How it is calculated
Impression share = impressions ÷ total eligible impressions. Eligibility depends on your targeting, approval status, bids and quality.
Why you lose impression share
- Lost impression share (budget): your daily budget ran out before the day ended.
- Lost impression share (rank): your Ad Rank was too low, because of your bid or ad quality.
Related metrics
Search top impression share and search absolute top impression share show how often you appeared above the organic results, or as the very first ad. Read them together with conversions: 100% impression share on unprofitable keywords is not the goal.
Impression share example
A campaign has an impression share of 55%. The report shows 30% of the missed impressions were lost because the daily budget ran out and 15% because of low rank. The advertiser raises the budget for the best-converting ad groups and improves ad relevance on the others, instead of raising all bids. A month later, impression share is at 72% and conversions are up.
How to use impression share
- Add the impression share columns to your campaign report.
- Look at lost share to budget first: if conversions are profitable, raise the budget.
- Look at lost share to rank: improve Quality Score, ad copy and bids.
- Use search top impression share to see how often you appear above organic results.
- Focus on campaigns that are profitable, not all campaigns.
Impression share mistakes
- Chasing 100% impression share, which can be very expensive.
- Using it for brand and non-brand terms together.
- Ignoring conversion value and focusing only on coverage.
Impression share FAQs
What is a good impression share?
It depends on goals. For brand terms you may want most of it, for general terms less. See impressions and Google Ads.
Can I see it for organic search?
No. For organic results use impressions in Search Console. See also paid search.