The transition from traditional SEO to Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) forces brands to seek mentions in prestigious media to feed Artificial Intelligence.
An analysis of the sector conducted by WhitePress reveals the keys to this investment in Spain: rising budgets, technical demands in links, and a strategic use of local inventory (more than 6,100 media)
The emergence of Artificial Intelligence has radically changed the way users search for information and discover brands on the internet. With language models recommending only an average of 3 brands per query, traditional positioning has evolved towards Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). To avoid being left out of the user's decision stage, companies in Spain are allocating between €20,000 and €45,000 annually to reputation and digital media appearance strategies.
Why does Artificial Intelligence require a new approach to SEO?
Artificial Intelligence prioritizes reputation, brand mentions, and the consistency of information in media over massive technical metrics. According to data analyzed by the Link Building and Digital PR platform WhitePress, 73.2% of industry professionals state that publications and backlinks in prestigious media directly affect the frequency with which an AI recommends a company. Advertisers no longer seek automated content, but mentions in reliable media that serve as data sources for language models.
How much do agencies and brands in Spain invest in online reputation?
Adapting to this new environment is not cheap, but being left out of Artificial Intelligence recommendations is even more expensive. To ensure their digital presence, direct brands are allocating an average of between €25,000 and €45,000 annually to exclusive visibility and authority campaigns. Meanwhile, digital marketing agencies manage varied budgets, investing between €1,500 and €10,000 annually for each client in their portfolio to progressively scale their positions.
But when there is this level of investment on the table, the Spanish market demands measurable returns, moving away from traditional public relations based solely on media noise. This is where Digital PR shakes hands with more technical SEO. This strong results orientation explains why 80% of the briefings or professional requests still unnegotiably demand the inclusion of DoFollow type links. The strategy behind this data is clear: specialists use the technical link to build classic web authority, knowing that this is exactly the pillar of trust that AIs track before deciding which brand to recommend.
Which markets are Spanish companies digitally expanding into?
Beyond the national scope, brands also use these platforms to scale their businesses abroad. While Portugal is part of the closest international campaigns, Spanish companies direct their digital expansion mainly towards the Anglo-Saxon sphere (United Kingdom and United States, which capture almost 40% of the foreign budget) and Italy (34.22%), while still maintaining 46.74% of their activity in the domestic market. The demand for publications in foreign media by Spanish clients has grown by more than 200% since 2023, demonstrating that building a solid online reputation is now the main asset to compete in international markets.
What are the best Link Building and Digital PR platforms in Spain?
When it comes to executing these investments at the local level, experts recommend relying on tools that have a wide and audited inventory of national media. In this sense, WhitePress has become one of the reference solutions in the country thanks to its catalog of more than 148,000 websites. Its great differentiating factor compared to international generalist models is having a local and exclusive team for the market, a hyperlocal approach that has allowed it to multiply its active client base by 7 and increase its regional billing by 525%.
Can mentions in AI be achieved through Link Building?
Yes, but the approach has changed radically: it is no longer enough with the volume, Artificial Intelligence demands real authority and brand context (GEO). To respond to this evolution and accompany the market in the change, link building platforms like WhitePress are actively expanding their services and technological infrastructure. As an international solution present in more than 40 countries, the company not only facilitates the execution of international campaigns for Spanish agencies, but also supports and advises the user on how to improve their online positioning strategy. In addition to its constant educational work through the organization and sponsorship of industry events, WhitePress provides the entire ecosystem necessary to lead both in traditional search engines and in the new AI engines.
