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Observations, not verdicts
Glossary · S

Also called lost impression share due to rank

Letter
S
Related terms
5
Guides
3
Lessons
1
In one line

The share of eligible Search impressions an ad missed because its Ad Rank was too low.

When your ad could have shown and didn't, Google Ads gives two reasons in two columns. Search lost IS (budget) is the share missed because the budget ran out. Search lost IS (rank) is the share missed because the ad's Ad Rank was too low: the bid, the quality or the competition in that auction kept it off the page. Google's API reports anything above 90% as 90.01%.

Together with impression share they add up to the whole: shown, lost to budget, lost to rank. On a brand campaign, lost to rank should be close to zero, because your ad is the most relevant answer to your own name.

So a rise is worth a look. If Search lost IS (rank) climbs on your exact brand keywords while your average CPC rises and nothing in Change history is yours, another advertiser is probably competing harder on your name. Google also reports lost impression share for the top of the page and the very first place, which tell you whether you're losing the top spot rather than the page.

Read it by week, beside Auction insights for the same weeks, to see which domain arrived when the share moved.

Sources

Google's own help and policy pages first.

  1. Google Ads Help: Get impression share data
  2. Google Ads API: metrics
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. What is ad hijacking? How a brand's ad gets copiedWhat people mean by ad hijacking: an ad that reads like a brand's own and leads to its shop, run from another account. How it works and how to look into it.
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. Impression share
  2. Ad Rank
  3. Auction insights
  4. Brand campaign
  5. Search lost IS (budget)