Unleash the full power of SEO through Share of Search. Gain insights into the significance of this metric and understand the role of brand searches in demonstrating the value of SEO.
SEO is on the verge of gaining serious recognition, and Share of Search will catalyze this transformation. Let’s delve into the reasons why.
Understanding Share of Search: Its Significance and Origin
Share of Search, an SEO metric pioneered by marketing experts Les Binet and James Hankins several years ago, simplifies determining your competitive standing. The concept is straightforward:
- Identify your competitors.
- Aggregate the searches associated with all the brands.
- Calculate the percentage you represent.
Traditionally, SEO professionals have tended to downplay the importance of brand searches, often regarding them as “free traffic.” However, this perspective is only partially accurate. Brand searches hold immense significance for various reasons, and proactively working to boost them yields numerous advantages.
The equation is straightforward: Share of Search equates to Share of Market. Data strongly suggests that brands with a more significant and continually increasing share of search are poised for future sales growth. This outcome is unsurprising, as the brands people want to purchase are invariably the ones they actively search for.
These insights beg the question: Why aren’t we delving deeper into this vital aspect of SEO?
A Comparison of Two Websites: A Lesson in Marketing Strategies
Early in my career, I undertook projects for a single company, comprising two businesses within the same industry but under different brands.
The first brand embraced traditional advertising and publicity channels like billboards, sponsorships, display ads, and news features.
Conversely, the second brand adopted a contrasting approach, channeling its efforts into SEO and PPC.
Here’s the fascinating part: despite the first brand’s significantly larger budget, they almost immediately began to amass brand traffic, backlinks, and sales. In contrast, the SEO and PPC initiatives of the second brand yielded limited results.
The rationale behind this outcome is simple: reach. The cardinal rule of business growth revolves around getting the widest possible audience and making them aware of your existence. After all, if people don’t know you exist, they can’t make purchases from you.
This is where the concept of search comes into play. Thanks to keywords, brands no longer needed to spend vast sums reaching everyone. Instead, they harnessed PPC, SEO, or a combination of both to connect with potential customers online.
However, “brand” marketing has endured criticism over the past decade. Yet, it’s essential to acknowledge that it has its own set of challenges and complexities.
The Online Buying Process Unveiled
In the realm of e-commerce, purchasing follows a distinct pattern, often referred to as “search is the new shelf,” as marketing professor Byron Sharp eloquently noted. This notion holds, and here’s why.
Picture a vast supermarket stocked with every product imaginable. As a customer, you enter and request, “I’m looking for the car insurance aisle.”
The response you receive – “Certainly, sir, it’s located on aisle 15” – mirrors the experience of conducting a Google search. In this analogy, aisle 15 represents the search results pages (SERPs), acting as the digital shelves containing the products.
However, the intricacy of search lies in the fact that individuals are only sometimes in a buying state of mind. For a considerable duration, potential buyers often enter an exploratory phase, characterized by multiple searches conducted over an extended period. This transition between mindsets has been classified by Google research into two key states:
- Exploration Mindset: This is the phase when users explore their options, gather information, and commit to purchasing.
- Evaluation Mindset: In this stage, individuals have progressed to evaluating specific products or services, inching closer to a buying decision.
Understanding these distinct states is essential for online businesses to effectively engage with and convert potential customers.
Brand Marketers’ Perspective: Category Researchers vs. Ready-to-Buy Shoppers
Brand marketers often categorize potential customers into two main groups: category researchers and those on the brink of making a purchase. In essence, these two groups are closely intertwined.
In the contemporary digital landscape, the search process has become inundated with information, and the duration of purchase cycles can significantly vary, contingent upon the specific product category.
For specific B2B categories, the research phase can extend for a year or more, while others demand considerably less time for evaluation. Several factors contribute to slowing down the pace of purchasing decisions, including:
- Lack of Urgency
- Risk Aversion
- Decision Fatigue
- Limited Time or Expertise
- Overwhelming Choices
- And more.
The buying journey resembles leaving a supermarket, returning repeatedly, and thoroughly examining various options during each visit. This is one of the reasons why achieving tangible returns from PPC (Pay-Per-Click) and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) can be challenging to comprehend and articulate.
Purchase cycles may be extended in length rather than shortened. Eventually, consumers narrow their choices to a few brands they wish to consider, and a final selection is made only when they are fully prepared to purchase.
For numerous businesses, search serves as their primary avenue for online discovery. These businesses may allocate minimal resources to brand marketing, relying on organic and paid searches aligned with keywords indicative of buyer intent. This is precisely where the “share of search” concept assumes significance.
