Share of search: Measure your brand’s visibility in the SERPs
Share of search tracks your brand’s search demand vs. competitors. Learn why it matters, how to measure it, and tips to boost your market visibility.
Every brand has competitors, and every industry typically has certain popular brands that are consistently at the top of search results.
But where does your brand show up? How does your visibility compare to your competitors?
To find out, you can use a metric called share of search. In this article, we’ll show you how to measure share of search accurately, benchmark against your top competitors, increase your share of search, and better strategize your marketing efforts.
What is share of search?
Share of search is a marketing-related key performance indicator (KPI) that measures the percentage of search queries for a brand compared to its competitors. It helps determine overall brand visibility and consumer interest in a particular market or category in search engines.
Marketers like to keep an eye on their share of search percentage because a rising share of search KPI can be a great predictor of growth. The more people are searching for your brand, the more you can expect to interact with potential customers and ultimately make more sales.
There are a few marketing KPIs that tend to get lumped together, namely market share and share of voice, but share of search is unique. Here’s how it differs from two other popular KPIs:
Share of search vs. market share: Market share compares your sales over a period of time to the total sales industry-wide. It shows you what happened in the past, whereas share of search is more of an indicator for what sales might look like in the very near future. If a brand is increasing in branded search, odds are an increase in market share will follow.
Share of search vs. share of voice: Share of voice measures how much advertising or brand visibility a company has compared to its competitors across channels such as TV, radio, online ads, or social media. Share of search, on the other hand, measures how often people actually search for your brand compared to competitors, reflecting genuine consumer interest and intent rather than just advertising spend.
The SEO toolkit you know, plus the AI visibility data you need.
Traditionally, marketers measure brand awareness via methods like surveys and evaluating social media mentions. Share of search, though, is a lot more predictive of future growth than traditional brand awareness metrics.
What brands people are searching for shows genuine consumer intent in a way that survey responses or social media mentions just can’t match.
Why share of search matters
Share of search is an important metric for marketers to keep tabs on because it can help predict business growth before it shows up in sales data.
Here are 4 reasons why you should track your brand’s share of search:
1. It’s a leading indicator of market performance
Research by Les Binet, Head of Effectiveness at the marketing agency adam&eveDDB, showed that brands with a growing share of search typically see market share increases follow within six to 24 months. This happens because people usually start searching for brands before they buy from them.
When your share of search increases, it often means more people are becoming aware of and interested in your brand. They’ve made it past the awareness stage of your marketing funnel and are now in the interest or consideration phase. When share of search decreases, competitors might be gaining ground that could eventually impact your sales.
2. Modern consumers search before they buy
These days, buyers start most purchase journeys with an online search, whether they’re shopping for personal or business needs. They use search engines as a primary discovery channel to find solutions, research different options, and look up reviews or pricing information.
So, your share of search metric indicates how much early-stage consumer attention you’re capturing compared to competitors. If competitors are seeing an increased branded search volume in your category, they’re likely attracting more potential customers at the moment than you are.
3. It works even with AI in the mix
There were no AI overviews (Google’s AI-generated summaries) at the top of search results when share of search became a popular KPI. So, don’t these search engine changes throw a wrench in measuring share of search? And what about large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity?
The way people discover and search for information is changing rapidly, making some marketing KPIs (like organic click-through rates and impressions) less effective. For example, you might find the answer to your question in an LLM or an AI Overview without needing to click through to any websites.
Share of search, though, focuses on search volume and intent rather than just clicks and website traffic. Even if someone sees your brand mentioned in an AI overview but doesn’t click to your site, that still contributes to your share of search and indicates interest in your brand.
As long as you can measure search volume, you can measure share of search.
4. It helps you spot opportunities and threats for your brand early
Unlike metrics like sales revenue or market share that show what already happened, share of search shows what’s happening right now with consumer interest.
This means that with share of search, you can:
- Spot competitive threats early, like when a competitor’s share of search starts growing noticeably
- Measure the impact of brand campaigns faster
- Identify growing market opportunities (like an increase in searches for a particular type of product) before they show up in traditional business metrics
How to calculate share of search
The basic share of search formula is:
Your brand’s search volume ÷ Total category search volume × 100 = Share of search percentage
Here’s a practical example:
- Your brand: 5,000 monthly searches
- Competitor A: 8,000 monthly searches
- Competitor B: 3,000 monthly searches
- Competitor C: 4,000 monthly searches
- Total: 20,000 monthly searches
Your share of search = 5,000 ÷ 20,000 × 100 = 25%
But where exactly do you get the data you need to make this calculation?
