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Win the answer, not the click.
Your next customer builds their SOC 2 shortlist inside ChatGPT and Copilot before they touch a website or click an ad. When they ask which platform to pick, what it costs, and how Vanta compares to Drata, this directory is one of the sources the answer is assembled from — more often than for anything else we publish.
You can bid on soc 2 compliance software for $214 a click. You can't bid on the answer that's replacing it. Sponsoring the page it's built from is the only way in.
Check it yourself: ask ChatGPT or Copilot “best SOC 2 software.” The page it pulls from — /insights/soc-2-software/ — is ours, cited 29,507 times last month.
Here's that answer.
One query, one screenshot: ask ChatGPT “best SOC 2 software” and this directory is cited three times in a single answer — the independent source it leans on, including on the incumbents' own downsides. That independence is exactly why the citation exists, and why being well-represented in the answer is worth buying. The pattern behind this one answer is the 76,682 software-hub citations the directory earns every month.
The old ad scoreboard counts clicks. For a platform, the question that decides the deal now happens earlier — when a buyer asks an AI which tool to trust, and the answer either names you or doesn't. Here is how often this directory is the source that answer is built from, and how much of it is buyers shopping for software.
How often Microsoft Copilot + partners cites this directory across a buyer's whole SOC 2 journey, software to auditor. Climbing, and a floor — it's the only engine that publishes a count.
More than half of those citations are buyers asking which platform to choose, what it costs, how the vendors compare.
/insights/soc-2-software/
A single software page — the most-cited page on the entire directory.
*150,000 is a floor, not a ceiling. Bing Webmaster Tools, AI Performance — citation sources: Microsoft Copilots and Partners is the only AI source that publishes a citation count, so it is the only number we can verify. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude almost certainly cite this directory more, but none of them share data. A citation is the directory used as a source in an answer — exposure, not a click or a signup. Window: last 30 days, retrieved 2026-07-01.
What AI actually cites us for.
Each block below is a cluster — a set of related pages AI cites together for one buying moment. A sponsorship buys a share of voice across the pages in a cluster, and the software hub carries the demand. Every figure is last 30 days of Microsoft Copilot + partners citations, retrieved 2026-07-01.
Software hub & buying guides
The pages AI reaches for when a buyer asks which SOC 2 platform to choose, what they cost, and which fits a startup, fintech, or healthcare team.
Commercial & comparison — buyers building a shortlist
- SOC 2 software (editorial list) 29,507
- Software pricing comparison 12,501
- Compliance tools hub 12,488
- Software comparison (12 platforms) 10,643
- Audit tracking platforms 8,455
42% of the software queries citing us are buyers actively choosing — ready to buy or shortlisting named vendors — not idle reading.
The click you bid on is turning into an answer you can't.
Google will still sell you a click on the SOC 2 software terms. Here's the going rate — and where that same buyer is actually going. The search volume on these keywords is shrinking; the buying moved into the AI answer, and the answer has no bid box.
| Keyword (US) | Cost per click |
|---|---|
| soc 2 compliance software | $171 |
| soc 2 automation | $233 |
| soc 2 software | $137 |
| soc 2 compliance tool | $141 |
Google Keyword Planner (Ads), US, estimated cost per click, retrieved 2026-07-08. Top-of-page bids on soc 2 compliance software reach $214.
One click, up to $214. The AI answer replacing that search cites our software pages 76,682 times a month — and there's no slot to bid on.
A sponsorship is the slot. You're not renting one click at auction against every other platform; you're present, always-on, on the exact pages the answer is assembled from — for a flat quarterly fee that doesn't move with the auction.
Buy a share of the answer, never a cut of the deal.
When the answer names you as the fit, the buyer reaches you already sold — your team works a warm shortlist, not a cold click. Three ways to be in that answer, all scoped to the AI-cited clusters: a Starter on one cluster, always-on share of voice across the whole software hub, or a done-for-you partnership where we build your presence in the answer for you. Every one is a flat advertising fee — we never take a cut of a deal, and never soften a review.
