Google Ads Impression share still matter in 2023? What can you do about it?

Did it really happen if no one heard a tree fall in the forest?

Wouldn’t it be nice to know if you could have shown your ad to your audience, but didn’t?

is able to determine how frequently your ads are shown (or not) to your audience, thanks to an impression share metric. It’s one thing for you to create your Google Ads campaign, but it’s quite another to ensure that they are actually being seen as often as possible. Data sets such as impression share, absolute top rate of impressions, and others can save you a lot of time.

How important is your account’s impression share, given that impressions do not always translate into clicks or conversions? Google Ads are increasing in cost across all industries. You might think that other metrics take precedence when you track your PPC success.

You don’t want to waste time as an advertiser reporting on data which doesn’t have a direct impact on your bottom line. Read on to see if impression shares are worth your time in 2023.

Table of Contents

• 
  What does Google Ads impressions share mean?
  
• 
  How do you calculate impression share?
  
• 
  Types and types of impression sharing
  
• 
  How do you share a good first impression?
  
• 
  Does impression share matter in 2023
  
• 
  How to Improve Your Impression Share
  

Google Ads Impressions Share: Quick Review

Let’s first go over what impression share means for your account. The impression share, shown as a percent, is intended to answer the following question: out of all possible times that your ad might be displayed, how many times is it actually being displayed?

Only standard search, Shopping and display campaigns can be measured by impression share.

It’s almost impossible to have your ad appear every time someone searches a keyword, or visits a place you bid on. This is because the Google Ads Auction has a high level of competition. The impression share helps you to understand the market share that your ads have.

There are several terms that are important to understand when talking about impression share.

• Impressions: If at least 50% or your ad for at least a second is visible.
• Share of impressions: Percentage potential impressions that your Google Ads campaign is awarded.
• Top Impressions Rate: Percentage based on how often your ad appears above organic results in search campaigns (only).
• Absolute Top Impression Rate:Percentage based on how often your ad appears as the first ad in the search campaign (only).
• Impression Share Lost to Budget:Percentage that your ad wasn’t shown because your budget was too low, or, in other words, it ran out quickly, or your budget was not enough to win an auction.
• Impression Share Lost to Rank:Percentage that your ad wasn’t shown because of a low rank or, in other words your Qualitative Score was not high enough to win an auction.

How can you calculate the impression share?

The impression share is calculated by dividing the total search volume of your keywords. Google divides the number of times that you displayed by the number of times you might have shown. The platform calculates impression share for us.

You can check your impression rate and share of impressions by adding your columns at the campaign level in your account.

Different types of impression share

The term “Impression share” can mean different things depending on the campaign type. We’ll review some of the notes for each campaign type that has impression share data.

Shopping campaigns should be aware that the impression share metrics reported only take into account Google Search placements, and not Google Display Network.

Display campaigns can only provide “display impression shares” metrics. Display ads do not appear on SERPs, so this makes sense. Display impression share is similar to search impression share but applies to all placements on the GDN.

For any travel or tourism business, there are also impression share metrics for hotel campaigns. Google has broken down to show how they are calculated.

In this post, I will continue to assess the impact of impression shares on standard search campaigns.

What makes a good impression?

A common pitfall involves thinking there is a black and white answer to everything involving Google Ads. Although I would love to know what the Google Ads standard benchmark should be for impression share, each account is different. You may find that depending on the competition you face, a higher or lower impression share would be feasible for your company.

You might think that showing as much to as many people is the best strategy for impression share. Think of your impression pool as a place to put all the people you want to reach. The size of your pool will depend on how you target. It will be harder to complete a lap in a larger pool. You don’t have to go to the bottom of the pool to find the search that converts for you.

You’ll want to show more than you don’t. For most businesses, I have found that an average impression share between 60-80% is realistic and ideal. Absolute top impression rate or being the first ad to appear on the page can be harder to achieve. A business with a successful search campaign may find that its absolute top impressions rate is around 20%.

Do impression shares still matter in 2023

How important is the impression share in this context?

How you value impression share will depend on your specific marketing goals and objectives. The marketing objectives and goals will determine how you value the impression share.

