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Kohler owns the shelf: sixteen of seventy-one listings and the top slot. Look only at vessel sinks and the first three you meet are all one brand’s, all paid.

One of Kohler’s two vessel sinks. On sale, twenty-five percent off, and still at forty-eight. The question is not the price. It is whether this shelf can be won without paying for it.

Now the same search on every retailer. Kohler leads on Ferguson and is missing on Wayfair, where half of page one is paid.

SearchKohler · “shower doors” · four retailersReal capture · four retailers · 22 Sept 2026

One search, four retailers, four different answers.

First on the pageLevity bypass door, $724. No paid listings on the page.

ThirdElmbrook, $819. No paid listings on the page.

SixteenthFour paid slots from other brands sit above it.

Not on page oneTwelve of the 24 listings are paid, none of them Kohler.

• Kohler
• Kohler, paid
• Another brand, paid
• Another brand

On Ferguson and The Home Depot nobody pays for this search and Kohler ranks near the top. On Lowe’s four paid slots push it to sixteenth. On Wayfair half the page is paid and Kohler is not on it.

Ranking first is not the same as being seen first. At The Home Depot, American Standard bought the two slots above Kohler’s organic #1.

AdsKohler · “drop in tub” · The Home DepotReal capture · 22 Sept 2026

Ranked first. Seen third.

Organic rank#1Archer alcove tub, $865.98

Where shoppers see it3rdTwo paid slots sit above it

Paid slots on the page6 of 24American Standard 3, Kohler 2, Sterling 1

Page one for “drop in tub” at The Home Depot, position 1 to 24

123481216

• 1American Standard
• 2American Standard
• 3Kohler Archer, organic #1
• 4American Standard
• 8Kohler Underscore
• 12Sterling
• 16Kohler Elmbrook

• Kohler
• Kohler, paid
• Another brand, paid
• Another brand

“vessel sink”

5

Same pattern, different retailer: Kohler’s Vox sink is organic #1 for “vessel sink” on Wayfair, and shoppers see it fifth, under four paid listings.

“toilet seat” and “bidet seat”

9 of 9

One Kohler toilet seat, the PureWash M250, appeared nine times on the “toilet seat” and “bidet seat” searches between 18 and 22 Sept. Every time it was a paid slot. It never ranked on its own.

Put the retailers side by side and the finding writes itself: vessel sinks are strong for Kohler everywhere except where the retailer decides otherwise.

InsightsKohler · “vessel sink” · four retailersReal capture · four retailers · 22 Sept 2026

Strong in the category. Weak where the retailer decides.

Kohler listings on page one

8 of 24Best: first

5 of 24Best: eighth

1 of 24Best: fifth, under four paid listings

1 of 24Best: nineteenth

• Kohler
• Kohler, paid
• Another brand, paid
• Another brand

What changed

On 22 Sept, Kohler held 8 of the 24 page-one listings for “vessel sink” at Ferguson and 5 at The Home Depot. At Wayfair and at Lowe’s it held one each.

Why

The category is not the problem; the retailer is. At Lowe’s the page leads with allen + roth and DeerValley and four paid slots sit above Kohler’s only listing. At Wayfair, Kohler ranks first on its own merit and is pushed to fifth by paid listings.

What to do next

Check which Vox sizes Lowe’s actually carries, and put a price on a sponsored slot for “vessel sink” at Wayfair, where the organic #1 is already Kohler’s.

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