# Share of voice Share of voice in SEO is the share of visibility or clicks you hold across a defined set of queries, against the other sites on them. It is a clean way to answer are we winning this topic. This page shows how it is calculated, when to trust it, and what to do with it. Updated 2026-09-14 · Source: https://porteur.ai/glossary/share-of-voice ## What share of voice means for a small site Treat share of voice as your topic scoreboard. Pick a list of queries you care about and the rivals you meet on them. Your score is the share of expected clicks you win on that list. It beats average position. One number weights positions by demand. Ranking 1st for a tiny query should not mask losing page one on a head term. ## How rank trackers compute it Trackers weight each tracked query’s search volume by an expected click through rate for the position you hold, then sum across queries. Your total is expressed as a percentage of the total for all domains on that set. That is share of voice. A simple sheet can do this. For each query, note volume, your position and a CTR for that position. Multiply volume by CTR to get expected clicks. Sum yours, sum everyone’s, divide yours by the total. Example: on “project management software”, “project planning tool”, and “task tracker”, you rank 3, 5 and 2. Rivals hold other slots. Your share of voice is the fraction of expected clicks your positions earn across those three, not the mean of 3, 5 and 2. ## When it is meaningful Only report it on a defined list of queries and a defined set of rivals. Otherwise the number drifts and cannot guide work. Use it per topic. Make a cluster like “/guides/” terms, or “alternatives to yourproduct”, or all non brand terms where your category is clear. Split brand and non brand. Split country if you sell in more than one. Split device if mobile layouts differ. > Never show share of voice without listing the tracked queries and the rivals. The method is useless without the scope. ## How to measure your share of voice 1. **Pick the topic and the queries** Start from your sitemap or nav. For “yourproduct.com/guides/”, export all keywords where a page in /guides/ ranks. Remove brand terms for this view. 2. **Name your rivals for this topic** Add the domains that share the SERPs. This may differ from sales rivals. For “/guides/”, content sites may dominate. 3. **Get positions for each domain** Use a rank tracker, or sample top results by hand for each query. Be consistent on country and device. 4. **Apply an expected CTR curve** Use any steady position based curve in your sheet. Multiply each query’s volume by the CTR for the held position to estimate clicks. 5. **Sum and divide** Sum estimated clicks by domain. Your share of voice is your sum divided by the total across all listed domains. A fixed set lets you compare months. If “/guides/getting-started” climbs from position 7 to 3 on a head term, your topic share should rise even if a few long tails slip. ## What to do when your share is low or falling - Cover missing queries. Run a keyword gap on your topic set and ship pages for the gaps. - Lift high volume laggards. Find terms where you rank 5 to 10 and improve those pages. See “/pricing” if it sits at 8 for “yourproduct pricing”. - Fix cannibalisation. Merge or retarget pages that compete on the same query. - Raise real CTR. Tighten titles and meta descriptions for terms where impressions are high but clicks are weak. - Win SERP features. Aim for a featured snippet on a definitional query with a crisp answer block. - Strengthen authority on tough terms. Earn relevant links to the few pages that must rank to move the needle. Track topic share monthly. Tie changes to releases. Note when Google adds or removes SERP features, which shift expected clicks without your rank moving. ## Questions ### What does a 50 percent share of voice mean? On the tracked queries and rivals, your pages earn about half of the expected clicks. It does not mean half of all clicks in your market. It only applies to the defined set. ### What is a good share of voice percentage? Good is relative to your goal and the topic. If you sell the product, aim to lead on your core commercial clusters. On informational clusters, a steady rise month on month shows progress. ### How is share of voice different from share of search? Share of voice is about the clicks you win on a query set against rivals. Share of search is your brand’s share of all searches for brands in a category. They answer different questions. ### Can I get share of voice from Google Search Console? Not directly, as of 2026. You can export your queries and clicks for your site. You still need rival positions and a CTR model to compute the full figure. ### How many queries should I include? Enough to reflect the topic without noise. A dozen head terms plus stable long tails per cluster is a common start. Keep the list fixed for month on month comparison. ### Why use share of voice instead of average position? Average position treats all queries equally. Share of voice weights by demand and expected clicks, so movement on a head term counts more than a tail term shift. ## Read next - [Average position](https://porteur.ai/glossary/average-position): What average position means in Search Console, how Google averages it per impression, how to read it by page and query, and what to act on. - [Competitor keyword analysis by hand, with free data](https://porteur.ai/guides/competitor-keyword-analysis): Choose the right rivals, read their sitemaps, pull free keyword clues, find the gaps, and turn them into pages you can ship this week. - [Keyword gap analysis: the searches your rivals hold and you do not](https://porteur.ai/guides/keyword-gap-analysis): See how to find rivals’ search traffic you could win, filter it to your product, group it into pages, and turn gaps into briefs you can ship. - [The Search Console performance report, column by column](https://porteur.ai/guides/search-console-performance-report): Every column in the Google Search Console performance report explained with the traps that trip small sites, and how to act on each. - [Search intent](https://porteur.ai/glossary/search-intent): Learn what search intent is, how to spot it on a results page, measure fit in Search Console, and fix pages that miss it. - [Search volume](https://porteur.ai/glossary/search-volume): Search volume is a provider’s monthly estimate of how often a query is searched, and you use it to compare keywords, not to forecast traffic. Want a quick read on your topic coverage and rivals, from a URL, in about thirty seconds and free? Run the check and see three findings, whole. Free check: https://porteur.ai/