This is a comprehensive article on brand mentions and AI Engine Optimization (AEO). Here are the main points discussed:
What are brand mentions?
Brand mentions refer to any online mention of a company's brand, including social media posts, articles, reviews, and more. These mentions can be positive or negative and can impact how customers perceive a brand.
Why track brand mentions?
Tracking brand mentions is essential for businesses to understand their online reputation, identify areas for improvement, and optimize their marketing efforts. It also helps to detect potential issues before they become major crises.
What are AI Engine Optimizations (AEO)?
AEO involves optimizing a brand's online presence across various AI-powered search engines, such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini. This includes ensuring that the brand appears consistently and accurately in these platforms, which can improve visibility and credibility.
How to track brand mentions?
To track brand mentions, businesses can use various tools, including:
- Manual prompt auditing: Run a list of priority queries across multiple AI engines and log results.
- Dedicated AI monitoring tools: Use specialized tools like Otterly or Peec AI to automate the process.
- Historical trend tracking: Build a historical analysis of AI brand mentions to identify trends and optimize efforts.
When to escalate a negative brand mention?
Escalation is necessary for situations involving:
- Defamatory or factually false claims
- Potential brand crisis
- Regulatory or compliance risk
- Impersonation or trademark misuse
- Coordinated negative campaigns
How to convert unlinked brand mentions into backlinks?
To convert unlinked brand mentions into backlinks, follow these steps:
- Identify unlinked mentions: Use a backlink scanner to find pages that reference the brand without linking.
- Verify context: Ensure the mention is positive or neutral and a link would add value for readers.
- Find the right contact: Identify the author or editor.
- Send a short, specific email: Thank them for the mention and suggest adding a link.
Best practices
To get ahead in AEO, layer social listening, backlink scanning, review tracking, and AI visibility monitoring into a single CRM-connected workflow.
The article concludes by emphasizing that businesses can start optimizing their brand mentions today using HubSpot's AEO tool.