Share of Search (SoS): How to Calculate and Benefits of Measuring

What is Share of Search?

Share of search (SoS) is a marketing metric that quantifies the proportion of organic search queries for a specific brand compared to the total volume of searches for all brands within the same category. It is typically expressed as a percentage and provides a clear measure of a brand's visibility, or market share of branded searches.

The calculation is straightforward: a brand’s search volume is divided by the total search volume of all competing brands in its category, then multiplied by 100 to get the percentage.

Unlike metrics that measure a brand's advertising push, share of search reflects genuine consumer interest and behavior. It captures how often people are actively seeking out information about a brand, making it a powerful indicator of brand salience, which is the likelihood of a brand coming to mind in a purchasing situation.

The Importance of Share of Search

Tracking share of search is crucial for modern businesses for several reasons, as it provides predictive insights, measures marketing effectiveness, and offers a clear view of competitive dynamics.

1. It Reliably Predicts Future Market Share

One of the most significant findings about share of search is its strong, positive correlation with market share. Research pioneered by Les Binet has demonstrated that brands with a higher and increasing share of search tend to experience corresponding sales and market share growth in the following months and years. 

When a brand's share of search goes up, its market share is likely to follow; conversely, a decline in share of search can serve as an early warning that market share is about to fall. 

This predictive power makes SoS an invaluable strategic tool, giving businesses a heads-up on market trends long before sales data becomes available. The lead time can be surprisingly long, with share of search predicting market share movements up to 12 months in advance in categories like automotive.

2. It Measures the Impact of Marketing and PR

Share of search is an excellent tool for evaluating the overall impact of marketing and public relations efforts, including offline activities like television commercials and billboards. The metric illustrates how even after campaigns end, brand salience can remain elevated over time, demonstrating the long-term value of brand-building activities.

When a brand launches a major advertising campaign, a resulting uptick in branded searches provides immediate feedback that the message is resonating and generating interest. This connection was seen when a Duolingo campaign in 2025 led to a new all-time high in search volume for the brand. 

Furthermore, digital PR, which aims to secure media placements and links, directly fuels brand search. When a brand is mentioned in a contextually relevant article, interested readers are prompted to search for it, thereby increasing its share of search. This shows that effective marketing is not just about capturing existing demand but also about creating it.

3. It Serves as a Benchmark for SEO Success

For search engine optimization (SEO) professionals, share of search serves as a key performance indicator for core goals like increasing brand recognition and improving brand reputation. While SEO teams often focus on ranking for non-branded, buyer-intent keywords, actively working to increase branded search has significant benefits. 

Moreover, branded search traffic typically has a much higher conversion rate than non-branded traffic. By using SoS to measure the success of wider marketing and outreach efforts, it becomes possible to improve brand recall, which in turn drives high-converting organic traffic.

How Share of Search Compares to Other Marketing Metrics

To fully appreciate the value of share of search, it is helpful to compare it with other established marketing metrics like share of voice and market share.

Share of Search vs. Share of Voice

Share of Voice (SoV) traditionally measures a brand's percentage of total advertising expenditure or impressions within a category. However, in the fragmented digital era, accurately measuring SoV has become nearly impossible due to the proliferation of online channels. Share of search emerged as a potential "share of voice for the digital era," offering a more reliable alternative.

The fundamental difference is that SoV measures media exposure, while SoS measures consumer interest. SoS is a "pull" metric, reflecting active consumer intent, whereas SoV is a "push" metric, reflecting advertising output. Because SoS is based on real-time consumer behavior, many marketers now consider it a more informative and consumer-centric gauge of visibility and brand health. 

While the two metrics are different, they are related; an increase in share of search is often followed by a rise in share of voice, as growing consumer interest naturally drives more media coverage and conversation.

Share of Search vs. Market Share

Market share represents the percentage of total sales in a market that a brand captures. It is a lagging indicator, reflecting past performance. In contrast, share of search is a leading indicator, offering insights into a brand's future potential. 

The direct relationship between SoS and consumer intent makes it a powerful tool for predicting market dynamics before they are reflected in sales figures. Additionally, search volume data is much easier to obtain in real-time than competitors' private sales figures, making SoS a more accessible and timely metric for strategic decision-making.

How to Calculate and Analyze Share of Search

Measuring share of search is a relatively straightforward process that can be accomplished using readily available tools.

1. Define Competitors: First, identify the key brands you are competing against in your category.
2. Gather Search Volume Data: Use tools like Google Trends, Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer, or Google Ads Keyword Planner to find the search volume for your brand name and the names of your competitors.
3. Calculate the Total: Sum the search volumes for your brand and all your competitors to get the total branded search volume for the category.
4. Determine Your Share: Divide your brand's search volume by the total category volume and multiply by 100 to get your share of search percentage.

