During a party at Google SEO Office hours, Googler John Mueller was asked if there was an article talking about his website, but the brand name or domain name mentioned was not related to his website. What he wanted to know was whether these mentions of his domain name and brand name could send some kind of signal.
John Mueller’s answer was clear and unambiguous.
brand mention
The person asking the question brought up the topic of domain mentions, and whether Google uses them similarly to links.
He explained the scenario where his website publishes articles that mention domain names or brand names but don’t link to the actual website.
“…these mentions can be in the form of a brand name or a person’s name.
…is Google still able to recognize these mentions, these names, and since they’re tied to current details of the parent company or the brand they’re working with, is that…some kind of impact… …
Just because you’ve been mentioned in some other place, but you’re not connected. “
either link or not
Mueller answered the question, basically saying that a brand mention is not a link and therefore would not be considered a link.
Google’s John Mueller replied:
“I mean… first of all, if there’s no link to your page, then it’s not really a link.
So that’s not what we’re going to see, kind of like, oh, here’s a semi-link or something like that that’s worth mentioning.
Essentially, there is no link, so no signal goes through, like any normal link out there.
So, I think that’s the first thing to remember.
That doesn’t mean… kinda… these mentions are bad, or that you need to avoid them or anything like that.
Really just, we don’t see these as links.
That’s it.
This is probably where users will choose to mention, they will search for your site, and they will visit your site no matter what.
But it’s not a link to your website.
So from that perspective, it’s very different.
I wouldn’t put them in the same category. “
Brand mentions are not signaled
John Mueller is very clear that if a website mentions a brand or website domain, Google will not consider it a link.
His answer was clear and unequivocal:
“Essentially, there is no link, so no signal goes through…”
This means that if no signal goes through then it has zero ranking impact similar to a link.
Citation
Do unlinked mentions count as links?
Watch the 46:27 minute mark
