Brand protection · UK
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Observations, not verdicts
Glossary · I

Also called IS, Search impr. share

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I
Related terms
5
Guides
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Lessons
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The impressions an ad received divided by the impressions Google estimates it was eligible for.

Impression share answers a simple question: of the times your ad could have shown, how often did it? Google divides the impressions you received by the impressions it estimates you were eligible for, based on your targeting, approval status and quality. A brand campaign at 96% showed on 96 of every 100 searches it was eligible for.

Google Ads has a family of these columns, added from the columns icon on the Campaigns, Ad groups or Search keywords tables, under Competitive metrics.

  • Search impr. share: the share on the Search Network.
  • Search top IS and Search abs. top IS: the share among the ads at the top of the page, and as the very first ad. Top impression share covers both.
  • Search lost IS (rank) and Search lost IS (budget): why the rest was missed. Each has a page of its own: rank and budget.
  • Search exact match IS: the share on searches that matched your keywords exactly, or as close variants.

On your brand campaign, a falling Search abs. top IS beside a rising Search lost IS (rank) says someone is taking the first place more often. In Auction insights, each other domain's impression share is measured over the auctions you also took part in.

Sources

Google's own help and policy pages first.

  1. Google Ads Help: About impression share
  2. Google Ads Help: Get impression share data
Related terms
Guides that use it
  1. Auction insights for brand campaigns: what each column meansHow to read Auction insights on your brand campaign: each column, the segments worth using, a worked example, and the auctions it can never show you.
  2. How to read your brand campaign's impression share when others bidYour brand campaign's own impression share columns, from Search impr. share to Search lost abs. top IS (rank): what each says when others bid on your name.
  3. How to watch your brand's searches at night and at weekendsFor the hours your checks miss: map your week from your own Ad schedule page, close your own gaps, put each report on one clock and record what you see.
Lessons that use it
  1. Brand search and your termsWho searches your name, how Google's auction prices those searches, what its policies cover, and what your programme's terms need to say.
Related terms
  1. Search lost IS (rank)
  2. Auction insights
  3. Ad Rank
  4. Top impression share
  5. Search lost IS (budget)