What is Your SEO Share of Voice?

Have you ever wondered how your website compares to competitors in organic search? SEO share of voice can give you a powerful answer.

We'll explain SEO share of voice, why it matters, and how to calculate it using practical tools.

What is SEO Share of Voice?

Imagine you're attending a massive industry conference. Experts, enthusiasts, and potential customers are all mingling and discussing the latest trends. SEO share of voice is like measuring how much of that conversation your brand is a part of. It looks at your website is visibility in organic search results for keywords related to your industry.

Here's how it works: People turn to search engines for questions. The websites that consistently rank high for relevant keywords become part of the ongoing online conversation. They're seen as authorities, trusted resources, and thought leaders. The higher your website ranks for these keywords compared to competitors, the more you dominate that conversation and establish yourself as a key player.

Think of it like a popularity contest in search results. Websites with the most relevant content and the highest rankings for industry keywords "win" by capturing the attention of potential customers searching for information. This translates to increased website traffic, brand awareness, leads, and sales.

Why SEO Share of Voice Matters

Consumers today constantly battle information overload, so capturing their attention is paramount. SEO share of voice offers a powerful tool to cut through the noise and establish your brand as a leader in your industry. But what exactly is it, and why should you care? Let's delve deeper into why SEO share of voice is a metric every business owner needs to track.

Identify Competitive Landscape

Imagine operating blindfolded in a competitive marketplace. SEO share of voice throws open the curtains, allowing you to see exactly how your website stacks up against key competitors in organic search results. By analyzing your rankings for targeted keywords alongside those of your rivals, you gain a clear picture of your strengths and weaknesses. 

Are you consistently outranking them for high-volume keywords? Or is there room for improvement? This valuable intel empowers you to make informed decisions about your SEO strategy. You can identify areas where your competitors excel and adapt your approach to close the gap.

Benchmark Progress

SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. It's a continuous process of optimization and refinement. But how do you measure progress and gauge the effectiveness of your efforts? SEO share of voice provides a benchmark to track your website's organic search visibility over time.

By monitoring your share of voice for target keywords at regular intervals, you can see if your SEO initiatives are paying off. Are your rankings gradually climbing, indicating a growing online presence? Or are you experiencing a decline, prompting the need for adjustments? This data is crucial for understanding the impact of your SEO strategy and making data-driven decisions to optimize your website for long-term success.

Discover New Opportunities

Think of SEO share of voice as a treasure map leading to hidden opportunities for growth. By analyzing your share of voice data, you can uncover valuable insights to refine your content strategy and target new keywords. Perhaps you're missing out on high-value keywords with significant search volume. Maybe your content topics aren't resonating with your target audience.

This information allows you to identify gaps in your current approach and explore new avenues to expand your reach. You can develop targeted content that addresses specific user needs and capitalize on untapped keyword opportunities.

Boost Brand Awareness

In the digital age, brand awareness is the lifeblood of success. SEO share of voice directly translates to greater brand recognition and trust among potential customers. When your website consistently appears at the top of search results pages for relevant keywords, you establish yourself as an authority in your industry.

This increased visibility leads to a domino effect – more website traffic, improved brand awareness, and, ultimately, a broader audience that perceives you as a reliable and trustworthy source of information. The result? More leads, conversions, and a boost to your bottom line.

How to Calculate Your SEO Share of Voice

In today's digital age, where information is readily available, the battle for online visibility is fiercer than ever. SEO share of voice emerges as a powerful weapon in this fight, providing valuable insights into how your website stacks up against competitors in organic search. 

Here's how to calculate your SEO share of voice:

1. Identify Target Keywords

The cornerstone of any SEO strategy is a solid foundation of target keywords. People use these words and phrases in search engines to find information about your products or services. Identifying the right keywords is crucial, as they will be the benchmark for measuring your SEO share of voice. 

Here's how to tackle this initial step:

• Keyword Research Tools: Leverage keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs Keyword Explorer, and SEMrush Keyword Magic Tool. These platforms allow you to uncover relevant keywords with high search volume and low competition.

• Competitor Analysis: Analyze your top competitors' websites to see which keywords they're ranking for. This can reveal valuable insights into the search terms your target audience is using.

• Search Intent: Don't just focus on high-volume keywords alone. Consider the search intent behind each keyword. Are users looking for information, trying to compare products, or ready to make a purchase? Choose keywords that align with your business goals and target audience needs.
  
  

2. Research Competitors

Once you've identified your target keywords, it's time to understand the competitive landscape. Who are the top players in your industry vying for the same keywords and audience as you? By analyzing your competitors, you can gain valuable insights into their SEO strategies and identify areas for improvement in your approach.

Here are some key aspects to consider when researching your competitors:

• Identify Your Top Competitors: List 3-5 websites that consistently rank high for your target keywords. You'll be competing against these direct rivals in organic search results.

