Share of Search: The Hidden Metric Most Brands Miss 

Amongst all the metrics that decide the success of a brand’s market visibility, Share of Search (SoS) has emerged as a powerful, predictive tool for understanding brand performance. It’s not just a buzzword, it’s a transformative metric that’s challenging traditional brand tracking methods and reshaping the way we analyze market share.

Share of search is a metric that reveals up-to-the-minute insights into consumer intent and brand visibility. Brands can calculate share of search more easily than measuring share of voice.  In this blog we will read about share of search, show you how to calculate it accurately, and demonstrate how you can utilize this hidden metric to predict your brand’s future market performance.

What is Share of Search (SoS)? 

Share of search shows what percentage of organic search queries people make for your brand compared to all searches for brands in your market category. The metric calculates how often consumers look up your brand name versus your competitors.

Why Share of Search Matters

Marketing leaders are always chasing the elusive question: “Is my brand growing?“

While metrics like brand recall and brand lift are helpful, they’re often expensive to measure and hard to obtain in real time. Share of Search, on the other hand:

✓ Is publicly available

✓ Can be tracked frequently (weekly or monthly)

✓ Offers real-time brand health insights

✓ Correlates with market share and purchase intent

Now if we talk about why Share of Search is significant, here’s why: 

1. Shows consumer interest: Share of search works as a real-time indicator of consumer curiosity in your brand. People can’t search for brands they don’t know about, so a rising SoS usually points to growing brand awareness and consideration. This metric shows actual consumer behavior instead of just exposure to marketing messages.
2. Indicates consideration: Consumers who actively search for your brand name show deeper consideration than those who just see advertisements. Brand-specific search traffic converts at a much higher rate than non-branded searches.
3. Tracks brand health: Share of search acts as an early warning system for brand health. Marketers can spot potential issues before they hurt sales when SoS starts dropping, which lets them adjust their strategy proactively. You can also spot emerging threats by tracking your competitors’ SoS trends.

Share of Search vs. Share of Voice vs. Share of Market

Brands need to understand different marketing metrics to make smart decisions. Share of search has caught everyone’s attention because it can predict trends. Let’s see how it matches up with other marketing measurements.

Why Share of Search is a Better Predictor in Digital Marketing

Share of Search stands out because it can predict market share changes. The prediction time varies by industry – six months for mobile phones, three months for energy brands, and nine to twelve months for car makers, and so on. 

Share of Search (SoS) brings exceptional value to digital marketing for several reasons:

1. Data accessibility: SoS uses readily available search data, unlike SOV which struggles with digital measurement or SOM which needs hard-to-get competitive sales data.
2. Consumer behavior insights: SoS shows real consumer interest instead of marketing investments, giving a clearer picture of brand consideration.
3. Early warning system: SoS changes come before market share shifts, giving marketers time to adapt before money is affected.
4. Superior forecasting accuracy: Tests against multiple prediction methods showed that share of search wins every time, not just on an annual basis, but on a quarterly basis.

How to Calculate Share of Search Accurately

The right tools and precise calculations help you learn about your brand’s share of search. Let’s look at how to measure this powerful metric accurately.

If you’re wondering how to calculate share of search, the formula remains simple: take your brand’s search volume, divide it by the total search volume for all brands in your category, and multiply by 100 to find the percentage.

Share of Search = (Number of searches for your brand ÷ Total searches for all brands in your category) × 100

Let’s look at an example: 

Your brand gets 20,000 monthly searches while your three main competitors together get 30,000 searches. This means your share of search would be 40%. The calculation gives you a clear picture of your brand’s position in consumers’ minds.

Tools and Methods to Measure Share of Search

Brands can use several powerful tools to measure share of search, each offering unique benefits to understand their competition better.

Using Google Trends for SoS estimation

Google Trends is the quickest way to estimate share of search. Here’s how to start:

1. Visit Google Trends and enter your brand name
2. Select your target country from the dropdown menu
3. Click “Explore” and use “+Compare” to add competitor brands (up to five total)
4. Set your desired time range and search query source
5. Export the data to a spreadsheet to calculate

Google Trends shows search interest on a scale of 0-100, with 100 showing peak popularity for analyzed terms. The chart displays relative search interest and lets you compare which brands generate more searches over time.

Limitations of Google Trends

Google Trends is convenient but has important limitations:

• Relative values instead of absolute search volumes make precise calculations difficult
• The tool can misinterpret branded keywords or miss certain companies
• New websites or those with low monthly traffic show no data
• You can compare only five keywords at once
• Non-branded search performance measurement isn’t possible

Brands with generic names like “Apple” and common misspellings make it harder to get clean data.

