Rank tells you where a page sits. It says nothing about whether an assistant mentions you when a buyer asks a question. Share of answers does.
The definition
Take a fixed set of buyer questions. Ask each one to every assistant you care about. Share of answers is the percentage of those answers that name your brand.
How to measure it
- Fix the question set, between 60 and 150 questions, and do not change it for a quarter
- Run it weekly, because answers vary from day to day
- Record three things for each answer: named or not, position in the answer, and the sources cited
A spreadsheet is enough to begin. The discipline matters more than the tool.
What a good number looks like
In a crowded category a new brand often starts under 5%. Category leaders sit between 40% and 70%. Movement of five points in a quarter is real progress and is usually visible in enquiries a few weeks later.
What to report beside it
Share of answers alone can flatter you. Report it with sentiment, so you know what the answer says about you, and with source share, so you know which sites the assistant leaned on.
The question to ask every month is simple: how often are we the answer, and who is the answer when we are not?
The common mistake
Changing the questions when the number is bad. Keep the set fixed. If the market shifts, add a second set and report both until the old one stops being useful. A number you cannot compare with last quarter is not a metric, it is a mood.
