A Google Ads tool that shows a search results page for a location, language and device you choose, without adding impressions to anyone's ads.
Ad preview and diagnosis sits in the Tools menu of a Google Ads account, under Troubleshooting. You type a search, set the location, language and device, select Preview, and get the results page as it would show there, other advertisers' ads included. For your own ads it says whether one is eligible to show for that search and, if not, gives the reasons.
Google recommends it over searching for your own ad on Google. A search by hand adds impressions without clicks, and Google says that if you keep looking for your own ad and never click it, you may stop seeing it. The tool avoids both.
- It has no setting for the hour, so it shows the page now, not last night.
- It only covers the Search Network, and ads that rank on page two or later may not appear.
- Your own ad's preview can disappear once the campaign reaches its average daily budget.
- Share this search gives a link to the same search and settings.
It's the right way to check a brand search from a place or device you're not on. The guide to checking without skewing goes through it step by step.
Google's own help and policy pages first.