In the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing and search engine optimization (SEO), staying ahead of the curve is essential for success. SEO professionals and website owners are constantly seeking new strategies and insights to improve their online visibility and organic search rankings. One such innovative concept that has been gaining momentum in recent years is “Share of Search.”
As the SEO realm becomes increasingly competitive, it’s crucial to explore fresh perspectives and tactics to gain an edge. Share of Search offers a unique approach to understanding user behaviour and optimizing your online presence accordingly. In this blog, we’ll dive deep into this intriguing concept, shedding light on what Share of Search is, how it works, and why it’s becoming a game-changer in the world of SEO.
What is Share of Search?
Share of search (SOS) is a marketing metric that measures the visibility of a brand or product in organic search results, relative to its competitors. It is calculated by dividing the number of organic searches for a particular brand or product by the total number of organic searches for all brands or products in the same category.
For example, if a brand receives 100,000 organic searches per month and its competitors receive a combined total of 200,000 organic searches per month, then the brand’s share of searches would be 50%.
Share of search is an important metric for businesses to track because it can provide insights into brand awareness, market share, and overall SEO performance. It can also be used to benchmark progress against competitors and identify opportunities to improve search visibility.
How to Calculate Share of Search?
To calculate your Share of Search, you will need to know the following:
- The number of organic searches for your brand or product
- The total number of organic searches for all brands or products in your category
Once you have this information, you can calculate your share of the search using the following formula:
Share of search = (Number of organic searches for your brand or product / Total number of organic searches for all brands or products in your category)
For example, if you receive 100,000 organic searches per month and your competitors receive a combined total of 200,000 organic searches per month, then your share of search would be 50%.
Benefits of Tracking Share of Search
Here are some of the benefits of tracking share of search:
- Understand brand awareness: Share of search can give you a good indication of how well-known your brand is and how often people are searching for it.
- Measure market share: Share of search can also be used as a proxy for market share since it is likely that brands with a higher share of search will also have a higher share of sales.
- Track SEO performance: Share of search is a good way to track the performance of your SEO efforts over time and see how your website is ranking for relevant keywords.
- Benchmark against competitors: Share of search can be used to benchmark your performance against your competitors and identify areas where you need to improve.
- Identify opportunities: By tracking the share of searches, you can identify new keywords and phrases that you can target with your SEO and content marketing efforts.
Share of Search vs. Share of Voice
Share of search and share of voice are two related but distinct concepts used in marketing and advertising to measure a brand’s presence and visibility in online search results and digital spaces.
Share of Voice (SOV):
Share of voice refers to the brand’s presence and visibility in all marketing channels, including traditional media, digital media, social media, and search engines. It measures the proportion of a brand’s advertising or content compared to its competitors within a specific market or industry.
For example, if ten brands are competing in a particular market, and one brand has 30% of the ad share, then its share of voice is 30%. The SOV metric helps brands understand their relative visibility and impact in the market compared to their competitors.
Share of Search (SOS):
Share of search focuses specifically on a brand’s visibility and presence in search engine results pages (SERPs). It measures the proportion of search queries or searches that mention or include a specific brand compared to its competitors.
For instance, if there are a hundred searches related to a product or service, and twenty of those searches include a specific brand name, then that brand’s Share of Search is 20%. SOS helps brands understand their performance and popularity in online search queries and how they fare against their competitors.
Both share of voice and share of search are valuable metrics for marketers to analyze and optimize their advertising strategies.
How to Improve Share of Search?
There are several things you can do to improve your Google share of search, including:
- Invest in SEO: SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of optimizing your website and content so that it ranks higher in organic search results.
- Create high-quality content: Google loves high-quality content. This means content that is informative, engaging, and relevant to your target audience.
- Improve your website’s user experience: Google also takes into account the user experience of your website when ranking it in search results.
- Run paid advertising campaigns: Paid advertising can be a great way to increase your brand visibility and reach a wider audience.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we’ve journeyed through the fascinating concept of Share of Search, gaining insights into what it is and how it’s shaping the landscape of digital marketing and SEO. We’ve learned that Share of Search is not just a metric but a powerful indicator of a brand’s online presence and influence within its niche. It measures how often users search for a specific brand or product, shedding light on the brand’s share of the market’s collective search interest.
