Glossary · Paid mediaTOFU
Impression share
The short answer
Impression share is the percentage of auctions your ad was eligible for in which it actually appeared. If your keywords were eligible for 10,000 impressions and your ads showed 6,000 times, your impression share is 60%.
Google splits the missing 40% into two diagnoses:
- Lost impression share (budget) — your budget ran out
- Lost impression share (rank) — your Ad Rank was too low (bid and quality)
How to use it
- High lost share (budget) on a profitable campaign — the cheapest growth available: raise the budget
- High lost share (rank) — improve Quality Score or bids
- Brand campaigns — should be close to maximum impression share; anything less lets competitors take your searchers
- Unprofitable campaigns — low impression share may be correct
Common mistakes
- Chasing impression share on unprofitable keywords
- Ignoring loss to rank
- Comparing across very different campaigns
Frequently asked questions
Should we aim for 100% impression share?
Only on brand terms and your most profitable keywords. Chasing full share on everything gets expensive fast.
Where do I find impression share?
In Google Ads columns under competitive metrics, at campaign, ad group and keyword level.
Is 100% impression share a good goal?
Rarely for generic terms — chasing it can be expensive. For brand terms, high impression share is often worth it.
Does Performance Max report impression share?
Reporting is more limited than for Search campaigns; check current Google Ads reporting options.
What is a good impression share for brand campaigns?
Brand campaigns often aim for high impression share, since brand searches are valuable and cheap.
Related terms
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