Every tool will tell you “mention rate 12%”. None of them tells you who to measure against next. Sourso turns that into one line: the tier you are on, who sits beside you on it, and the nearest cell to move into. This guide covers where the line comes from, how to read it, and what to do with it.
Position is relative
Keywords sit in three tiers by search volume: head, mid, tail. The cut-offs are quantiles inside your own workspace, so a brand that launched last month and a global one each get their own three-rung ladder, and the ladder reads the same for both.
After every collection Sourso reads who each AI answer named and rolls it up per keyword. From the widest tier down, the first one where your mention rate clears the floor (named in at least one answer in four) is your current tier.
The band is computed, not typed in
On your tier, any name mentioned between half and four times as often as you is in the band. Those are what “Competitors & Alternatives” shows. Names above four times are the head reference, listed apart.
Two consequences:
- Before the first collection the competitor list says “not calibrated”. Do not edit it by hand; one collection sorts it.
- The list moves with your position. When you climb, the band changes with you. Competitors you added yourself stay, but they do not take part in the tier calculation.
The next cell is always the nearest one
Sourso never asks you to “improve across the board”. After each collection it names one cell:
| Situation | Next cell |
|---|---|
| A question on your tier that no answer has named you for | Take the vacant spot: write the page that answers it |
| Your tier is weak on one platform (say, Gemini never names you) | Fill that platform |
| Your tier is held | The nearest group of keywords one tier up |
That cell becomes a prepared dispatch. The AI CMO copies it as is; you click once.
A tier change takes two collections in a row
Clearing the floor once is not a change of tier. The new tier has to hold on two consecutive collections before it is written down as an event and the AI CMO says “moved from tail to mid”. One lucky answer cannot push your target up, and one dip cannot knock you back.
The position line on the Brand page, the position block at the top of the brand performance report, and the tier line in the trends report all read the same table.
Before you start
- Confirm your keywords. Position is computed on confirmed keywords only; held ones do not count. To pull real search terms into the list, see Real search terms into your keywords.
- Collect at least once. Until then the pages say “not calibrated”. Nothing is broken.
- Read the line, click the next cell, wait for the next collection. Once a week is enough.
Further reading: Your first collection and first report · Ten minutes a week for the boss