• Analyze Their Content: Dive deep into your competitors' content strategy. What topics are they covering? How are they optimizing their content for search engines? Analyze their content's format, length, and overall quality to identify potential areas where you can excel.

• Backlink Profile: Backlinks are essentially votes of confidence from other websites pointing to yours. Analyze your competitors' backlink profiles to understand the websites linking to them and their strategies for building backlinks.
  
  

3. Leverage SEO Tools

Now that you have your target keywords and a good understanding of your competitors, it's time to leverage the power of SEO tools. Platforms like Ahrefs and SEMrush offer features specifically designed to track keyword rankings and estimated search volume, which are crucial metrics for calculating your SEO share of voice. 

Here's a breakdown of how to utilize two popular tools effectively:

Ahrefs

• Keyword Rank Tracker: Monitor your website's and competitors' rankings for your target keywords over time. This allows you to see how your SEO efforts are impacting your visibility compared to competitors.

• Competitor Keyword Research: Uncover keywords your competitors are ranking for that you might miss out on. This can help you identify potential gaps in your content strategy and expand your keyword targeting.

• Organic Search Reports: Analyze your website's organic traffic, top pages, and referring domains. This provides a broader picture of your organic search performance and how it compares to your competitors.

SEMrush

• Position Tracking: Similar to Ahrefs' rank tracker, SEMrush allows you to monitor your website's rankings for your target keywords and compare them to those of your competitors.

• Organic Research: Uncover your competitors' top organic keywords, estimated traffic they receive, and keyword difficulty scores. This helps you understand the competitive landscape for each keyword you're targeting.

• Domain vs. Domain: This tool provides a head-to-head comparison of your website and a competitor's website. You can see a breakdown of organic traffic, top keywords, and backlinks, offering valuable insights into your competitor's SEO strategy.
  
  

4. Analyze the Data

With the data gathered from keyword research and SEO tools, it's time to analyze it and transform it into actionable insights. Here are some key metrics to focus on:

• Your Website's Rankings: Compare your website's rankings for your target keywords to those of your competitors. Are you consistently ranking on the first page or lagging behind? This will give you a clear picture of your SEO performance for those keywords.

• Search Volume: Analyze the estimated search volume for each target keyword. This helps you understand the potential reach of each keyword. A high-ranking position for a keyword with a low search volume might not be as impactful as a slightly lower ranking for a keyword with a significantly higher search volume.

• Market Share: This is where the magic happens. Now you can calculate your SEO share of voice for each target keyword using the following formula:
  
  

SEO share of voice considers the overall search traffic for the keywords you're targeting and divides it by the traffic your website receives from those keywords. Keywords with higher search volume have a bigger impact on your overall score.

Imagine you're tracking just one keyword, and your website occupies all the top 10 spots in Google for that term. This means you're capturing all the potential traffic for that keyword, resulting in a perfect 100% share of voice.

However, if you only hold the #1 position while competitors snag the rest, your share of voice dips – somewhere around 30%, depending on how many people click on the top result for that specific keyword (click-through rate or CTR).

So, even if your website consistently ranks higher than competitors for a variety of keywords, it doesn't automatically translate to a better share of voice score. The key is to capture a significant portion of the traffic for those keywords, not just dominate the top positions.

Taking Action on Your Insights

By analyzing your SEO share of voice for each target keyword, you can identify areas where you need to focus your SEO efforts. Here are some actionable steps you can take:

• Target Lower-Ranking Keywords: If you're struggling to compete for high-ranking positions on highly competitive keywords, consider targeting keywords with lower competition and a decent search volume. This can be a strategic way to increase your overall SEO share of voice.

• Content Optimization: For keywords where you're lagging behind competitors, analyze their content and identify areas for improvement. Can you create more comprehensive, informative, and engaging content that surpasses theirs?

• Backlink Building: Backlinks are a crucial factor in SEO. Consider strategies to build high-quality backlinks to your website from relevant websites. This can significantly improve your website's authority and ranking potential.

Calculating and analyzing your SEO share of voice empowers you to take control of your online presence. By understanding your strengths and weaknesses compared to competitors, you can develop a data-driven SEO strategy to improve your visibility, attract more organic traffic, and ultimately achieve your business goals.

Remember, SEO is an ongoing process. Regularly monitor your SEO share of voice, analyze the data, and adjust your strategy as needed. By consistently optimizing your website and content, you can increase your share of the conversation in search and establish yourself as a leader in your industry.

Elevate Your SEO Strategy with SEO Share of Voice

SEO share of voice offers a powerful lens through which you can view your website's organic search performance. By following these steps and leveraging SEO tools, you can gain valuable insights to refine your strategy and dominate the conversation in search. 

Still feeling overwhelmed? Don't navigate the ever-evolving SEO landscape alone. Partner with Aspiration Marketing! Our SEO strategy and implementation expertise can help you achieve long-term online success. Contact us today for a free consultation and see how we can help you silence the competition and amplify your brand's voice online.