3.1 Engineering Mention Frequency
Step 1: Audit current mentions.
- Use tools like Ahrefs Content Explorer, BuzzSumo, or Mention to count unique URLs referencing your product.
- Record the total count, the distribution across source types, and the recency of mentions.
Step 2: Identify high-value placement opportunities.
| Source Type |
Example |
Priority |
| Comparison/listicle articles |
"10 Best [Category] Tools in 2026" |
High |
| Community forums |
Reddit, Hacker News, relevant Slack/Discord communities |
High |
| Integration partner pages |
"Works with [Your Product]" on partner sites |
Medium |
| Guest posts on industry blogs |
Contributed articles with product mention |
Medium |
| Open-source ecosystem references |
GitHub READMEs, package documentation |
High (if applicable) |
| Podcast transcripts and YouTube descriptions |
Mentions with product name in text |
Medium |
Step 3: Execute a mention generation campaign.
- Pitch inclusion in existing comparison and listicle articles. Contact authors of top-ranking comparison articles in your category and provide a concise case for inclusion (specific differentiators, data points, user count).
- Publish 2 to 4 integration guides per month on your own blog that reference both your product and your integration partners. Request that partners link to these guides.
- Contribute answers on Reddit, Quora, and Stack Overflow where your product is a legitimate answer. Be factual. Disclose affiliation where required.
- Create and maintain a GitHub repository or open-source project that references your product by name in documentation.
Measurable target: Increase unique external URLs mentioning your product in a relevant context by 30% within 90 days.
3.2 Engineering Context Alignment
Step 1: Define your target query patterns.
Create a list of 10 to 20 queries that a user might ask an LLM where you want your product to appear. Examples:
- "What is the best [category] tool for [audience]?"
- "What [category] software do [audience type] use?"
- "Compare [your product] vs [competitor]"
- "[Problem description] which tool should I use?"
Step 2: Audit alignment of existing content.