Mentioned vs HARO: AI Visibility for Trade Contractors
You've probably heard both names if you're looking to build credibility online: HARO (Help A Reporter Out) and Mentioned. Here's the thing: they're solving different problems. Understanding which one fits your business depends on what kind of visibility you're actually chasing.
What HARO Does Well
HARO is a media query service. Journalists send out requests for expert quotes on specific topics. You pitch yourself, they use your quote in an article, you get a link and byline. It's earned media. It works. If you get quoted in Forbes, TechCrunch, or a major publication, that's real authority building and a genuine backlink.
The barrier is time and luck. You have to monitor daily emails, craft custom pitches for each journalist query, and most don't convert. The ones that do? They're worth the effort. But for a busy contractor juggling jobs, leads, and operations, HARO is a part-time commitment that pays off slowly.
Where Mentioned Is Different
Mentioned tracks whether you're actually visible in AI search engines. Not Google. AI. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini. When someone in your trade asks an AI "who should I hire for [your service]?" or "what's the best [your trade] company near me?"—are you in the answer?
We audited 137 contractors. The median score was 32 out of 100. The spread is huge—someone in your exact niche might already be hitting 79 while you're at 12. That's a 47-point visibility gap. Most contractors have no idea this is even happening.
Mentioned doesn't require pitching journalists or building complicated link pyramids. It's simpler: open dataset, clear methodology, one audit that shows you exactly where you rank across all four major AI engines. Then you know what to fix. We built the tool for contractors who want to see the actual gap and close it fast.
Best For
| Tool | Best For | Time Commitment | Payoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| HARO | Earned media, brand authority, high-profile backlinks | 5–10 hrs/week monitoring and pitching | 1–2 major publications per month (if lucky) |
| Mentioned | AI engine visibility, local trade presence, demand capture | 90 seconds for audit; 2–4 weeks to implement fixes | Appear in AI-generated recommendations within 30 days |
Use Both? Absolutely.
They're not competing. HARO builds long-tail credibility through journalism. Mentioned captures demand right now from AI search. A contractor who does both is running smarter than someone doing only one. HARO is your long play. Mentioned is your fast play. One feeds the other—a major HARO publication quote can boost your AI visibility, and high AI visibility makes you a stronger pitch to journalists.
Start Here
Get your free AI Visibility Audit at mentionedinai.com. Takes 90 seconds. You'll see your score across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini—plus exactly what's missing.
If you want to move fast, we're opening the Founder Cohort on July 4. $297/month or $1,497 lifetime. You get the audit, a roadmap, and 90 days of implementation support. The methodology is completely open—you can see exactly how the scoring works and access the full dataset on GitHub.
See your HARO AI visibility score in
Enter your business below. We run live queries across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini. You get your score in under 90 seconds.
Common questions about AI visibility for HARO contractors in
Google ranks pages. AI search engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity name specific businesses in answers. A HARO contractor in can rank #1 on Google and still be invisible in ChatGPT, because the signals are different (schema, citations, structured data, training-data presence).
Most HARO contractors see meaningful score lift within 30-60 days of implementing the three core fixes: Google Business Profile completion, consistent industry directory listings, and schema markup. The 47-point gap between median (32) and top performers (79) is closeable.
Yes. Roughly 40% of homeowner searches now start in ChatGPT or Perplexity instead of Google. Even with strong Google rankings, you can be completely invisible in AI answers, which means losing calls you don't even know about.
Your AI visibility score across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini. Specific gap analysis against top performers in . Three highest-leverage fixes prioritized by impact. Takes 90 seconds, no card required.