Somewhere right now, there's a page talking about your business without linking to you. A review that mentions you, a roundup that lists you, a local article that quotes you — all with your name and no hyperlink. Every one of those is a high-quality link you could have simply by asking.
This is the closest thing link building has to a hack, and almost nobody does it. That's bizarre, because the hardest part of getting a link — earning the trust to be mentioned at all — is already done for you.
Why it's the easiest link there is
Every other link building tactic starts with a cold ask: "please link to me," to someone who's never heard of you. It's a hard sell and usually a no.
Unlinked mentions are the opposite. The site already mentioned you in a relevant, positive context. You're not asking for trust; you're just asking them to finish the job. "Thanks for mentioning us — would you mind adding a link to our site?" That request gets a yes far more often than any other kind.
The context is the hard work, and it's already done.
How to find them
First you have to know you're being mentioned, which means monitoring. Set up alerts for your business name (and common misspellings) across news, reviews, forums, and social. Then check each one:
- Does it mention you without linking to your site?
- Is the context positive or relevant?
- Is it a real page with any value — not a spam directory?
The honest, relevant mentions are your list. Favor ones on real, indexed pages where a link would actually help.
How to ask without being a pest
The ask is short and genuinely helpful for both sides:
- Thank them first. Acknowledge the kind mention. Nobody responds to a bare "add my link."
- Make the request one line. A link for your site or business page, nothing complicated.
- Give them what they need. If there's a specific relevant page, offer it. Makes it trivially easy to say yes.
- Be gracious with a no. Sometimes they can't or won't. One polite follow-up, then move on. Pestering burns the goodwill.
Make it a steady habit
Unlinked reclamation works because it compounds. Every month a few more mentions surface, and a steady stream of reclaimed links quietly builds authority. It's not a one-time cleanup; it's an ongoing part of brand management.
The beautiful part: this never goes out of style. While everyone chases complicated link tactics, the free ones already floating around your brand wait unclaimed — and they're still some of the best links you can get.
The lesson
Before you build a single new link from scratch, collect the ones that already exist in mentions you've ignored. It's the rare case where the link building is easier than finding the opportunity to do it.
If you've never looked at what people are saying about you without linking, you're sitting on a pile of easy wins. Book a free website teardown and we'll help you set up the monitoring and identify the mentions worth reclaiming first.