“Be Memorable and Discoverable”
When a user enters a buyer intent keyword into Google, the competition for attention is fierce. Every organic result and advertisement vie for that coveted click, making it challenging.
However, the game becomes significantly more accessible when the searcher is already familiar with your brand, and ideally, they initiated the search for your specific brand. This is where brand marketing plays a pivotal role.
Engaging with potential customers when they aren’t actively looking to make a purchase, even during their exploration phase, enhances the likelihood that they’ll remember your brand when making a buying decision.
Traditionally, SEO is perceived as a demand capture channel, seemingly unable to influence this aspect. But as it turns out, it can.
“Unveiling Publicity as SEO’s Hidden Arsenal”
In October, BrightonSEO hosted a Q&A session with Google’s John Mueller, during which an intriguing question arose: “Is digital PR considered link spam?” Mueller responded with insights, stating, “I believe a lot of digital PR is exceptional. It involves creating something remarkable that aligns with your website and captivates a wider audience. That, I think, is exceptional.”
Eli Schwartz, in his book “Product Led SEO,” emphasizes the value of PR methods in link building. He underlines the significance of seeking attention as the primary goal. For successful backlink-building, the approach should prioritize PR over links.
Fortunate to work for a digital PR agency that has ventured into SEO, I have a team comprising link builders and PR experts and a wealth of data for analysis. This enables a thorough examination of each campaign’s impact on enhancing a brand’s search presence.
The undeniable truth is that publicity serves as the driving force behind brand searches and links. It’s worth noting, however, that only some links or mentions secured accomplish this feat; contextual relevance is the key.
The essence of digital PR revolves around ensuring that the topic placement maintains brand relevance when acquiring a link. In simpler terms, the goal is for readers to encounter your brand name and become intrigued enough to initiate a search.
Now, let’s establish this. Many within the SEO community may express reservations about this strategy.
I’ve encountered SEO professionals who’ve openly confessed to purchasing links. Surprisingly, some even favor buying links over-investing in digital PR.
However, it’s important to remember that, at our core, we are marketers. People don’t engage in SEOs because they aspire to purchase links or acquire niche edits. They seek SEO expertise because they aim for increased sales, and it’s our responsibility to optimize our budgets to expand our share of search.
But what’s at stake if we fail to expand our search share?
“The Significance of Brand’s Cognitive Presence”
Mental availability represents the likelihood of your brand being considered when a purchase decision is on the horizon.
This factor is pivotal for achieving growth.
Brand strength empowers companies to:
- Command higher costs for their products and services in comparison to the competition.
- Sell a greater volume of products or services at the same price point.
Over the years, I’ve observed businesses that have a presence in search but are forced to engage in cutthroat competition, driving prices downward due to their limited brand influence.
You might understandably wonder, “But we’re SEOs. Our focus is on traffic and rankings, right?”
Well, it’s 2023, my friends. We must deliver quicker and more substantial results to secure more significant budgets.
“Unlocking the Double Share of Search”
The SEO department’s primary role isn’t to ensure the overall success of a business’s marketing efforts. However, in a landscape where SEO seeks expanded budgets, it becomes essential to demonstrate the value we bring to the table.
Measuring our share of brand and buyer intent searches allows us to substantiate our worth.
Now, what exactly does “share of buyer intent search” entail?
This is the aspect of search that SEOs typically concentrate on. It refers to the traffic brands usually invest in to connect with potential buyers. Much like the concept of “share of brand search,” a business with a more substantial share of buyer intent search will likely attract more significant revenue and traffic in the future.
As SEO professionals, we can actively gauge a brand’s share of search interest and the share of buyer intent search volume.
“Evolving SEO: Shifting from Demand Capture to Brand Expansion”
Brand growth hinges on enhancing their sales, and SEO plays a pivotal role in making this a reality.
To unlock its full potential, we must elevate brand awareness and secure high rankings for keywords that signify buyer intent.
Here’s the strategy:
- Harness the potency of digital PR to cultivate links and elevate brand recognition.
- Employ SEO tactics and align with the intricacies of search engine algorithms to bolster the share of buyer intent searches.
This dual-pronged approach amplifies the value of SEO and delivers expedited outcomes.
Change is afoot in the realm of SEO and the era of semantic search; it’s time for a fresh perspective.
The moment has arrived for SEO to establish itself as a commanding marketing channel deserving of acknowledgment from marketers and allocating appropriate budgets.
That time is now.
If you still need help finding it challenging and unclear, consider exploring our monthly SEO packages and entrust the task to our industry experts, who can manage it on your behalf.
