Share of Search

Share of Search is brand demand made measurable. It's the proportion of category search volume that names your brand versus competitors. Popularized by marketing scientists Les Binet and James Hankins, it tracks — and often predicts — market share at a fraction of the cost of survey-based brand tracking.

The logic: people search for brands they're considering. A rising share of search signals rising demand before it shows up in sales.

In the AI era, the concept extends naturally to citation share — a brand's slice of the answers engines give. Where share of search measured who buyers looked up, citation share measures who the engines recommend when buyers ask. Both answer the same question: in this category, whose name comes up first?