Searchestra'Aim for 40% Share of Voice' Is Terrible Advice. Here's Why.
Someone tells you to aim for a 40% share of voice, or hit a certain score, and it sounds concrete and motivating. It is also probably wrong for you. A benchmark borrowed from another category, competitive set or starting point is a goal built on sand, either impossibly hard or meaninglessly easy, and either way it wastes the team's effort.
A borrowed benchmark misdirects the team
Chasing a number that was never grounded in your reality sends effort in the wrong direction. If 40% is dominant in your category, you might overspend chasing it; if it is weak, you might celebrate a bad position. Goals borrowed from elsewhere feel rigorous but quietly misdirect the whole team toward the wrong target.
Borrowed versus grounded goals
| Borrowed benchmark | Grounded goal |
|---|---|
| A number from elsewhere | Your own baseline and set |
| Impossibly hard or trivially easy | A real, closeable gap |
| Misdirects effort | Focuses the team |
Set a goal grounded in your reality
Searchestra grounds your targets in your own baseline and competitive set, so the team works toward a real, closeable gap instead of a borrowed number that wastes the quarter.
A benchmark borrowed from another category misdirects the team; ground AI visibility goals in your own baseline and competitive set so effort targets a real, closeable gap.
Frequently asked questions
Why is a quoted AI visibility benchmark bad advice?
Because it was grounded in another category, set or starting point. For you it may be impossibly hard or trivially easy, either way misdirecting effort.
How should I set a target?
Ground it in your own baseline and competitive set: a real, closeable gap to a named competitor or a weak layer to improve.
What is the risk of a borrowed goal?
The team works hard toward the wrong target, over- or under-investing based on a number that never fit your reality.