Share of Search: The Moment It Deserves

It really feels like Share of Search is having its moment — finally recognized as one of the most powerful, accessible, and foundational marketing metrics we have.

Recent work from WARC highlighted a standout case study from adidas, where the brand committed to Share of Search as a core measure. Tracking over 100 brands, they found strong and consistent correlations between search and sales — clear proof that market interest shows up first in what people look for.

Kantar has now added more weight behind the metric, showing a 90% correlation between search and brand salience. That validation from one of the world’s biggest measurement firms signals that Share of Search has firmly moved from an interesting idea to an accepted standard.

Through the Storybook platform, I’ve seen firsthand how Share of Search translates beautifully into B2B. It captures early buying intent not just awareness across startups and enterprise brands alike. It gives leaders a real-time sense of where demand is building and how their brand is positioned in that conversation.

It’s important to remember this metric isn’t new. James Hankins and Les Binet laid the groundwork years ago, and their research continues to prove its staying power. What’s changed is the context: marketers are once again investing in brand, but traditional tools aren’t keeping up. Attribution models don’t explain long-term effects, surveys are expensive and slow, and econometrics is often out of reach for smaller brands.

That’s where Share of Search shines. It’s simple, proven, and scalable. Small brands can use it just as effectively as large ones, and it can be built to fit any budget. It’s democratized brand measurement — a way for anyone to see and act on real market signals.

There’s something refreshing about a metric that’s both rigorous and accessible, one that works just as well for niche markets as for global players. The energy building around it right now is exciting, and the work platforms like Storybook are doing to make it easier, faster, and more actionable feels like the start of something even bigger.

If you want to track your brand in B2B, go to Storybook.
If you want to do it yourself, use MyTelescope.
And if you’re looking for a large research partner, Kantar is now championing the metric too.

There are more and more ways to measure Share of Search today — and that’s the best sign yet that it’s finally getting the attention it deserves.