Using keyword tools for absolute search volume

Keyword research tools give you more precise measurements with absolute search volumes:

The Writesonic SEO AI Agent delivers more accurate data by scouting through all the information on the web and then processing real-time results. Simply write a prompt about your brand name and its competitors, pick your location, and finally review the results. You can also ask it to display each brand’s average monthly search volume in the last year.

Your prompt can go like: “Analyze share of search for Mac Donald’s fast food chain against, KFC, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Taco Bell, and Subway – for the USA region and time period of last 1 month (May 2025)”. 

Other tools like the Mangools Share of Search tool gives accurate search data for any branded term or product category. Unlike Google Trends, you can switch between relative and total share of search values to see both percentages and absolute numbers. 

How to Improve Your Brand’s Share of Search

Your next step after measuring share of search should focus on making improvements through targeted actions. Success requires analyzing competitors and expanding your brand’s digital presence.

Step 1: Competitor keyword analysis using Writesonic SEO AI Agent

The Writesonic SEO AI Agent reveals which specific terms boost your competitors’ search visibility. You can start by analyzing your main competitors’ domains to discover their best-performing keywords. The key is to look past obvious brand terms and find content opportunities where competitors rank well but you don’t show up. Your best targets are keywords that combine high search volume with reasonable difficulty scores. 

Create content that specifically targets these gaps. You should also study how competitors secure prominent search positions through featured snippets and knowledge panels.

Example of a featured snippet

Step 2: Writesonic GEO Tool for brand mentions on AI 

The Writesonic GEO tool tracks your brand mentioned on multiple websites that rank for your target keywords and is cited by AI. This strategy will give a broader presence than just trying to rank your own site. Start by finding important non-branded search terms that relate to what you offer. Then reach out to publishers who rank for these terms and suggest content featuring your brand. Your brand visibility grows across search results on AI engines, which deepens consumer awareness beyond your website and beyond Google SERPs.

Step 3: Digital PR and link-building outreach

PR campaigns can boost your search visibility by a lot. The secret lies in creating content that naturally attracts links – think industry studies, surveys, or unique data visualizations. Build targeted media lists that focus on publications your audience reads regularly. Each outreach email should explain specifically why your content matters to their readers. Tools like the Writesonic SEO AI Agent help you spot and convert unlinked brand mentions into valuable backlinks. 

You can go with a prompt such as “spot and identify unlinked brand mentions of my brand Writesonic on any medium for the USA region” for detailed information on backlink sources.

Step 4: Tracking branded vs non-branded keyword performance

You need to separate branded from non-branded search performance to improve Share of Search effectively. Branded searches show existing awareness, while non-branded terms indicate category interest. Your analytics platform should track these categories separately. 

Non-branded search visibility typically drives growth in branded searches as people learn about your company. Monthly tracking of the ratio between these search types reveals your campaign’s success and brand health. Watch for shifts in search intent that show consumers moving from general awareness to specific interest in your brand.

Conclusion: Share of Search is Vital for Visibility

Share of search is a vital metric brands can’t afford to ignore anymore. This metric works like a crystal ball. It predicts market moves months before they show up in sales numbers. Therefore, companies can make proactive changes instead of reacting after their market share drops.

Note that SoS shows real consumer interest, not just marketing exposure. This makes it maybe more valuable than traditional metrics that only measure marketing inputs rather than actual consumer behavior.

When you assess your brand’s performance next time, look beyond the usual numbers. Knowing where your brand heads tomorrow matters more than seeing where it stands today.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is Share of Search and why is it important for brands? 

Share of Search is the percentage of organic search queries for your brand compared to all searches in your market category. It’s important because it reflects genuine consumer interest and has a strong correlation with market share, often predicting market shifts months in advance.

2. How does Share of Search differ from Share of Voice? 

While Share of Voice measures a brand’s advertising presence, SoS focuses on actual consumer searches. Share of Search provides more accurate insights into consumer intent and is easier to measure, especially in the digital marketing landscape.

3. What tools can I use to measure Share of Search? 

You can use Google Trends for a quick, free estimate. For more precise measurements, tools like Writesonic SEO AI Agent or Mangools Share of Search Tool feature provide absolute search volumes. 

4. How can I improve my brand’s Share of Search? 

To improve your SoS, focus on competitor keyword analysis, implement SEO strategies to increase brand mentions across multiple websites, engage in digital PR and link-building outreach, and track both branded and non-branded keyword performance.

5. Is Share of Search reliable for all types of brands? 

While Share of Search is generally reliable, it can be challenging for brands with generic names or common misspellings. It’s most effective when used alongside other metrics and when focusing on long-term trends rather than exact figures. The predictive power may also vary by industry, ranging from 3 to 12 months.

Sumana Sarmah

Sumana Sarmah is a Content Writer @ Writesonic, with 5+ years of hands-on experience in B2B content writing and copywriting. With a knack for creative brainstorming, she strategizes and curates impactful content that brings in exceptional engagement.