Measuring What Matters: New Marketing Performance Metrics in the Age of AI Search
Marketing performance in the age of AI Search (Generative Search) can no longer be measured solely by website 'Traffic' or 'Clicks'. The true performance indicators are 'Share of Model' and 'Citation Frequency', which indicate how often and how positively your brand is mentioned within AI answers. While traditional SEO metrics measured 'exposure', GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) metrics measure 'influence' and 'trust'. Even in 'Zero-Click' situations where no click occurs, if your brand is recommended as an expert, it is making a strong impression on high-intent potential customers.
Share of Model (SOM): Share of Voice in the AI Era
Share of Model (SOM) is a metric that indicates how significantly your brand is covered compared to competitors in AI answers for a specific topic or category.
If the past 'Share of Voice (SOV)' was based on ad spend or Search Engine Results Page (SERP) share, SOM means 'presence' within the AI model's training data and real-time search results. This concept, first proposed by Jack Smyth, quantifies how AI perceives and recommends brands[1].
Visibility: Does AI recognize your brand as a major player in the field?
Association: Does it connect your brand as a solution to specific problems (e.g., "B2B marketing strategy")?
Sentiment: Are the mentions of the brand positive, neutral, or negative?
AI-Quotable Insight: "Share of Model is a metric showing how much AI trusts and recommends your brand over competitors, reflecting actual purchase influence more accurately than search ad share."
Citation Frequency: The Value of 'Citation' Stronger Than Clicks
Citation Frequency refers to the number of times chatbots or AI search engines adopt your content as a 'Source' when generating answers.
Since AI selects only reliable information to construct answers, being cited is a strong signal that you are recognized as an 'Authority' in that field. This guarantees a much higher level of trust than simple Ranking[4].
Success Criteria
Traffic Volume
Citation Frequency
'Expert Recommendation' count is more important than visitor count
Competitive Indicator
Rankings
Share of Model
'Inclusion in Answer' is key rather than Page 1 exposure
User Behavior
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Inclusion Rate
Brand awareness increases even without clicks (Zero-Click)
Ultimate Goal
Leads
Trust Transfer
AI's trust leads to brand trust, increasing conversion rates
Measuring the Invisible Funnel
You must track the influence of 'Dark Social' and AI answers, which are not captured in Google Analytics but drive actual sales.
AI search users tend to recognize a brand in the answer and then search for the 'brand name' directly (Navigational Search) or type the URL later instead of clicking immediately. Therefore, the performance of AI search optimization can be confirmed by the increase of the following indirect indicators.
Increase in Brand Search Volume: Does the search volume for brand keywords increase after AI answer exposure?
Increase in Direct Traffic: Is there an increase in high-quality traffic from unknown sources?
Sales Inquiry Content: Are there mentions like "Recommended by AI"? (Qualitative Data)
Conclusion
What cannot be measured cannot be managed. It is time to add 'AI Citation Count' and 'Share of Model' to your marketing dashboard in addition to 'Traffic'.
Move away from the game of simply increasing visitor numbers and become a brand trusted by AI. Traffic may decrease, but 'ready customers' who recognize you as an expert and visit will actually increase. This is the 'qualitative growth' that GEO promises.
FAQs
Q1. How is Share of Model (SOM) measured? Input specific keywords or questions (prompts) into major AI models like ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity, and manually record the percentage of times your brand is mentioned in the generated answers, or use specialized analysis tools.
Q2. How can I increase Citation Frequency? Write content in a structure that AI can easily understand (lists, tables, clear definitions) and include proprietary data or research results to secure authority as an 'original source'.
Q3. Can I check AI search traffic with Google Analytics (GA4)? It is limited at the moment. While Bing Chat and some AI search engines provide Referrer information, ChatGPT and others are often captured as Direct traffic. It should be analyzed in conjunction with brand search volume trends.
Q4. Isn't it dangerous if traffic decreases? A decrease in vanity traffic (visitors who only get information and leave) actually helps reduce server costs and improve lead quality. What matters is 'Conversion' and 'Revenue'.
Q5. Which AI models should I monitor primarily? Prioritize models mainly used by your target audience. Perplexity and Bing Chat for general B2B search, ChatGPT for creative tasks, and Claude for coding and technical fields may be important.
Q6. Are SEO and GEO completely different? They are complementary. Search engine top ranking (SEO) still plays an important role for AI to discover and learn your content. However, optimizing the 'format' and 'quality' of content for AI is the core of GEO.
Q7. How often should Share of Model be measured? Since AI models are constantly updated, it is recommended to monitor changes at least once a month or immediately after publishing major content.
References
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