How To Rank In AI Overviews?

AI Overviews are quickly becoming a staple of modern search, providing users with summarized, top-level answers pulled from across the web. For brands, being featured in these summaries can mean exponential visibility, trust, and traffic.

TL;DR – How to Rank in AI Overviews

1. Get your brand mentioned widely (with or without links).
2. Focus on branded anchors in link building.
3. Increase branded search volume via awareness.
4. Build authority with high DR backlinks.
5. Prioritize unique referring domains.
6. Don’t obsess over branded traffic, but don’t ignore it.
7. Write content that is clear, useful, and trustworthy.

Ahrefs analyzed 75,000 brands to see which search factors are most likely to influence brand mentions in AI Overviews.

Key Factors Influencing Brand Mentions in Google’s AI Overviews

Want your brand featured in Google’s AI Overviews? Here are five key drivers of brand mentions and how to make them work for you.

1. Branded Web Mentions and Branded Anchors – The Two Most Powerful Signals

If there’s one takeaway from this article, it’s this: branded mentions are gold.

Why it matters: Branded web mentions—whether linked or unlinked—are one of the strongest indicators that your brand is known, talked about, and authoritative. Whether it’s a blog post referencing your company name or a news site covering your latest product, every mention counts.

Similarly, branded anchors (links with anchor text like “BrandName” or “BrandName tools”) send clear signals to search engines and AI systems alike about your brand’s identity and relevance.

Tips: Use digital PR strategies to earn branded web mentions (e.g., founder interviews, unique research, newsworthy campaigns). Use link building to secure high-quality backlinks with branded anchor text. Avoid over-optimized anchors.

2. Branded Search Volume – A Sign of Demand

Why it matters: Search engines and AI models track how many people are actively searching for your brand. A growing branded search volume shows there’s increasing awareness and interest, making your brand more likely to be recognized and included in summaries.

Tips

• Run awareness campaigns
• Invest in content that encourages people to Google your name
• Appear in comparison content and review sites
• Grow branded search by increasing brand awareness through podcasts, YouTube, guest blogging, and social media marketing

3. Domain Rating (DR) Still Signals Authority

Why it matters: Higher authority domains are more likely to be cited in AI Overviews.

Tips: Continue building high-quality backlinks from diverse and authoritative domains.

4. Referring Domains Matter More Than Backlink Quantity

Why it matters: Google’s AI values link diversity. Multiple links from one site don’t help as much as getting links from many different domains.

Tips: Target unique referring domains instead of chasing quantity.

5. Branded Traffic (Minor Factor)

Why it matters: While it’s not a top factor, branded traffic still supports the brand authority signals that feed into AI Overviews.

Tips: Drive branded traffic through retargeting ads, email marketing, and community building.

BONUS: Content Relevance & Clarity

Why it matters: Google’s AI picks up content that clearly answers user intent and comes from trusted, expert sources.

Tips

• Add author bios with credentials
• Add structured data/schema to pages
• Add “As Featured In” section with real publications that mention you
• Write in concise, factual sentences — AI scrapes snippets fast
• Use headers (H2s, H3s) with question-style keywords (e.g., “What is white label link building?”)

Final Thoughts

AI Overviews are changing the SEO game, rewarding brands that demonstrate trust, authority, and relevance across the web. If you want to earn your spot in these summaries:

• Prioritize branded web mentions and branded anchors
• Grow branded search volume
• Keep building links from unique referring domains

At SAASY LINKS, we help SaaS and tech brands do exactly this with smart, scalable link building designed to elevate your visibility across both organic search and AI Overviews.