Guide · Citations
Digital PR and earning citations: Being mentioned where AI looks
When an AI describes a brand, it looks beyond the brand’s own site to news, associations, directories and communities. Being mentioned accurately in those sources is one of the strongest ways to be described correctly in answers. This guide explains how to do it within the rules.
Digital PR is the work of getting a brand mentioned accurately in third-party sources such as news, associations, directories and communities. Mentions are earned with newsworthy data, expert commentary and up-to-date records. Buying links breaks Google’s spam policies; covert advertising is prohibited in Türkiye; partnership content must be clearly labelled as advertising.
1. Where do mentions help?
- Professional chambers and industry associations: membership records, member lists, event pages.
- Trade fair and event lists: exhibitor and speaker pages.
- Local and industry news: a real development, data or expert comment.
- Reliable directories: directories actually used in your industry, with editorial oversight.
- Communities: Google recommends telling people about your site in communities where people interested in your services gatherSource 3: Google Search Essentials; do it under your real identity and to help.
2. How are mentions earned?
Produce newsworthy data
Publish your own measurement or research with its method. In the GEO paper’s experiments, content with sources and statistics was markedly more visible in generative engine answersSource 4: GEO: Generative Engine Optimization (Aggarwal et al., KDD 2024).
Be an expert source
Give journalists and associations short, sourced comments in your field.
Keep your records current
Write your name, address and services in chamber, association and directory records exactly as on your site.
Watch accuracy
Check which third-party sources appear in AI answers; correct any source giving wrong information.
3. What should you avoid?
- Buying links: Buying or selling links to manipulate rankings breaks Google’s spam policies; optimised anchor text in articles and press releases on other sites falls under this too. Paid ad links must be marked with
rel="sponsored"orrel="nofollow"Source 1: Spam policies for Google web search. - Manufactured mentions: Google says chasing artificial “mentions” across the web is not as useful as it may seemSource 2: Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search.
- Covert advertising: In Türkiye covert advertising is prohibited in all media, and ads may not be used in ways that affect the editorial independence of outletsSource 5: Ticari Reklam ve Haksız Ticari Uygulamalar Yönetmeliği (son değişiklik RG 01.07.2026, 33297; yürürlük 01.08.2026).
- Unlabelled influencer content: Advertising through social media influencers must be clear, understandable and distinguishableSource 5: Ticari Reklam ve Haksız Ticari Uygulamalar Yönetmeliği (son değişiklik RG 01.07.2026, 33297; yürürlük 01.08.2026).
- Paid awards: Since 1 August 2026, awards that are not based on objective criteria announced in advance and are given in return for a benefit may not be mentioned in consumer advertising in TürkiyeSource 5: Ticari Reklam ve Haksız Ticari Uygulamalar Yönetmeliği (son değişiklik RG 01.07.2026, 33297; yürürlük 01.08.2026). Such an award is not evidence, in an ad or in content.
- Writing your own Wikipedia article: Employees or paid editors are strongly discouraged from editing the article directly; paid editing must be disclosedSource 6: Wikipedia:Conflict of interest.
4. The right of reply on complaint platforms
In Türkiye, complaint platforms must give the seller concerned forty-eight hours to explain and reply before a review is publishedSource 5: Ticari Reklam ve Haksız Ticari Uygulamalar Yönetmeliği (son değişiklik RG 01.07.2026, 33297; yürürlük 01.08.2026). Use that time: a short, factual, solution-focused reply is a source read together with the complaint.
Frequently asked questions
01Does publishing press releases help?
Yes, for announcing something newsworthy. But optimised anchor text in press releases is among Google’s examples of link spamSource 1: Spam policies for Google web search. Write the release for the news, not for the link.
02Can we do sponsored content?
Yes, if it is clearly labelled as advertising. Covert advertising is prohibitedSource 5: Ticari Reklam ve Haksız Ticari Uygulamalar Yönetmeliği (son değişiklik RG 01.07.2026, 33297; yürürlük 01.08.2026), and paid links in the content must be marked with rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow"Source 1: Spam policies for Google web search.
03Can we have a Wikipedia article written about our brand?
Wikipedia’s conflict-of-interest rules do not allow for itSource 6: Wikipedia:Conflict of interest. Working on mentions in independent sources is the only healthy way for an article to appear on its own.
Sources
- [1]Spam policies for Google web searchGoogle Search Central · accessed: 26 September 2026
- [2]Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google SearchGoogle Search Central · accessed: 26 September 2026
- [3]Google Search EssentialsGoogle Search Central · accessed: 26 September 2026
- [4]GEO: Generative Engine Optimization (Aggarwal et al., KDD 2024)arXiv · accessed: 26 September 2026
- [5]Ticari Reklam ve Haksız Ticari Uygulamalar Yönetmeliği (son değişiklik RG 01.07.2026, 33297; yürürlük 01.08.2026)Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi · accessed: 26 September 2026
- [6]Wikipedia:Conflict of interestWikipedia · accessed: 26 September 2026
How to cite this page
Kaynaq. (27 September 2026). Digital PR and earning citations: Being mentioned where AI looks. https://kaynaq.pages.dev/en/guides/digital-pr-and-citations
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