For more than twenty years, SEO treated backlinks as the main currency of trust. If another website linked to you, Google assumed you were credible. Agencies built their service offerings around earning, trading or quietly acquiring links to lift authority.

In 2026, things are changing significantly. Search moves away from counting how many links point to you and toward understanding where your brand fits in the broader conversation. For Perth businesses working with an SEO agency, understanding this shift is now critical.

One of the clearest changes since the December core update is the growing importance of brand mentions, particularly in AI-driven search results where citations are inferred rather than clicked.

Put simply, Google is no longer asking only who links to you. It asks who talks about you, in what context, and whether those mentions suggest you operate in the field you want to rank for.

What counts as a brand mention?

A brand mention is any appearance of your business name in written or spoken content, whether or not there is a live hyperlink.

Examples include:
A local news article referencing your work
A customer sharing a recent project on LinkedIn
A niche industry site explaining a solution you used
A podcast host quoting your advice
A panel list mentioning your contribution
A community recommendation thread

These footprints help search systems recognise what you do and where you operate. Mentions from relevant organisations or recognised platforms carry more weight than automated directory listings.

Why AI prefers mentions over traditional links

Traditional link building focused on the authority of the hyperlink. The signal was binary. Either a high-tier site linked to you, or it did not. In 2026, AI systems have moved beyond this vote model. They are trained on meaning and co-occurrence. They do not just see a link. They interpret whether your brand name appears next to a solution as a trusted leader or a passing mention. This is the shift from Domain Authority to Entity Salience. It is not about how many links you have, but about how clearly your brand is tethered to your topic in the model’s eyes.

There is a flip side. A negative mention can be as powerful as a positive one. If your brand begins appearing in complaint forums or low-trust discussions, those associations also train the model. It is the context around your name, not just the visibility, that matters.

Where brand mentions naturally take shape

The good news is that most SMEs already engage in activities that generate these signals. They simply have not considered them SEO assets.

Mentions tend to form in:
Industry newsletters and trade groups
Local chambers and regional business hubs
Supplier ecosystems
Professional LinkedIn discussions
Community partnerships
Local media highlights
Panel appearances or webinars
Client showcase posts

Businesses that share their work publicly often accumulate mentions without formal link building.

How to encourage brand mentions without spamming anyone

Outreach has a reputation problem because it has been used poorly. Automated emails, mass-templated requests, and link begging rarely create meaningful authority. In the AI era, the most effective approach is grounded in contribution.

Step 1: Map the arenas where your audience participates
Start with the platforms and communities your clients and peers already trust.

Step 2: Offer value that deserves citation
Talk openly about what you have learned solving a problem.

Step 3: Provide material people want to reference
Useful examples include:
A short case study with visible outcomes
A pricing insight no one else is publishing
A transparent walkthrough of how you delivered something

Step 4: Collaborate with other businesses
A joint resource or event can result in mentions from multiple parties.

Step 5: Keep your branding consistent everywhere
This point matters more than most realise. If you are Smith & Co on your website but Smith Law Perth in a podcast introduction, the AI may treat these as two separate entities. Consistent naming acts like anchor text in the era of brand mentions.

A pro tip for 2026: treat PR as SEO

Digital PR is emerging as the most reliable path to mentions that matter. When a journalist references your business in a factual story, they are doing more than citing you. They are training the model to associate your business with that topic. One strong editorial mention can outweigh dozens of artificial links from sites with no readership.

What agencies need to shift

Agencies that still rely entirely on links are working against the tide. Clients now need:
Guidance on where relevant conversations happen
Support creating content people actually want to reference
Partnership campaigns that lead to earned mentions
Reporting that tracks retrieval and recognition, not just rankings

The next phase of authority is achieved openly, not manufactured behind the scenes.

What this means for businesses

Brand mentions are not replacing backlinks entirely. Links from respected publishers remain powerful. The shift is that the link itself is no longer the full story. Mentions add context, meaning and evidence that your business operates in its field.

If people are talking about you in the right places, AI systems learn to trust you. If you are absent from the conversation, link chasing alone will not fill the gap.

The goal is simple. Be the business that naturally appears when your industry discusses the problems you solve. Mentions build trust. Links follow. AI retrieves the brands the market already considers relevant.

Focus on work worth sharing. Show your thinking publicly. Leave the footprints that prove you are present in the real world. The authority signals take care of themselves.