We saw recently at Google Marketing Live 2019 how the advertising landscape has changed rapidly with new updates such as Search Generic Experience and AI-generated display assets (to name just a few). As more advertisers are able to create better ads, the competition for ad space will increase. Impressions share is more important now than ever for advertisers who are leveraging search, display, or shopping campaigns.

It’s best to use a Cross-channelapproach for your Google Ads Strategy, even if impression share information may not be available.

High impression share and rate can bring many benefits

You might not be as concerned about impression share if you are achieving all your goals with Google Ads. If you notice that your progress is going awry, the impression share will make a huge difference.

If you want to improve your click-through rates then improving your impression share will have a direct effect. In fact, ads that achieve a high absolute top impression rate can have a CTR of up to 60 more.

Source

A high impression rate means that you are showing more ads, and this is the first step in getting people to click on your advertisement. A high top or absolute top impression rate means you are showing before, (or second, third, etc.). This can be a game changer in an ad market that is highly competitive, especially with the constant evolution of this landscape.

Google Ads Impressions Share: Tips for improving your Google Ads share

Try these Google Ads tips to increase your impression share if you want your account’s goal to be met.

1. Set your goals for impression share

To track your progress, you’ll need to benchmark your impression share metrics. You won’t be able to implement the best impression share strategy if you don’t know what realistic impression share to aim for.

Take note of your impression share metrics. then evaluate your campaign budget in order to determine if a higher percentage of impression share is possible.

Lastly, for standard search and Shopping campaigns, advertisers may also want to look at the <a href="https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2579754?hl=en#:~:text=Auction%20insights%20data%20is%20available,for%20ad%20groups%20and%20campaigns. When setting up impression share goals, advertisers should consider the Auction Insights Report. This report is useful for setting impression share goals, as it shows how you compare to competitors in the SERP.

You can get a better idea of your realistic expectations by looking at your budget and current impression share.

2. Location, location,location

How can you increase your impression share? Your impression share pool can be made smaller. It’s easier to achieve a larger impression share if you have fewer users who are eligible to be shown to. Local businesses can use this to target audience members who are more likely to convert.

3. You can refine your keyword list

You can also refine your keywords by focusing on core terms with high intent. Search Intent can be crucial when optimizing for specific metrics like impression share. You’ll want to make sure your ads show up when they are most relevant.

By focusing on keywords that have a transactional intent, rather than those with an informational intent, you can narrow down your impressions to users who are farther along in the buyer journey.

4. Diversify the types of campaigns you run

This Google Ads tip on impression share should not be a surprise, given the popularity of campaigns other than the standard search and display campaigns. You should consider your impression share holistically when evaluating your account. You can fill the gaps that your impression share rate cannot.

Using multiple strategies such as video, local services ads and others will increase the overall performance of your business on Google Ads. Multiple campaign types will help you maximize your impressions across all touchpoints of your customers’ journey.

5. Ad copy that elevates your brand

You should still prioritize ad quality and not quantity. An ad that is strong will appear higher on the SERP, increasing your top impression rate and share. Not to mention that it can increase conversion rates as well!

Look at your copy and see if it includes the basic elements like keywords, powerful words, call to actions, etc. You may also want to use more ad-assets (formerly called ad extensions), such as images, structured excerpts, etc., to take up more SERP space.

This high-quality example ad contains powerful copy that is keyword-rich. This ad also includes ad assets such as images and sitelinks.

Increase your impression share to grow your business

This article will remind you to track metrics that may not have been tracked regularly.

It is easy to overlook impression share in favor of more “money-oriented metrics” such as cost per lead and conversion rates. If you don’t take care of your impression share, it can have a snowball effect on your account. Use our tips to grow your impression shares and, ultimately, your business.

Tips to increase your impression share.

1. Set your impression share goals
2. You can narrow your location targeting
3. You can refine your keyword list
4. Diversify the types of campaigns you run
5. Ad copy that elevates your brand

What will happen to Google Ads impression share in 2023? The post (+What to do about it) appeared first on WordStream.