For two decades, SEO was all about backlinks. The more you had, the higher you climbed. But new research from Ahrefs turns that model on its head. Its study of 75,000 brands shows the strongest signal for AI search visibility isn’t links – it’s brand mentions.
That shift is huge. The brands winning today aren’t necessarily those with the biggest link profiles, but the ones being talked about in the right places, by the right audiences. And that’s exactly where Digital PR comes in: aligning reputation, marketing strategy and business goals to drive long-term impact.
Key takeaways
- Ahrefs found brand web mentions correlate three times more strongly with AI visibility than backlinks.
- Reputation is revenue: people are twice as likely to click on a brand they recognise.
- Digital PR is about more than mentions and links – it’s about strategically building trust, influence and awareness across every platform your audience uses.
The problem with old-school SEO
For years, backlinks were seen as the gold standard of SEO. Entire industries sprang up to build them, buy them and measure their value with domain authority scores. And to be clear – links still matter.
But in Google’s AI Overviews, they’re not the leading factor. According to Ahrefs, brand web mentions have a correlation of 0.664 with AI Overview visibility, compared to just 0.218 for backlinks. Branded anchors (0.527) and branded search volume (0.392) also outpaced backlinks.
In other words: it’s not just who links to you, but who’s talking about you.
That’s critical when you consider user behaviour too. Research shows people are twice as likely to click on a link from a brand they’ve heard of versus one they haven’t. Even if your SEO setup is perfect, you’re missing potential traffic if nobody recognises your name. That’s where building reputation through Digital PR comes into play.
Digital PR: what works now in the age of AI
Focus on mentions, not just links
Mentions matter more than raw backlinks. A niche blog, podcast or industry publication that talks about your brand can have as much – if not more – influence on AI visibility than a higher-DA backlink.
Prioritise branded anchors
Natural use of your company name outperforms keyword-stuffed anchor text – it signals credibility.
Know where your audience is researching
The digital landscape is fragmenting. B2C brands in fashion, beauty or travel that ignore TikTok (and now Lemon8) risk missing entire swathes of their audience. For B2B, not taking LinkedIn seriously in 2025 is a huge gamble. Podcasts have exploded since 2020. If your audience isn’t searching on Google, they haven’t disappeared – they’ve just moved.
Google is still the priority
It’s easy to get swept up in the AI search hype, but perspective matters. At last count, ChatGPT was processing around 66.5 million searches per day, compared to Google’s 14 billion. Google still dominates the search market (for now), and that means for SEO – and by extension, Digital PR – it remains a key priority.
Research from Brainlabs adds another dimension to the differences between the two: Google cites the most trustworthy sources, and prioritises high domain authority websites, while ChatGPT is four times more likely than Google to cite low DA websites – but low(er) DA doesn’t necessarily mean low quality – it could be a reputable trade press website, for example, that’s relevant to your audience.
That means Digital PR isn’t just about getting into the biggest outlets – it’s about securing mentions in relevant and trustworthy places where both Google *and* AI go to look for answers.
Look beyond digital
Rand Fishkin recently pointed out the return of billboards in San Francisco. Tech companies that once scoffed at traditional marketing are now buying old-school outdoor ads. In an era of zero-click search, where global website traffic is tumbling following the launch of Google’s AI overviews, some brands are turning back to tactics that guarantee eyeballs.
Remember legacy media still wins
It’s not all doom and gloom for publishers as you may have been led to believe. The Independent and Financial Times are both thriving as profitable, digital-first businesses with global reach. They also happen to carry some of the highest domain authorities on the web. Coverage in trusted outlets like these drives brand mentions and trust – a win-win in AI search.
This is especially important when you consider the latest research which shows that 90% of AI visibility is driven by citations from earned editorial media (Golin, PR Moment webinar) and that 61% of LLM responses reference earned editorial media when answering questions about brands (Hard Numbers, Reputation in the Age of AI). Put simply, trusted press coverage doesn’t just build human trust – it feeds the algorithms too.
Digital PR is more than mentions and backlinks
At Midnight, when we talk about Digital PR, we’re not simply talking about chasing mentions or securing backlinks. Those signals are important, but they’re only part of the picture.
What we do is far more strategic. We help our clients build and maintain their reputations, because reputation = revenue. That means asking the bigger questions:
- How is your brand currently perceived?
- Which audiences do you need to influence and engage?
- Where do you want to go as a business?
Our PR strategies are designed to underpin SEO, as well as your entire marketing mix and ultimately your business goals. After all, every marketing function should be singing from the same hymn sheet.
Proof it works: Digital PR in action
We’ve seen the power of Digital PR play out across sectors:
- BCIS – establishing thought leadership in the built environment press.
- Checkatrade – building the national profile of a tradesperson directory to attract investors.
- Boundless – driving visibility and supporting SEO for a membership club.
These aren’t just link-building exercises. They’re reputation-building strategies that deliver measurable impact on awareness, authority and revenue.
The bigger picture: change is the only constant
One thing’s clear: the world of digital marketing, SEO and AI search is changing rapidly. What’s true today may look different next year.
Will brand mentions remain the dominant signal? Possibly. Will Google roll out paid options to guarantee inclusion in AI Overviews? We wouldn’t be surprised. After all, companies have invested millions to rank in Google – and Google has every incentive to “paywall” the new search real estate.
The pace of change is what makes this such an exciting time to work in our industry. New research, tools and trends are emerging constantly. At Midnight, we’re keeping a close eye on what’s working, what’s changing, and what’s next – so our clients are always at the cutting edge.
Wrap-up
Backlinks still matter. But they’re no longer the whole story. In the AI era, what really moves the needle is reputation: being talked about, trusted and remembered for all the right reasons, by the right audiences. That’s what Digital PR delivers.
Take our digital reputation scorecard
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About the author
Flo Powell, Joint Managing Director at Midnight Communications. Flo has 20 years’ experience helping businesses build brand reputation, boost SEO and navigate the fast-changing world of Digital PR. She’s also a frequent speaker on Digital PR in the age of AI.
