Marketing & Growth

Share of Voice SOV

Share of Voice (SOV) measures a brand's proportion of total advertising or media presence within its competitive category, expressed as a percentage of total category impressions, mentions, or spend. In digital marketing, SOV is commonly measured via organic search visibility (share of search clicks in a category) and paid search impression share. SOV is a proxy for brand awareness and competitive positioning.

Research by Les Binet and Peter Field shows that brands whose SOV exceeds their market share tend to gain market share over time, known as the Excess Share of Voice (ESOV) model.

Formula

Brand Impressions (or Mentions) ÷ Total Category Impressions (or Mentions) × 100

Where It Lives

Google AdsPaid search impression share vs. competitors
SemrushOrganic search visibility score and share of SERP
BrandwatchSocial media share of voice by brand mentions
Sprout SocialSocial listening and share of voice analytics

What Drives It

Total advertising investment relative to competitors
Organic search visibility and content breadth
PR and earned media coverage
Brand search volume and direct traffic growth
Social media posting frequency and audience reach

Causal Analysis: Causal analysis using media mix modeling can quantify how changes in advertising investment affect SOV and subsequently market share growth.

Benchmark

Brands with SOV greater than their market share are projected to grow market share; the ESOV rule suggests that each 10-point ESOV premium drives approximately 0.5% annual market share gain.

Common Mistake

Measuring SOV only in paid search without including organic, social, and earned media, which understates the full competitive presence picture.

How different roles think about this metric

Each function reads SOV through a different lens and takes different actions when it changes.

CMO

The CMO uses SOV as a competitive benchmark to assess whether the brand's media investment is sufficient to grow or defend market share.

VP Marketing

VP Marketing tracks SOV by channel to identify where competitors are outspending or outranking the brand and to prioritize investment accordingly.

Director Marketing

Directors monitor weekly SOV trends in paid search impression share and organic visibility to adjust tactical execution.

Common Questions About Share of Voice

Click any question to expand the answer.

What is the ESOV (Excess Share of Voice) model?

The ESOV model, developed from IPA Databank research, states that a brand's market share will grow when its Share of Voice exceeds its current market share (positive ESOV). Conversely, brands with negative ESOV (market share exceeding SOV) tend to lose market share over time. The model estimates approximately 0.5% market share growth per year for every 10 percentage points of ESOV.

How do I measure share of voice in organic search?

Organic SOV in search is typically measured as your brand's total estimated organic clicks ÷ total estimated category clicks for a defined keyword set. Tools like Semrush and Ahrefs provide visibility scores that approximate this. You can also measure impression share in Google Search Console for branded vs. category queries.

What is paid search impression share and how does it relate to SOV?

Impression share in Google Ads measures the percentage of eligible auctions where your ad was shown, out of all the auctions you were eligible to enter. It is a direct SOV metric for paid search. Lost impression share can be due to budget (not enough spend) or rank (Quality Score or bid too low), each requiring a different corrective action.

How does social share of voice differ from search share of voice?

Social SOV measures brand mentions relative to competitors across social platforms, tracked via social listening tools. It reflects organic conversation and brand salience. Search SOV measures visibility in search results, which correlates with intent. Both are valuable but measure different aspects of brand presence; a brand can have high search SOV but low social SOV if it has strong SEO but low community engagement.

What is the difference between share of voice and market share?

Market share is the percentage of actual category sales (or revenue) a brand captures, so it is a lagging, results-based metric. Share of voice is the percentage of category media presence (impressions, mentions, or ad spend) a brand commands, so it is a leading, visibility-based metric. The ESOV model links the two: when SOV runs ahead of market share, market share tends to follow upward; when SOV falls behind, market share tends to erode. In short, SOV is a forward indicator of where market share is heading, not a measure of where it already is.

Is share of voice the same as impression share?

No. Impression share is a platform-specific metric (most commonly Google Ads) measuring the percentage of eligible auctions in which your ad appeared. Share of voice is broader: it spans paid, organic, social, and earned media to estimate your total presence within a competitive category. Impression share is one input into paid-channel SOV, but SOV aggregates presence across every channel rather than a single ad platform.

Related Metrics

Metrics that are commonly analyzed alongside SOV.

Organic Traffic | Organic Traffic CPM | Cost Per Mille ROAS | Return on Ad Spend CTR | Click-Through Rate

Put this into practice

askotter capabilities and guides that act on this metric.

AI Lead Outreach

Turn rising share of voice into booked conversations with automated outreach as leads funnel in.

SEO Services

Grow organic share of voice with AI-powered, human-verified SEO.

Role guides that include this metric

See how each role uses SOV in context with the full set of metrics they own.

CMO Guide → VP Marketing Guide → Director Marketing Guide →

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