Market Feasibility Research For Search And AI Visibility

Search demand is the starting point, and the free tools need careful reading. Google Keyword Planner's average monthly searches are averaged over 12 months by default and counted for exact matches only, so a seasonal category can look flatter than it trades. Google Trends is normalised to a 0 to 100 scale for each time and place, which shows shape and direction but not volume. We combine both with third-party data and your own Search Console figures to size demand by market, product line and month.

We name the competitors that take the clicks on your commercial searches, and the brands ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews name when buyers ask for recommendations. Measuring AI share of voice across a set of buyer prompts shows whether the market is open or already decided in the answers, and it often surfaces competitors that barely rank in Google. Our guide to choosing which prompts to track in AI search explains how we build that prompt set.

Not every opportunity suits every channel. Paid search shows what a click costs today: Keyword Planner's top-of-page bid ranges approximate the 20th and 80th percentiles of what advertisers have paid over the last 30 days. Organic and AI visibility cost less per visit but take longer and depend on authority, content and links. We set out which of SEO, PPC, Digital PR and GEO fits the opportunity, the order to fund them in and where a short paid test should come first.

Google's own guidance says no one can guarantee a number one ranking, and that an SEO audit should give realistic estimates of improvement and of the work involved. We hold feasibility research to the same standard. You get cautious, central and strong scenarios, each with its assumptions and sources stated, the effort each needs, the risks that could stop it and a clear call. Our approach to SEO forecasting your finance director will believe shows the method.

Thinking of selling in a new country? We size search demand in the target market in its own language, name the local and international competitors that win it, check how AI assistants answer local buyer questions and assess what your site would need to compete, from localised content to the hreflang set-up covered in our guide to choosing your next market. The research says which market to enter first, which to leave for later and whether international SEO or paid search should lead.

Considering paid search for the first time, a Digital PR programme or work on AI visibility? We test whether the channel suits your margins and sales cycle before you commit to a retainer: what a click or a mention costs to win, how quickly it could contribute and what it would need from your team. Where paid search can test demand quickly, we may recommend a short, controlled paid test before any slower organic investment. If you already run paid search, a PPC audit may answer the question faster.

We measure where you stand against the brands that win your market: organic visibility on commercial searches, paid search presence, referring domains and press coverage, and branded search demand over time. The aim is not a long list of rivals. It is a clear view of the two or three competitors you actually need to beat, the gap to each, what closing it would take and how realistic that is with the budget and team you have.

AI answers are now part of how many buyers shortlist suppliers, so feasibility research covers them alongside Google. We run a prompt set built from your buyers' questions across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, then record which brands are named, how they are described and which sources are cited. That shows whether AI search is an opening or a wall. For a deeper look at your own brand, our AI visibility audit goes further into what to fix first.

For retailers and marketplaces, the real question is often which categories deserve investment. We size demand and competition category by category, set it against your margins and stock depth, and rank the opportunities by expected revenue rather than search volume alone. That stops months of content and link work going into categories with plenty of searches but little profit, and points effort at the pages that carry revenue.

When a strategy has stalled and nobody is sure why, feasibility research gives an independent read. We look at what the market has done, what competitors have done and what your own data shows, then separate a market problem from an execution problem. You can use the findings to brief your current agency, to run a short selection process or to decide what your in-house team should own and what to buy in.

Feasibility research is written to be used. Alongside the full findings you get a short business case covering the opportunity, the cost, the scenarios and the risks, in a form a board or finance director can test. Because it is a fixed piece of research rather than a retainer, procurement can raise one purchase order against it. We are an approved supplier to enterprise procurement teams, including Sage, and our page for procurement teams covers supplier information.