Start with one cluster.
$2,500 / quarter · one cluster · cancel any quarter
The entry point. A full written review of your platform, plus labeled placement across the one citation cluster where you fit best, and a monthly share-of-voice read.
- A full written review of your platform — what it does well, who it fits, and why buyers pick it over the alternatives — written straight and checked with you for accuracy before it's live.
- Featured placement and a labeled sponsor badge on one cluster.
- Named scenario slots within that cluster where the fit is real.
- A monthly read on citations and share of voice for the cluster.
- A flat fee, the same whether or not a buyer converts.
Be present where the answer is built.
$9,000 / quarter · the software hub · cancel any quarter
Always-on across the whole software hub — the 76,682-citation cluster AI reaches for when a buyer is choosing a platform, its pricing guides, and named scenario slots where you genuinely fit.
- A full written review of your platform, authored by the directory and kept current — what it does, who it fits, and why buyers pick it, written straight and checked with you for accuracy.
- Featured placement and a labeled sponsor badge across the full software hub.
- Named "best for…" and scenario slots across the hub wherever the fit is real.
- A labeled sponsor placement on your own review and comparison pages — the badge and CTA, never the verdict or the score.
- A monthly read: which sponsored pages got cited, and how your share of voice moved.
- AI Visibility Blueprint included ($1,200 value): your AI share of voice mapped against named competitors, with the gaps to close.
- Rate lock — your rate never rises while you stay subscribed.
We build your presence in the answer.
Done-for-you · one partnership at a time · annual
The done-for-you tier. Not just placement — a bespoke program run with Peter to make you the name AI reaches for: the digital PR that earns the citations, the AI-visibility work, and the brand authority behind it.
- Everything in Hub share of voice, across your priority clusters.
- Done-for-you digital PR — earned placements and brand mentions that become the citations the answer is built from.
- AI-visibility program — we shape and monitor how ChatGPT, Perplexity, and AI Overviews represent you across the category.
- Brand authority — co-published research and editorial that make you the referenced name, not just a listed one.
- One partnership at a time. While we run yours, we run no other platform's — Peter's full focus, and a standing you don't share.
- Quarterly strategy session and a market-demand read from data only we hold.
Not sure where you stand in the answer yet? Start here: where your platform shows up today across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and AI Overviews for your buyers' real queries, your share of voice mapped against the platforms taking the citations you're missing, and a prioritized plan to close the gap — yours to keep, no tier required. A written report plus a 30-minute walkthrough within 7 business days. Credited in full toward any tier within 30 days — and included free with Hub share of voice and the Custom partnership.
What sponsorship buys — and what it never buys.
These pages get cited because AI reads them as independent. A sponsorship that bent a review would burn the exact thing you are paying to stand next to. So the line holds — and it holds both ways.
It never buys:
- a higher rating or score on any review,
- removal of a weakness, criticism, or caveat from a sponsored review,
- a recommendation for a scenario your platform does not actually fit,
- hidden or unlabeled placement of any kind.
The full rules are on the methodology page.
Who this is for.
A good fit:
- Compliance platforms — Vanta, Drata, Sprinto, Secureframe, and peers buying presence in the SOC 2 buying answer.
- Audit-adjacent SaaS — vendor risk, policy management, pen test, or GRC tooling our readers evaluate alongside SOC 2.
Not a fit:
- anyone who wants to pay for a better review score — not on offer at any price,
- a product with no genuine fit for SOC 2 buyers, where a scenario slot would mislead them.
Common questions.
What is an AI citation, and how is it counted?
It is a reference to a page on this directory inside an AI assistant's answer. We count it with Bing Webmaster Tools, AI Performance — citation sources: Microsoft Copilots and Partners. The total is well over 150,000 in the last 30 days (57% on software and platform questions), and we report it exactly as the source labels it. It is exposure — the directory used as a source — not a click or a signup, and it is a floor: Microsoft Copilot + partners is the only engine that publishes a count.
