What is Share of search?

Share of Search (Google) is the new metric for market research and a window into human intention. Traditionally, communication tracking and “Share of Voice” has been the way of understanding people's behaviour and it is based on asking people about their behaviour.

BUT as David Ogilvy once said

”People don't do what they say,
don't say what they think
and don't think how they feel.”

“Share of Search” (organic search) on the other hand is a measure of interest in for example a brand "at the top of the purchase funnel” and a leading indicator for market share, with predictive power.

We use it as an indicator of latent demand for a brand, related to conventional metrics like awareness or consideration.

“Share of Search” brings out opportunities and threats:
· How does your brand performance compare to that of your competitors?
· How do different brands within your portfolio stack up against one another?
· Are you maximizing your spend on brand and ROI?
· Is your brand under attack from the competition?
· Is your brand underperforming in certain locations?
· Evaluating brand-building activity

Based on thousands of people's organic search queries in real-time we can get indications of an event happening in the real world within minutes.

That makes our planning very dynamic and it gives us the advantage to change our direction quickly.

And by giving an early warning of changes in demand, “share of search” informs us about activities lower down the funnel.

This means It’s quicker, it’s closer to what is actually going to happen and it is for free.

The Share of Search metric was first presented by Les Binet and James Hankins at IPA’s Effworks 2020. And it has become a new standard that the industry is discovering.

If you would like to learn more about key insights on predicting business performance and early warning systems for your brand reach out to Jesper Dam Nielsen, Kristian Vejborg, Tommi Grønkjær Christiansen, Jeppe Thierry Alken at Predictify.