Amazon Share of Voice: The Metric Most Sellers Overlook
- Sravanthi Munagapati
- Sep 4
- 6 min read
Updated: Sep 29
Your products show up on page one of Amazon search results.
But sales? Flat.
Meanwhile, competitors are quietly gaining in search results, ranking for most keywords, and growing sales. They take the lion’s share of sales in your category.
Here’s the truth most sellers miss: You can rank for a keyword and still lose half the battle.
Why?
Because customers aren’t finding your products when and where it counts.
The problem?
Amazon Share of Voice (SOV).
In this article, we’ll break down what SOV really means, why it’s critical for your growth, how to measure it, and strategies to grow your business by tracking SOV.
What Is Amazon Share of Voice (and Why It Matters)
Share of Voice is your brand’s slice of visibility in Amazon search results. Out of all the times shoppers type in a keyword, how often do your products show up—whether organically or through ads?
That percentage is your SOV.
Why it’s powerful:
It’s not just about your brand, it’s about your share of the entire category.
It’s about visibility in buying moments. Unlike impressions or clicks alone, SOV shows how much space you control when customers are ready to purchase.
It feeds the algorithm. Higher visibility often means more clicks, more conversions, and stronger organic ranking over time.
It influences Buy Box opportunities. Products with stronger SOV signal relevance to Amazon’s algorithm are more likely to win the all-important Add to Cart button.
Amazon Share of Voice is the clearest indicator of how competitive you really are on the marketplace. If your Share of Voice is shrinking, your market share is shrinking—whether you notice it or not.
Share of Voice vs. Share of Search
I've seen many sellers get confused about the Share of Voice to Share of Search.
Amazon Share of Voice = Your proportion of visibility across search results, ads, and placements.
It answers: Out of all the times people searched, how often did my products appear?
Share of Search (SOS) = The percentage of branded search volume you capture. It answers: When people search for my brand name (or category terms), how much of that traffic do I get compared to competitors?
The two metrics are connected but serve different purposes.
Use SOV to measure discoverability and visibility across keywords.
Use SOS to track brand demand and how you’re trending against competitors.
Together, they give a full picture: SOV tells you if you’re being seen, SOS tells you if people are looking for you specifically.
How to Calculate Your Amazon Share of Voice
Let’s see how to calculate your Amazon SOV in two ways: The manual way and using a tool like SellerMate.AI.
The basic math is simple:
SOV = (Your product appearances ÷ Total product appearances) × 100
Example: If “wireless headphones” is searched 1,000 times and your product shows up 150 times, your SOV for that keyword is 15%.
But measuring it at scale is tedious.
How to Track SOV Manually
If you’re just starting out, here’s how you can typically do it:
Pick your top 10–15 target keywords.
Search them multiple times per day (5–10) at different hours.
Record where and when your product shows up (organic + sponsored).
Track your percentage of appearances across 30 days.
This can work for a handful of keywords, but let’s be real—it’s tedious, inconsistent, and nearly impossible to scale when you’re managing multiple SKUs across marketplaces.
The Smarter Way: SellerMate Live Ads
Instead of endless manual searches, SellerMate automates Share of Voice tracking:
Here’s how to go about it:
Go to SellerMate.AI dashboard → Live Ads → SOV
All you need to do is add keywords and competitor brands for which you want to track SOV against your brand
You can switch between keywords and dates to see how your brand fares against the competition
Here's a video from Avinash Saproo, co-founder at SellerMate.AI, showing how to track keywords and SOV with SellerMate PPC tool.
With SellerMate's Amazon SOV Tracker, you can:
Track both organic and sponsored placements side by side.
See visibility data in real-time across thousands of keywords.
Analyze SOV by keyword, date, and competitor—so you know exactly where you’re winning or losing visibility.
Get historical trendlines, showing whether your SOV is growing, shrinking, or holding steady.
If you are a growing brand, automation isn’t a “nice to have”—it’s the only way to reliably scale your brand, track and act on SOV insights.
Why Your Amazon Share of Voice Matters
Most sellers look at sales, ACOS, TACOS, or keyword ranks. All of that is useful—but incomplete if you want to understand the market potential.
Here’s why SOV should be part of your dashboard if you’re serious about growth:
It explains flat sales even when you rank. You might rank #5 organically, but if competitors stack ads above you, your real visibility could be 10% or less. That means shoppers aren’t even scrolling far enough to see you.