Does sponsoring change our review or where we rank?
We write your platform's own review as part of the listing — straight: favorable where the facts earn it, honest where they don't. What sponsorship never buys is a rating you didn't earn, a real weakness hidden, a "best for" you don't actually fit, or any change to the independent head-to-head reviews (like Vanta vs Drata), which stay unpaid. The same holds for any affiliate link on the page: a commission never moves you up the list. Money never moves the order, and that firewall is the only reason AI cites us, and the only reason the placement is worth anything.
How is sponsorship priced?
Flat quarterly fees, published above: Starter is $2,500/quarter for one cluster and Hub share of voice is $9,000/quarter for the whole software hub — both checkout on the spot, cancel any quarter. The Custom partnership is done-for-you and priced to your goals. Every tier bills on exposure — a measured body of AI citations — never on leads or conversions.
Do you take a cut when a buyer converts?
Your sponsorship is a flat quarterly fee, the same whether or not a single buyer converts: what you pay for is presence in the answer, not a lead count. Separately, some outbound links to platforms are affiliate links, and a platform may pay us a referral commission when a buyer signs up through one. On audit firms we never take a cut: their fee stays flat because a CPA's independence is regulated. Commission or not, it never moves the ranking, the review, or who we recommend. That firewall — money never changes the answer — is what keeps AI citing these pages, and what makes the placement worth anything.
What's the Custom partnership?
The done-for-you tier. Starter and Hub put you in the answer; the Custom partnership is where we go build your presence in it — the digital PR that earns the citations AI quotes, AI-visibility work across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and AI Overviews, and the co-published research and editorial that make you the referenced name in your category, not just a listed one. It runs directly with Peter on an annual term, and we take on one partnership at a time — while we run yours, we run no other platform's, so the focus (and the standing) is yours alone. Priced to your goals — talk to Peter.
What exactly do we get, and how do you measure it?
A full written review of your platform — what it does, who it fits, and why buyers pick it over the alternatives — written straight and run past you for factual accuracy before it goes live, typically within about a week of your materials (product overview, a walkthrough or demo, pricing, proof points). Plus labeled sponsor placement across the cluster you buy — the badge, the named "best for…" slots where you genuinely fit, and a CTA to your site — and a monthly report drawn from the same Bing Webmaster Tools, AI Performance — citation sources: Microsoft Copilots and Partners export these figures come from: which sponsored pages got cited, your share of voice on the cluster, and how it moved month to month. We report exposure in the AI answer at the page level, exactly as the source labels it — never a click or a signup we can't honestly attribute to the placement.
Why this over more Google Ads or a listing-site placement?
Different channel, and a complement rather than a competitor. Paid search rents one click at auction — up to $214 a click on soc 2 compliance software — and it disappears the moment you stop paying. A listing site sells you a profile buyers filter past. This is presence inside the AI answer that's replacing the search — the source it's assembled from — for a flat fee that doesn't move with the auction. It doesn't compete for the same click; it's in front of the buyer before the click exists.
Why isn't the Vanta-review page for sale?
Because the moment a review's verdict can be bought, AI stops trusting it and so does the buyer — and the citations you're paying to stand next to evaporate. We do sell a labeled sponsor placement on your own review and comparison pages (the badge and CTA), but never the rating, the verdict, or a removed caveat, for you or for a competitor. The independent editorial is the whole asset. We protect it for the exact reason it's worth something to you.
Own the answer.
Starter and Hub share of voice you can start on the spot. For a done-for-you partnership, email hello@soc2auditors.org or talk to Peter — tell us your platform and goals and we reply within two business days with a proposal, or a straight no. Reach 11,000+ in-market SOC 2 buyers a month, and the AI answers they read first.
Peter Korpak, founder · hello@soc2auditors.org