Share of voice (SOV) in B2B measures what percentage of total category conversations, search visibility, media mentions, or paid advertising impressions a brand captures relative to its competitors.
Quick Answer
Share of voice (SOV) in B2B measures what percentage of total category conversations, search visibility, media mentions, or paid advertising impressions a brand captures relative to its competitors.
Excess share of voice (SOV above market share) is a leading indicator of market share growth.
Track SOV across organic search, paid search, earned media, and social to get a complete picture.
A 1-point increase in excess SOV typically correlates with a 0.5-point gain in market share over 12 months (Binet & Field).
Key Takeaways
Excess share of voice (SOV above market share) is a leading indicator of market share growth.
Track SOV across organic search, paid search, earned media, and social to get a complete picture.
A 1-point increase in excess SOV typically correlates with a 0.5-point gain in market share over 12 months (Binet & Field).
How Share of Voice (B2B) Works
Share of voice is calculated as your brand's volume of a measured signal (impressions, mentions, organic search clicks, ad spend) divided by the total volume across all competitors in your defined category. It can be measured across multiple channels: organic search SOV (your share of total clicks for a defined keyword set), paid search SOV (impression share in Google Ads), social media SOV (mention volume vs. competitors via Brandwatch or Mention), and earned media SOV (press coverage volume). Byron Sharp's research at Ehrenberg-Bass shows a direct correlation between excess share of voice (eSOV = SOV minus market share) and market share growth over 12-24 months.
Why Share of Voice (B2B) Matters for B2B Marketing
SOV is one of the most strategically important metrics in B2B marketing because it directly predicts future revenue share. Companies that maintain SOV above their current market share are in a growth trajectory; companies with SOV below market share are ceding ground to competitors. This makes SOV a leading indicator — it shows where market share is going before revenue data reflects it.
Share of Voice (B2B): Best Practices & Strategic Application
Track organic search SOV monthly using Ahrefs or Semrush by defining a master keyword list for your category and measuring what percentage of total estimated traffic you capture vs. competitors. Track paid search SOV in Google Ads using the Impression Share metric. For media SOV, set up Brandwatch or use free alternatives like Google Alerts with manual tallying. Set a quarterly SOV growth target (e.g., increase organic SOV from 8% to 12% over 4 quarters) tied to content investment.
Agency Perspective: Share of Voice (B2B) in Practice
MV3 Marketing includes SOV tracking in our analytics setup engagements — building custom Looker Studio dashboards that pull organic SOV from Ahrefs, paid impression share from Google Ads, and branded mention volume from social listening tools. This gives clients a real-time view of competitive position that informs budget allocation decisions.
Frequently Asked Questions: Share of Voice (B2B)
Share of voice (SOV) in B2B measures what percentage of total category conversations, search visibility, media mentions, or paid advertising impressions a brand captures relative to its competitors.
Ahrefs and Semrush for organic search SOV; Google Ads Impression Share for paid SOV; Brandwatch, Mention, or Meltwater for earned media and social SOV; Wynter or dedicated brand trackers for unaided recall SOV.
Include direct product competitors, category alternatives (what buyers would use instead of your solution), and any brand that competes for the same buyer attention in search or media. Revisit the competitor set every 6 months as the landscape changes.
High SOV is valuable only if the conversations you're dominating are relevant to your ICP. SOV in irrelevant channels or keyword sets can look impressive but drive no pipeline. Quality of SOV (right audience, right context) matters as much as quantity.
MV3 Marketing helps B2B companies apply these strategies to drive measurable pipeline growth. Our team executes analytics setup for technology, SaaS, and professional services companies.
ID used to identify users for 24 hours after last activity
24 hours
_gat
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests when using Google Tag Manager
1 minute
_gac_
Contains information related to marketing campaigns of the user. These are shared with Google AdWords / Google Ads when the Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts are linked together.
90 days
__utma
ID used to identify users and sessions
2 years after last activity
__utmt
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests
10 minutes
__utmb
Used to distinguish new sessions and visits. This cookie is set when the GA.js javascript library is loaded and there is no existing __utmb cookie. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
30 minutes after last activity
__utmc
Used only with old Urchin versions of Google Analytics and not with GA.js. Was used to distinguish between new sessions and visits at the end of a session.
End of session (browser)
__utmz
Contains information about the traffic source or campaign that directed user to the website. The cookie is set when the GA.js javascript is loaded and updated when data is sent to the Google Anaytics server
6 months after last activity
__utmv
Contains custom information set by the web developer via the _setCustomVar method in Google Analytics. This cookie is updated every time new data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
2 years after last activity
__utmx
Used to determine whether a user is included in an A / B or Multivariate test.
18 months
_ga
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gali
Used by Google Analytics to determine which links on a page are being clicked