It shows where competitors are beating you. Tracking SOV across keywords reveals exactly which terms competitors dominate. If you see them consistently holding 30%+ SOV for “wireless earbuds” while you sit at 5%, you’ve found a visibility gap to fix.
It connects to long-term ranking. Visibility isn’t just short-term. The more often you appear, the more clicks and sales you get, which feeds Amazon’s ranking algorithm. Strong SOV today builds a stronger organic rank tomorrow.
It highlights listing problems vs. visibility problems. High SOV but low conversions? That means people see your listing but don’t buy—pointing to pricing, reviews, or content issues. Low SOV but strong conversions? You need more exposure.
It’s competitive intelligence. Watching competitor SOV tells you what they’re spending on, which keywords matter most in your category, and where you can sneak in to capture overlooked search terms.
For brands and agencies managing multiple SKUs, SOV isn’t just another metric—it’s the context that makes every other number make sense.
Common Share of Voice Mistakes Sellers Make
Too many brands stumble with SOV because they misread what the metric is telling them. Here are the big pitfalls you should know:
Chasing only high-volume keywords. You burn budget on competitive terms while ignoring long-tail keywords where you could own visibility.
Looking at your SOV in isolation. Without comparing to competitors, you won’t know if your 10% is strong or weak for your category.
Confusing visibility with conversion. High SOV with poor sales isn’t solved by spending more. It’s solved by fixing your listing.
Setting and forgetting. Amazon shifts daily. Your SOV this month won’t hold next month without continuous optimization, especially during the holiday season.
5 Proven Strategies to Boost Your Amazon Share of Voice
So how do you actually improve SOV? It’s not about throwing more money at ads—it’s about structured, consistent execution.
1. Master Your Keyword Coverage
Map your keywords to funnel stages:
Broad, high-volume terms for awareness.
Specific, long-tail terms for high-intent buyers.
Action steps:
Use your Amazon Search Term Reports to audit gaps.
Separate campaigns for broad discovery vs. exact high-intent terms.
Track SOV weekly and shift budget to keywords where you’re underexposed.
2. Optimize Listings for Visibility and Clicks
Amazon rewards listings that convert. That means your copy and visuals directly affect SOV.
Checklist:
Primary keyword in the first 60-80 characters of the title.
Include (4-7) secondary keywords across bullet points.
High-quality images (including lifestyle + infographics).
Backend search terms fully utilized (250 characters).
Strong listings make every ad dollar more effective, while poor listings kill SOV no matter how much you spend.
3. Use Amazon Ads to Secure Key Placements
Ads are the fastest lever to boost SOV—if used strategically.
Recommended campaign mix:
Exact match campaigns for your top 10 revenue-driving keywords.
Broad match campaigns to discover new opportunities.
Product targeting to show up directly on competitor ASINs.
Sponsored Display for retargeting shoppers who viewed but didn’t buy.
The key: don’t just buy impressions. Buy the right placements that compound into stronger organic visibility over time.
4. Build Review Volume and Quality
Amazon’s algorithm favors products with high star ratings and steady review velocity. A product with 4.5 stars and fresh reviews will almost always enjoy higher visibility.
Here’s what you should do:
Use automated follow-ups (compliant with Amazon’s policies) to request reviews.
Address negative feedback quickly.
Track your review velocity compared to category leaders.
Reviews fuel trust. And trust fuels visibility.
5. Monitor and Adjust Continuously
SOV isn’t a “set it once” metric. You need to track it alongside keyword ranks, ACOS, and conversions.
Set up a monitoring cadence:
Daily checks for the top 5–10 keywords during Q4 or the sales events.
Weekly reviews across all core keywords.
Monthly competitor benchmarks.
If your SOV drops suddenly, don’t guess, just diagnose. Was it competitor ad pressure? A change in keyword bids? Seasonal shifts? The sellers who respond fastest win the visibility battle.
Your Next Steps
At the end of the day, keyword ranks tell you if you exist. Share of Voice tells you if you’re actually winning attention.
The brands that win on Amazon aren’t necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets. They’re the ones who structure their campaigns, monitor SOV, and lay a solid foundation for every growth decision.
If you’re a seller or brand trying to scale, tracking SOV is non-negotiable. It’s what separates those who compete from those who dominate.
Don’t just track keyword ranks in a spreadsheet. Get a complete view of your visibility with SellerMate’s Live Ads Tracker.