Share of search: a powerful proxy for market share and brand performance

Understanding the ‘intent’ of your potential customers (and even existing ones) should be a key pillar of any marketing strategy. If you overlay this with market share, then it shows the gap you need to fill online through your ‘conviction marketing’. This is where Share of Search comes into play. Share of Search (SoS) has emerged as a revolutionary metric in the increasingly non-linear marketing landscape, offering a window into consumer interests and market dynamics. SoS represents the proportion of search queries for a brand relative to its competitive set, serving as a barometer for brand visibility and consumer mindshare. SoS is especially powerful since it is based on search data, which is a direct derivative of people’s actual intent. As we like to say at Momentro – Search is where the Intent is

As a data-driven marketer, grasping the power of SoS is critical. It is not just a reflection of brand awareness but also a forward-looking indicator that can forecast market shifts. In this introduction, we’ll explore the fundamentals of Share of Search and its significance in crafting winning marketing strategies.

As a proxy for the market share

Understanding the Share of Search (SoS) is crucial for marketers because it serves as a real-time gauge of consumer interest and a predictor of future market trends. The importance of SoS is underscored by its strong correlation with market share, making it a strategic asset in assessing brand strength. It’s a metric that reflects the ‘mental availability’ of a brand, or how likely consumers are to think of the brand when considering a purchase in its category. By tracking SoS, businesses can anticipate market movements, identify growth opportunities, and adjust their strategies proactively to stay ahead of the curve.

Our data across multiple sectors in different regions shows a very strong positive correlation between a brand’s SoS and its actual market share. The charts below show a strong correlation between the two in a number of sectors such as Banking, insurance, and grocery retail in Malaysia and Sri Lanka.

The Predictive Power of Share of Search

The predictive capacity of Share of Search is one of its most compelling attributes. It functions as an early warning system, signaling shifts in market share well before traditional metrics. The predictive power of SoS is substantiated by robust data showing its ability to forecast market share changes up to a year in advance across various industries. For marketers, this means being able to act on early signs of consumer behavior change, adjusting campaigns and strategies to either capitalize on emerging trends or counteract negative shifts, thereby maintaining a competitive edge.

Leveraging Share of Search in Marketing & Brand Strategy

Marketers can integrate Share of Search into their strategies to evaluate and enhance the effectiveness of their efforts. By monitoring fluctuations in SoS, they can assess the impact of recent campaigns on consumer interest. An uptick in SoS post-campaign can indicate successful penetration and engagement, whereas a decline may prompt a reassessment of tactics.

Marketers who lack the resources and expertise to conduct a share of voice analysis and Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA) can use SoS as a proxy to gauge their brand’s performance.

What is even cooler is that Momentro comes with an arsenal of powerful tools, including Share of Search (SoS), where we leverage Google search data with our analytics and machine learning capabilities.