Brand detection
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Brand detection reads each collected answer and records which tracked brands it names, in what order, and which sources it cites. It runs once per answer, when the answer is collected. Visibility, share of voice and position are all computed from these records.
How to: Your brand isn't detected
What it records
- Named or not, for your brand and each current competitor.
- Position: the order in which your brand is first named among the brands you track. See Average position.
- Cited sources: the domains and URLs the answer lists.
- Tone, when sentiment is available. See Sentiment.
How names and domains are matched
Detection is rule-based: no AI model reads the answer, and the same answer always gives the same result.
- What is matched. Your brand name, its other names and its domains, and the same three for each competitor.
- Whole words only. "Corvane" matches "Corvane" but not "Corvaneo".
- Case, accents and punctuation are ignored. "Tarnfield" and "tarnfield" match, "Cafe" matches "Café", and curly and straight quotes count as the same.
- Spaces and hyphens inside a name are flexible. "Tarn Field" matches "Tarn-Field" and "TarnField".
- Longest match wins. "Ostrova.com" counts once for Ostrova, not twice.
- Links. The text of a link is read; the web address behind it is not.
- Very short names are ignored. A name or domain under 2 characters is skipped because it would match too much.
- Cited sources. A cited page belongs to a tracked brand when its host matches one of that brand's domains, subdomains included. The most specific domain wins.
Only answers with the status ok are read. A "no answer" or "failed" item is never treated as "not mentioned". If an answer names your brand in a way these rules miss, add that name under Other names in the project settings. See Your brand isn't detected.
One mention per brand per answer
A brand counts once per answer, however many times the text repeats it. This is what keeps visibility and share of voice comparable.
What it does not do
- It does not re-check old answers when you change competitors or domains. See Projects.
- It does not read the cited pages. A source counts because an answer cites it, not because of what the page says.
- Brands you do not track are not in the position order.