What Is Share of Search?

Measuring a brand’s influence has evolved far beyond counting mentions or analyzing social media chatter. As marketers look for better ways to gauge real consumer interest, share of search is quickly gaining traction as a go-to metric.

Unlike traditional data points like share of voice, which focuses on visibility, share of search reveals actual consumer behavior. As a result, it provides a direct line to understanding brand share and awareness, competitive standing and even potential search data fluctuations.

In this guide, we’ll explore what share of search is, why it’s important for your business and how you can use it to refine your marketing strategy.

What Is Share of Search?

In a world where brands are constantly vying for attention, the ability to understand one’s digital footprint is invaluable. Traditional metrics like share of voice have long been used to measure brand presence, but there’s a new search volume metric catching the eye of brand marketers everywhere: share of search.

So, what exactly is share of search? Simply put, it’s a metric that represents your brand’s share of search results compared to the total searches within your market or category. Think of it as a way to gauge consumer curiosity about your brand relative to the competition, based on the specific Google search they use. For instance, if you own a travel agency and people use the search term “your brand name vacations” 20% of the time when looking for travel services, that 20% is your share of search.

How does this stack up against other metrics? While share of voice helps paint a picture of media presence, share of search dives into the level of active interest, simply because search market share is more closely related to buying intent. 

Market share, on the other hand, reflects past and present sales — but share of search can foreshadow the future. It’s like getting valuable insights about your audience’s thought process, where you can see if they’re truly considering your brand over others, rather than just being exposed to it. It’s also a powerful complement to a content marketing audit, which can refine your SEO efforts and social media marketing strategy to attract more targeted leads.

Now, why is this metric suddenly so important? As brands are pressed to understand their competitive standing and anticipate consumer needs, brand search is becoming a vital search metric in modern marketing strategies. It serves as a measure of competitive positioning and even potential future trends. Think of it as a crystal ball that offers insights into not just where your company is now, but where it might be heading.

Why Share of Search Matters for Marketing

As digital marketing strategies become more data-driven, share of search is carving out a new niche for itself as a valuable tool for measuring brand health and competitive standing. This metric is rising in importance because it provides insights that go beyond traditional advertising metrics. It tells us what people are actively curious about, reflecting real-time consumer interest that can drive marketing decisions.

Why is this so impactful? Unlike other brand metrics, share of search has a direct connection to the buyer’s journey. While share of voice measures a brand’s reach and influence, it doesn’t always account for how consumers are actually responding. On the other hand, a rising share of search often aligns with increased brand awareness and interest, which are critical indicators of how a brand is perceived by its audience.

Using share of search, marketers can assess not only how much interest their brand is generating but also how it stacks up against competitors. Tracking this metric alongside a comprehensive content audit can help brands identify which search terms they’re ranking for, where they’re losing out to competitors and how to adjust their strategy to capture more of the search market.

How To Leverage Share of Search in Your Brand Strategy

Now that you know why share of search matters, it’s time to explore how you can use it to your advantage. By actively tracking this metric, you’ll uncover insights into what drives your audience’s curiosity, helping you fine-tune your brand’s messaging and SEO strategies to better capture their attention.

Improving Your Google Share of Search

To boost your share of search, you need to ensure your brand shows up when and where it matters most. This involves:

• Keyword optimization: Find the search terms your competitors are ranking for and assess where you can outshine them. Tools like Google Trends and Semrush Keyword Overview offer a solid starting point for this.
• Content strategy alignment: Create high-quality content that aligns with trending search topics and captures your target audience’s interest. This can include everything from blogs and videos to infographics and case studies.

Tracking share of search helps you allocate your marketing budget more effectively. By identifying which campaigns directly impact search trends, you can put more resources into the strategies that are likely to drive future interest.

Tools To Track and Measure Share of Search

Once you’re ready to monitor share of search, having the right tools will make all the difference. There are several platforms designed to track this metric and offer insights into how your brand stacks up in the competitive landscape.

• Google Trends: This tool provides a quick, visual snapshot of search interest over time. With Google Trends, you can compare how frequently users search for your brand versus competitors, identifying trends and opportunities for growth.
• Semrush Keyword Overview: Semrush offers robust keyword data, including search volumes and competitive metrics. By analyzing keywords tied to your brand, you can track shifts in your share of search and uncover new content opportunities.
• Ahrefs: Ahrefs’ batch analysis allows users to pull the data for multiple competitors and compare their organic search, domain ratings and referring domains side by side. You can also create a dedicated traffic share report to break everything down to one number.

How To Measure Share of Search

No matter which tool you decide on, getting started with share of search is straightforward. Here’s a quick guide:

1. Define your competitors: Identify a few key competitors to compare against your brand.
2. Select relevant keywords: Choose keywords tied to your products, services or industry.
3. Track search interest: Use your selected tool to measure how often these keywords lead to your brand versus competitors.
4. Analyze trends: Review the data over time to identify shifts and make adjustments to your strategy as needed.

Remember, tracking share of search not only helps you understand your current position but also guides your long-term marketing efforts. It provides actionable insights that can directly influence your content strategy, SEO focus and overall brand visibility.

Encourage your team to start tracking this metric as part of a broader effort to measure brand health and assess the impact of your digital marketing strategies. With these tools at your disposal, you’ll have a clear path toward refining your approach and gaining a stronger competitive edge.