South Africa, March 31 -- Share of Search data, one of the more reliable leading indicators of where consumer attention is actually moving, shows this clearly when you map South Africa's streaming category over the past decade.

What share of search actually tells us

Share of Search measures the proportion of branded search volume a company captures within its competitive category. The underlying logic is simple: people tend to search in proportion to how they buy, or intend to buy. When a brand's search share rises, increased consideration and eventually market share tend to follow. When it falls, the reverse is true.

It's not a perfect metric. No single metric is. But as a leading indicator of where consumer attention is moving, it ha...