Most growth conversations start too far downstream.
They begin with platforms, campaign structures, bidding models, attribution settings, and optimization frameworks. The implicit assumption is that growth is primarily an execution problem—and that if we could just get the mechanics right, the business would follow.
Sometimes that’s true.
More often, it isn’t.
Because many marketing problems are not execution problems at all. They are market problems. And no amount of performance sophistication can compensate for fighting the wrong battle.
Every brand exists inside a category.
And every category has a trajectory.
Some categories are expanding. Some are stable. Some are quietly contracting. This matters because categories define the ceiling of what’s possible. You can run excellent campaigns inside a declining category and still see year-over-year decline. You can run imperfect campaigns inside a growing category and still grow.
This is uncomfortable because it shifts the conversation away from “what are we doing wrong?” to “where are we actually competing?”
This is where Share of Search becomes a useful lens.
Share of Search (SoS) = Of all the searches happening in your category, what % are for your brand?
If 10,000 people search for “running shoes”–type terms in a month, and 1,200 of those searches are specifically for your brand name, your Share of Search is 12%.
It’s a demand signal.
At its simplest, Share of Search asks:
Of the total demand that exists in this category, how much of it is directed at our brand?
In practice, this means comparing branded search interest with non-branded category search interest over time. It’s not attribution. It doesn’t tell you which ad “worked.” What it does tell you is whether people are increasingly thinking about you when they think about the problem you solve.
Over long periods, that signal tends to move with relevance. And relevance tends to move with growth.
When you look at Share of Search, most brands fall into one of four patterns. Each pattern implies a very different kind of decision.
1. Category declining, brand declining
Demand is shrinking, and your brand is shrinking with it. This is not a performance issue. It’s a strategic reality. Optimization may slow the decline, but it won’t reverse it. The real questions here are about repositioning, expansion into adjacent categories, or deciding whether this is a business worth continuing to invest in.
2. Category growing, brand declining
Demand exists, but it’s choosing someone else. This is one of the most common—and most misdiagnosed—scenarios. Teams often respond by optimizing harder, when the real issues are usually upstream: unclear value proposition, weak differentiation, or insufficient reach. This is where strategy and messaging matter far more than structure.
3. Category growing, brand growing
You’re benefiting from favorable market dynamics. Growth feels easier here, and it often is. This is also where complacency sets in. The most effective teams use this period to explore adjacencies, test new audiences, and build optionality before the category inevitably matures.
4. Category declining, brand growing
Rare, but possible. Usually a sign of strong loyalty or niche leadership. It can work for a time, but long-term growth still requires tapping into new demand pools. Otherwise, gravity eventually catches up.
The point of this framework isn’t prediction. It’s clarity. It tells you what kind of problem you’re actually solving.
This is also why performance marketing can feel so frustrating in the wrong context.
Performance marketing is excellent at capturing existing demand. It is not designed to create demand. When demand slows or shifts, teams often respond by refining execution—when what’s actually required is a strategic decision.
You can’t optimize your way out of declining relevance.
At some point, the question isn’t “how do we get more efficient?”
It’s “is this the right place to be efficient at all?”
The practical application is simple.
Open Google Trends.
Compare your brand name with your primary non-brand category term.
Ask:
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Is the category growing, flat, or shrinking?
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Is our brand keeping pace with that movement?
That answer should inform decisions before you touch budgets, bids, or campaign structures. It should influence how aggressively you scale, what you test next, and whether the priority is optimization or expansion.
For teams that want to go deeper, we use a structured Share of Search framework and reporting workflow (inside the All-Access Pass) that turns this analysis into clear visuals and narratives—so any marketer can explain market dynamics confidently to clients, leadership, and stakeholders.
The most durable brands don’t wait for categories to collapse before acting. They pay attention to where demand is forming.
Broad categories fragment over time.
General problems become specific ones.
Large markets give way to micro-categories.
What looks niche early often becomes obvious later. Share of Search helps you see those shifts sooner, when competition is lower and learning is cheaper.
Strategy, at its core, is about direction.
Share of Search doesn’t replace performance marketing. It gives it context. It helps teams stop mistaking execution problems for market realities—and market realities for execution failures.
Because no amount of technical excellence can overcome a shrinking market.
And no optimization is more powerful than choosing the right one to compete in.
If you want to use Share of Search to guide strategy, we’ve built a complete custom framework that shows how to analyze it, interpret it, and turn it into clear, credible reports you can present to clients, leadership, or your own team.
That framework lives inside the All Access Pass, which gives you step-by-step training on marketing strategy, Google Ads, Meta Ads, and certifications—using the same systems we apply for brands spending millions each month.
You’ll also get access to 200+ hours of strategy, audits, and creative breakdowns, all designed to help you plan more intelligently and execute with confidence.
If 2026 is the year you want to convert better, scale faster, plan more intelligently, and operate like the top 1% of advertisers, well, I'll see you inside.
- Isaac Rudansky
Founder of the Modern Marketing Institute
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