Let’s go over exactly what you need and how to use it to calculate your brand’s share of search KPI.
Required data
To calculate your brand’s share of search accurately, you’ll need:
- Keyword sets: A comprehensive list of branded search terms for your company and your competitors. This includes exact brand names, common misspellings, abbreviated versions, and product names.
- Competitors: A defined list of direct competitors in your market. Focus on three to five main competitors rather than trying to include everyone in your industry.
- Timeframes: Consistent time periods for comparison. Monthly data works well for most brands, though you might use weekly data for fast-moving industries or quarterly for slower-moving markets.
- Geographic scope: Decide whether you’re measuring globally, nationally, or in specific regions where you compete.
Search volume tools
To find your share of search, you’ll need accurate search volume data for each of the keywords you included in your list. Here are a few tools that can help you access that data:
Google Trends
Google Trends is free and useful for comparing relative search interest between brands.
Although it’s a good tool to use for getting started, it doesn’t provide exact search volumes.
So, use it to get a general look at competitors’ search volume over time by heading to the Explore tab and typing in a brand or product:
Next, you can add more competitors to compare:
Pro tip: When looking at one competitor (without any comparisons), scroll down below the Interest over time graph to see related terms. This can sometimes help you find terms and product names that should be included in your share of search calculations:
Semrush
Semrush’s Keyword Overview tool is a great resource to use for finding more exact search volumes.
For example, here we’ll run a comparison of four top wireless service providers by adding them to the keyword checker:
Enter the competitors you want to compare and then hit ”Search.” The tool instantly provides detailed monthly search volume data for each specific keyword:
To dig down further, click on one of the branded keywords to view more data:
Then scroll down the page to find a keyword ideas list that’ll help you find more popular branded search terms:
Google Search Console
Google Search Console shows you the actual search queries driving traffic to your site, which can help you identify branded terms you might have missed.
To find them, once you have Search Console set up, head to the “Search results” tab:
Then, scroll down to see the list of keywords that people are using to find your brand:
How to account for search volume anomalies
Search volume is a metric that tends to fluctuate fairly often. For example, it can fluctuate due to seasonality, news events, or campaign launches.
To account for those anomalies and get a clearer picture of trends:
- Use moving averages: Instead of looking at single months, calculate three-month or six-month averages to smooth out temporary spikes.
- Account for seasonality: If your industry has predictable seasonal patterns, compare the same months year-over-year rather than month-to-month.
- Identify anomalies: Large spikes might be due to news coverage, viral content, or other situations. You can choose to include or exclude these in your data.
- Track consistently: Measure share of search using the same methodology, tools, and competitor-set over time to ensure your comparisons are valid.
Key factors that influence share of search
What causes increases and decreases in share of search?
Several factors can cause your share of search to rise or fall. By understanding them, you can explain shifts in performance and build a strategy to either reverse a decline or to sustain growth.
Here are the most common factors that influence share of search:
Brand campaigns
Both offline and online brand campaigns can create immediate increases in branded search volume. When people see your TV commercials, billboards, or social media ads, it’s possible that many will search for your brand to learn more.
Offline campaigns, like billboards and commercials, may seem like the obvious drivers of branded searches, since people aren’t clicking ads directly. But online efforts—such as display ads and social media—can boost branded searches as well by putting your brand in front of more people and keeping it top of mind.
Share of search is a handy metric to use to measure how effective different campaigns are at generating brand interest. You can compare your branded search volume before, during, and after campaign launches to see which tactics drive the most sustained interest.
SEO visibility
The work you put into your SEO visibility can also influence your share of search. Although the goal you’re targeting with SEO is probably increased non-branded traffic, it influences branded search and share of search, too.
Here’s how:
- Branded term visibility: Many of the tactics and strategies you use for SEO (like submitting a sitemap, making your website faster, and writing good meta titles and descriptions) help you rank for your branded searches, too. If you rank well for your own brand name and variations, you’re more likely to capture all the branded searches for your company. Poor rankings for your own brand terms can hurt your share of search.
- Non-branded visibility: While share of search focuses on branded terms, your visibility for other relevant keywords also builds your visibility in search results. If your brand gets more and more visible, that could influence whether people search for your brand
- SERP features and AI Overviews: Appearing in AI overviews, local packs, featured snippets, or other SERP features for relevant queries can increase brand awareness and lead to more branded searches later.
Competitor launches and PR events
Your share of search can be directly affected by what your competitors do. After all, your share of search depends on theirs.