How to Conduct a Deeper Analysis of Share of Search Data

Beyond the basic calculation, marketers can enrich their analysis with supporting metrics for a more nuanced understanding of brand strength.

• Category Penetration: This metric compares a brand's search volume to the total search volume for the entire product category, including generic, non-branded terms. It reveals whether a brand is well-known beyond its existing customer base.
• Momentum: This tracks the percentage change in a brand's search volume over time and compares it against competitors' trends. Faster growth indicates that a brand is gaining attention and pulling ahead.
• Conversion-Oriented Intent: Analyzing the proportion of branded search traffic coming from commercial or transactional queries can help gauge how many searches are from potential buyers versus existing customers seeking support.
• Share of Search in AI Overviews: As search engines incorporate AI-powered answers, it is becoming important to track how often a brand is mentioned in these summaries compared to competitors.

How to Improve Share of Search

Improving share of search requires a holistic marketing strategy focused on building mental availability, which is the likelihood of a brand being considered in a buying situation. The goal is to be both "easy to mind and easy to find".

1. Build Brand Awareness Through Campaigns and Publicity

The fundamental way to grow a business is to reach as many people as possible and inform them of your existence. Campaigns that are memorable—whether through influencer collaborations, media stories, or viral content—give people a reason to look up your brand later. 

2. Create Content for Non-Branded Searches

Brands can proactively increase their visibility by creating helpful content that targets non-branded keywords related to their audience's problems. By answering questions and providing solutions within this content, a brand can introduce itself to new audiences and position itself as an authority, earning attention long before a purchasing decision is made.

3. Optimize the Branded Search Experience

When a potential customer does search for a brand, it is critical that they have a positive experience. This means ensuring that the search engine results page (SERP) is controlled by helpful, relevant content, such as support pages, product comparisons, reviews, and clear pricing information. 

Limitations and Considerations of Measuring Share of Search

While share of search is a powerful metric, it is not a silver bullet and should be interpreted with care.

• Brand Name Ambiguity: Brands with common names (like Apple or the mattress company Emma) can have their search data skewed by irrelevant queries.
• Search Intent Varies: Not all branded searches signal an intent to buy. Searches can be for customer support, news about the company, or research by existing owners. Negative events, such as a scandal, can also cause a temporary spike in searches that does not correlate with positive interest.
• Category Differences: SoS tends to work best in categories involving considered purchases, like cars or electronics, where consumers conduct extensive research. It is less effective for low-involvement, impulse buys like snacks or beverages.
• Data Is Directional: Data from tools like Google Trends is relative, not absolute, and can be affected by sampling and algorithm changes. Therefore, SoS should be seen as a directional metric that highlights trends rather than a precise, absolute figure.

Ultimately, share of search should not be used in isolation. For a complete picture of brand performance, it should be combined with other key metrics such as sales data, social media mentions, and direct website traffic. When tracked consistently and cross-referenced with other data, it provides an unparalleled view into the minds of consumers and a clear path toward sustainable brand growth.

Inform Brand Visibility Improvement with Mida

Share of Search offers a powerful view into how audiences discover and recall your brand, but the real advantage comes from pairing it with real-time experimentation and traffic data. Mida makes that possible.

Mida is an AI-powered, no-code A/B testing platform built for speed and accuracy. Its ultra-light script (~20 KB) runs without slowing your site or affecting SEO, while integrations with GA4, Shopify, Webflow, and WordPress make it easy to connect experiments to metrics like branded mentions and direct traffic.

Book a live demo with Mida today to measure, test, and grow your brand visibility with precision.

FAQ

What is the core difference between Share of Search and Share of Voice? 

Share of Search (SoS) measures consumer demand (organic branded searches), whereas Share of Voice (SoV) traditionally measures advertising push (a brand's media spend or impressions relative to competitors). SoS is a reflection of consumer behavior, while SoV is a measure of marketing input.

Why is Share of Search considered a leading indicator? 

Studies by marketing scientists Les Binet and Peter Field have shown a strong correlation (∼83%) between a brand's SoS and its future market share. This high correlation often makes it possible to predict shifts in market share up to 12 months in advance, positioning SoS as a reliable early warning system.

Does a brand scandal or negative news event skew the Share of Search data?

Yes, negative events can cause a temporary spike in branded search volume. While this increases SoS, it is often an anomaly driven by media attention and does not correlate with positive consumer intent or future sales. Marketers must track the context of search spikes to differentiate between positive and negative interest.

In which product categories does Share of Search work best?

SoS is most effective in product categories involving considered purchases (high-involvement goods) where consumers typically conduct extensive research before buying. This includes items like cars, financial services, electronics, and major household appliances. It is less reliable for low-involvement, impulse purchases.