What Is Share of Search?
Share of search measures what percentage of category related search volume includes your brand name specifically, compared to competitors. If people search for your brand name as often as all your competitors combined, your share of search is high, and it tends to predict market share with a real lag. It is the classic marketing metric that the newer idea of share of model borrows its logic from.
How it is traditionally measured
Marketers pull search volume data for a category, branded searches for you and each competitor, and calculate what percentage belongs to each brand. A rising share of search over time has long been used as an early indicator of rising market share, since people tend to search for brands they are already starting to consider or trust.
How share of model extends the idea
Share of search only counts what people type into a search bar. Share of model asks a related but distinct question: out of the AI generated answers about your category, how many actually name your brand. As more research happens through AI chat instead of typed search, share of model captures something share of search alone increasingly misses. See our full explanation of what is share of model for the details.
Why both are still worth watching
Neither metric has fully replaced the other yet. Branded search still reflects real interest and intent, while share of model reflects whether AI tools are actually recommending you when someone has not yet decided who to search for by name. Tracking both gives a more complete picture than either alone.
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