Impression Share
Google AdsDefinition
Impression Share is the percentage of total eligible impressions your ads actually received. An impression share of 70% means your ads appeared for 70% of eligible searches.
Impression share breaks into three components: impressions received, share lost due to budget (budget ran out), and share lost due to rank (Ad Rank too low). These tell you exactly why you are missing impressions and what to fix.
For branded keywords, aim for 90%+. For non-branded competitive terms, 40-70% may be realistic. Use impression share data to prioritize budget allocation.
View impression share columns in Google Ads at campaign, ad group, or keyword level. Add "Search Impr. Share," "Search Lost IS (Budget)," and "Search Lost IS (Rank)." If budget loss is high, increase budgets. If rank loss is high, improve Quality Score or bids.
Impression share reveals the gap between potential and actual reach. It is the best metric for answering "Am I spending enough?" and "Where would additional budget have the most impact?"
Related Terms
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Branded: 90%+. High-value non-branded: 60-80%. Broad discovery: 30-50%. Targets should align with budget and growth goals.
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Not necessarily. More impression share means more auctions, which may include lower-quality searches. Focus on impression share for highest-converting keywords first.
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Search impression share measures visibility in search results. Display impression share measures frequency across placements. They are separate metrics for different campaign types.
Missing eligible impressions?
We analyze impression share data to find where additional budget or Quality Score improvements have the biggest impact.