For example, when a competitor launches a new product or gets news coverage, their branded searches are bound to rise. Your share of search is like a slice of pie, and how big your slice is depends on how big your competitors’ slices are. There’s only so much pie, after all. As their share of search increases, yours may decrease.
AI-driven search
The rise of AI search tools and voice assistants is changing the way brands are discovered in search. While keyword search volume still exists in traditional search, there’s a whole new discovery engine out there: LLMs.
When people search in LLMs, they’re using longer, more conversational search queries that include brand names in natural language rather than simple brand name searches.
And for now, many AI tracking tools can track your brand’s share of voice, but that’s different from share of search.
You’ll have to leave LLM search out of your share of search calculations for now, keeping in mind that there’s this new brand discovery engine out there that you eventually will probably want to fold into your marketing strategy.
Share of search vs. other metrics
Share of search is often confused with similar-sounding metrics, but each one measures something different. Here’s how they compare and when to use each one.
Share of search vs. share of voice
Share of voice measures how much of your industry’s advertising spend or media coverage your brand captures compared to competitors. This includes paid search ads, display advertising, TV commercials, and other paid media placements.
The key difference between share of voice and share of search is that share of voice measures your presence across paid channels whereas share of search measures consumer interest through organic branded searches.
Why both matter: A high share of voice without a corresponding growth in share of search might indicate your advertising isn’t generating genuine brand interest. On the other side, a growing share of search with a low share of voice could signal strong word-of-mouth growth that you’re missing out on amplifying with paid campaigns.
Share of search vs. share of SERP
Share of search engine results page (SERP) measures how much real estate your brand occupies across different SERP features like Knowledge Panels, AI overviews, featured snippets, local packs, videos, images, and more.
Dig deeper: SERP features: Types, benefits, and how to rank
The key difference between share of search and share of SERP is that share of SERP measures your visibility across the whole SERP for any search query whereas share of search measures only the number of branded searches.
Why both matter: You could have a high share of search (lots of people searching for your brand) but low share of SERP (poor visibility when they search). This means people are interested in your brand, but they’re having trouble finding you or getting the information they need, which can lead to frustration and lost conversions.
Focus on improving your SEO for branded terms, publishing relevant content, and claiming more SERP features.
Or you might have a good share of SERP for general queries but low share of search because few people know to look for your brand specifically. This could mean strong technical SEO but weak brand awareness—people find you when searching for solutions, but they don’t remember or seek out your brand directly.
Invest in brand marketing campaigns and thought leadership content to build stronger brand recognition that translates into branded searches.
Share of search vs. market share
Market share measures your actual sales or revenue as a percentage of total industry sales. This is the ultimate business metric, but it’s typically a lagging indicator, meaning it takes a while for it to show you any changes. It measures what happened in the past rather than what’s happening now.
The key difference between share of search and market share is that market share measures actual purchases whereas share of search measures branded searches. Market share measures past behavior. Share of search measures consumer interest and intent before purchases occur.
Why both matter: Market share tells you if your business strategies are working, while share of search tells you if your brand strategies are working. A company might maintain steady market share through competitive pricing, for example, while losing share of search, signaling potential future challenges.
Growing share of search without corresponding market share growth, on the other hand, might mean there are issues in your sales process, support, or other areas that need attention.
Share of search vs. brand equity metrics
Traditional brand equity measurements include brand awareness surveys, aided and unaided recall studies (where people are asked to recall brand names), and sentiment analysis from social media or reviews.
The key difference between share of search and brand equity metrics is that brand equity metrics measure brand perception, awareness, and emotional connection, whereas share of search measures active consumer interest and search behavior.
Why both matter: Someone might be aware of your brand (high brand awareness) but never search for it (low share of search), suggesting weak consideration or purchase intent. Alternatively, a niche brand might have low general awareness but high share of search within its target market.
Each metric tells you something different about your brand’s performance. Share of search is extra valuable because it sits between brand awareness (what people know) and market share (what people buy), capturing the critical moment when awareness turns into active interest and consideration to buy.
How to use share of search for competitive intelligence
Share of search data gives you a helpful look at your competitors that you can’t really get from other sources, giving you a leg up on competitive intelligence (gathering and analyzing information about your competitors).
Here’s how:
Benchmarking competitors over time: Try to track three to five direct competitors monthly or quarterly to spot momentum shifts. A competitor’s gradual increase in share of search over time often signals they’re doing something right with their marketing or product strategy that you can learn from.
Identifying emerging players: Monitor which brand names are trending upward in your industry. Smaller companies with rapidly growing branded search volume could become your next big competitive challenge. Startups that receive funding often see immediate branded search spikes as they invest in marketing.
