friendly ask.

Most site owners and authors will be happy to take a few seconds and give you a link, especially if they already mentioned you positively.

You don’t have to use this technique for every single brand mention you find.

Focus on creating more brand mentions and turning some of the strongest ones into backlinks when it makes sense.

Brand Mentions vs. Brand Sentiment

Brand mentions don’t just feel good; they should move the needle.

If you’re investing in digital PR, guest content, or influencer outreach, you want to know if those mentions are actually paying off.

Here are a few smart ways to track the return on investment (ROI) of brand mentions:

1. Monitor Changes in Branded Search Volume

Use tools like Google Search Console, Ubersuggest, or Semrush to track whether more people are searching for your brand name or products over time. A spike in branded searches often follows strong media or influencer coverage.

2. Analyze Referral Traffic

Go to your analytics platform (like Google Analytics) and check referral sources. See which blogs, media outlets, or social posts are sending you traffic, even if they didn’t include a link.

3. Track Backlinks from Mention Campaigns

Not every mention includes a link up front. But if you’re running outreach or thought leadership campaigns, keep an eye on Ahrefs or BuzzSumo to see which mentions eventually earn backlinks.

4. Measure Lead Quality and Mentions in Sales Conversations

If your sales team uses a customer relationship management (CRM) platform, check notes and call transcripts for brand mentions from prospects. Ask: “How did you hear about us?” or, “Have you seen us mentioned anywhere recently?”

5. Set Baselines and Compare Month Over Month

Track your number of mentions, brand reach, and visibility in AI results. Tools like Profound can help you benchmark how often and where you’re showing up specifically in AI results.

FAQs

What is a brand mention for SEO?

A brand mention for SEO is any time your brand name appears on another website, even if there’s no hyperlink. Google uses these mentions (also called implied links) to assess your brand’s credibility, relevance, and authority in search results.

How do you get brand mentions?

You earn brand mentions by showing up where your audience is. That includes writing guest posts, getting quoted in articles, collaborating with influencers, delivering great customer experiences, and running campaigns that get people talking online.

Conclusion

Brand mentions aren’t just good for your reputation. They can boost your rankings, increase visibility across the web (indirectly increasing visibility in AI tools), and drive more traffic over time.

This strategy isn’t too complicated. Anyone can do it, and it works best when you already have a great product or useful content to share.

If you track your mentions, run campaigns to earn more, and turn high-value mentions into links, you’ll start seeing results.

It won’t happen overnight. But over time, it adds up.

Mentions help people find you, trust you, and talk about you in all the right places.

Add this to your SEO strategy, and you’ll get more out of the work you’re already doing.

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