9 min read · Link Building · Last updated July 2026
Quick answer: Link reclamation finds websites that mention your brand, product, or content without linking to you and asks them to add a link. These convert at 20–35% — the highest of any outreach type — because the site already knows you and has already referenced you.
Introduction
Every day, sites mention brands they find interesting without linking to them. A blogger writes about a tool they use and spells out the name without hyperlinking. A journalist covers your industry and references your company in a sentence. A forum post recommends your service by name.
Each of these is a link that should exist and doesn’t. Link reclamation is the systematic process of finding these gaps and closing them.
What you’ll learn:
– How to find unlinked brand mentions using multiple tools
– How to set up automated monitoring to catch new mentions
– The outreach approach that converts at 25%+ reply rates
– How to prioritize which mentions to pursue first
Table of Contents
- Why Reclamation Converts Better Than Cold Outreach
- Finding Existing Unlinked Mentions
- Setting Up Ongoing Monitoring
- Qualifying Mentions Worth Pursuing
- Outreach Templates
- Tracking and Measuring Results
- FAQ
1. Why Reclamation Converts Better Than Cold Outreach
The psychology is simple: the site already likes you enough to mention you. You’re not asking them to discover something new — you’re asking them to add a hyperlink to something they’ve already written.
That’s a much smaller ask than any other link request. The result is reply rates of 20–35% versus 5–15% for other outreach types.
Additionally, these are editorial links by definition. The site chose to mention you independently. Adding a link makes their mention more useful to their readers (readers can click to learn more). It’s a genuinely low-friction, mutually beneficial request.
2. Finding Existing Unlinked Mentions
Method 1: Google Search Operators
Search:
– "[Your Brand Name]" -site:yourdomain.com
– "[Product Name]" -site:yourdomain.com
– "[Founder Name]" -site:yourdomain.com
Filter results for pages that mention you without linking (check by visiting the page and looking for a hyperlink on your brand name).
Method 2: Ahrefs Content Explorer
Ahrefs Content Explorer > search for your brand name > filter by “no link to target” (set your domain as the target).
This is the most efficient method. It surfaces pages that mention your brand and confirms in the tool whether or not they link to you.
Method 3: Google Alerts
Set up alerts for your brand name, product names, and key phrases. New mentions are emailed to you as they’re indexed. This is ongoing monitoring (section 3), but checking historical alerts can surface older unlinked mentions.
Method 4: Brand24 or Mention.com
These social and web monitoring tools track mentions across blogs, news, forums, and social media. They filter by “with link” and “without link,” making reclamation prospecting straightforward.
3. Setting Up Ongoing Monitoring
Set these up once and check monthly:
Google Alerts: alerts.google.com — create alerts for:
– Your brand name (exact match, in quotes)
– Product names
– Your domain name
– Key executive names
Ahrefs Alerts: Content > Alerts — set up mention monitoring for your brand. Ahrefs emails new mentions weekly.
Brand24 or Mention.com: More comprehensive monitoring including social media, forums, and news. More expensive but catches more mentions than Google Alerts alone.
Check your monitoring results monthly and add new unlinked mentions to your outreach queue.
4. Qualifying Mentions Worth Pursuing
Not every unlinked mention is worth the outreach time.
Prioritize:
– DR 25+ sites (lower sites add minimal value even with a link)
– Mentions in editorial content (blog posts, news articles) rather than user comments
– Mentions that reference your brand positively
– Mentions on sites in your industry (higher relevance = more link value)
Skip:
– Social media posts (links from most social platforms are nofollow and carry minimal equity)
– Forum signatures and comment sections
– Sites with no real organic traffic
– Automated aggregation sites that mention everything
5. Outreach Templates
Template 1 — Simple reclamation:
Subject: [Publication Name] — quick link request
Hi [Name],
Noticed you mentioned [Brand Name] in your [article title] — thanks for the inclusion.
Would you be able to add a link to [specific URL]? Makes it easier for readers to find us directly from the mention.
No pressure if it doesn’t fit your style — just thought it was worth asking.
[Your name]
Template 2 — For a specific product or content mention:
Subject: Re: [Brand Name] mention in your [article]
Hi [Name],
Thanks for mentioning [product/content] in your recent piece on [topic].
The direct link for the section you referenced is [URL] — might be a useful addition for readers who want to explore it directly.
[Your name]
Both templates are short by design. Reclamation emails don’t need to sell anything. The site already mentioned you. You’re just asking for a small, helpful edit.
6. Tracking and Measuring Results
FAQ
Q: How do I know if a mention has a link or not?
A: Visit the page, use Ctrl+F to find your brand name, and hover over it. If the text is underlined and shows a URL on hover, it’s linked. If it’s just text, it’s unlinked. Ahrefs Content Explorer automates this check.
Q: Should I ask them to link to my homepage or a specific page?
A: Specific page that’s most relevant to the context of the mention. If they mentioned a specific product, link to that product page. If they mentioned your company in a general context, the homepage is fine.
Q: What if the mention is negative?
A: Don’t request a link from negative mentions. If someone has written negatively about your brand, a link from that content is not beneficial and reaching out is likely to escalate the situation.
Q: How many reclamation opportunities do most sites have?
A: It depends on brand age and visibility. A new startup might have 5–20 mentions. An established brand that’s been active for 5+ years in a visible industry might have hundreds. Run your first analysis to establish a baseline, then monitor monthly.
Q: Is link reclamation faster than outreach?
A: Yes — significantly. The research phase (finding mentions) takes the most time, but the outreach itself is short and converts quickly. For most sites, reclamation is the best first link building tactic before moving to more intensive prospecting.
Conclusion
Link reclamation is the easiest wins in link building. You’re not convincing sites to link to something they don’t know — you’re asking them to formalize a reference they’ve already made. Start with a Google search for your brand name, identify the unlinked mentions, and send the short, polite email. The conversion rate will surprise you.
We Handle Reclamation Alongside Full Link Building Campaigns
Our team identifies unlinked mentions and manages the outreach — alongside prospecting, broken link, and editorial outreach.
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Written by the Ignited Nepal SEO team. ignitednepal.com