Segment-level analysis: Try breaking down your share of search by geography, product categories, or campaign periods for deeper insights. You might dominate nationally but be weak in specific regions, or strong in one product line while losing ground in another.
This competitor research encourages you to be more actionable and forward-looking. It helps you to make strategic decisions based on real consumer behavior rather than assumptions about your market and who the big players are.
Instead of reacting to competitive threats after they’ve already captured market share, you can spot rising competitors early and adjust your marketing strategy, product positioning, or budget allocation before they become a serious threat to your business.
Track, optimize, and win in Google and AI search from one platform.
Advanced strategies for growing share of search
Once you understand your current share of search position, you can take action to improve it. Here are the most effective strategies for increasing your branded search volume.
SEO and content marketing
Optimizing for your own branded terms might seem obvious, but many companies miss opportunities here. You should work to rank #1 for every variation of your brand name, product names, and executive names.
Here are a few ways to do that:
- Optimize for brand terms: Create dedicated pages for your brand name and product names. Make sure your brand appears in title tags, headers, and throughout the content naturally.
- Target high-intent category queries: Target keywords where people are actively looking for solutions you provide. When you rank well for “best [category] software” or “how to choose [product type],” people discover your brand and may search for it later.
- Create content that builds brand association: Create helpful content around topics your target audience cares about. When people find value in your content, they’re more likely to remember and search for your brand when they need your solution. For example, Shopify consistently creates content about ecommerce, online business, and entrepreneurship, building brand awareness that drives branded searches. People who read their content on “how to start an online store” might later search for “Shopify” when they’re ready to launch their business.
Run influencer and PR campaigns
Getting your brand mentioned by trusted voices in your industry can significantly increase branded search volume as people hear about you and want to learn more.
Here are a few tactics to try to get your brand mentioned:
- Build industry influencer partnerships: Work with respected figures in your space to mention or review your brand. According to Influencer Marketing Hub’s 2025 benchmark report on influencer marketing, more than four in five marketers view influencer marketing as a highly effective strategy.
- Find podcast appearances: Appearing on relevant podcasts (especially those with a wide listener base) can increase branded search volume when those listeners hear about your company and search for you later. Track branded search volume around podcast publication dates to measure impact.
- Reach out for PR and media coverage: Press releases, industry awards, and news coverage can all get your name mentioned in the right spaces and drive branded searches. Look for opportunities through Help a Reporter Out (HARO), send out press releases, and amplify your wins on social media, for example.
Dig deeper: Digital PR for SEO: Backlinks, authority, and rankings
Use paid search tactics
Strategic paid advertising can help boost your share of search both directly and indirectly. Directly, you can influence clicks by paying for top positions. Indirectly, you can put your brand name there for searchers to see in hopes that they’ll search for your brand later.
Here are three types of paid campaigns to try:
- Brand defense campaigns: Run ads on your own brand terms to ensure you capture all branded search traffic, especially if competitors are bidding on your brand name.
- Competitor conquest campaigns: Carefully bid on competitor brand terms (where legally permissible) to capture some of their branded search traffic and introduce your alternative.
- Awareness campaigns: Use display advertising or video campaigns to build brand awareness via visual media. As more and more people see your branded ads, chances are you’ll see an increase in branded search volume as people who’ve seen your ads search you by name.
Align marketing and SEO teams around share of search KPIs
The most successful share of search growth (and any growth, for that matter) happens when your entire marketing team works toward the same goal.
Here’s some inspiration for how you can work together:
- Use shared KPIs: Make share of search a key performance indicator that both marketing and SEO teams track and optimize for. This ensures all campaigns and content are designed to build brand interest.
- Set up cross-channel measurement: Track how different marketing activities (email campaigns, social media, events, PR) impact branded search volume. This helps you identify which tactics most effectively drive brand awareness.
- Regular reporting: Include share of search in monthly marketing reviews alongside other key metrics. This keeps brand-building top of mind and helps teams see the connection between their activities and brand growth.
When your marketing and SEO teams align around share of search as a shared KPI, the results can add up quickly. Marketing campaigns become more effective because they’re designed not just to drive immediate conversions, but to build lasting brand interest that shows up in search data. SEO efforts expand beyond traffic goals to include brand-building content that increases branded searches.
Share of search gives you something most marketing metrics can’t: early insight into your brand’s position among competitors before it impacts your bottom line.
Ready to take your competitor analysis a few steps even further? Check out How to use advanced SEO competitor analysis to accelerate rankings & boost visibility.
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