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In the competitive world of online marketing, standing out is everything. That is where Google Ads acts as your ally in boosting your brand’s visibility. But to make the most of this platform, there is one metric you really need to get to grips with - Impression Share.
Impression Share is like a snapshot of your ad's potential visibility. It tells you how often your ads could be popping up for your target audience based on your current campaign setup.
A Google Ads Help article suggests that Impression Share is an excellent way to understand whether your ads might reach more people if you increase your bid or budget.
By keeping an eye on Impression Share, you can spot gaps where your ads are not showing up as much as they could be. Once you find these gaps, you can tweak and tune your campaigns to fill them.
This article is your complete guide on how to increase Impression Share on Google Ads to boost your ad performance.
Impression Share is a metric in Google Ads that shows the percentage of impressions your ads have received compared to the total number of impressions your ads were eligible to receive.
Impression Share in Google Ads is calculated automatically by Google and is provided in the statistics table in your Google Ads account. You can view your Impression Share data at the campaign, ad group, and keyword levels in your Google Ads account.
Tracking and analyzing important Google Ads metrics such as Impression Share is vital. They provide valuable insights that can be used to create new strategies to boost the performance of your ads.
With Dataflo, consolidate all your Google Ads metrics in one customizable dashboard. Supercharge your advertising by closely monitoring Impression Share and other vital metrics. Take control with Dataflo today.
Google Impression Share is computed as the ratio of the total impressions your ad has received divided by the estimated number of impressions your ad was eligible to receive.
Your ads' impressions are the number of times your ad was actually shown. The total eligible impressions are estimated based on the exact match of your keywords, your ads' targeting settings, approval statuses, bids, and Quality Scores.
Other factors, such as the time of day and the user's location, are also considered while calculating the total eligible impressions.
Impression Shares can be broken down into several types. They each provide unique insights into the visibility and performance of your ads. Let us conduct a deep dive into the different kinds of Impression Shares on Google Ads and their importance.
1. Search Impression Share: Search Impression Share is a specific type of Impression Share metric in Google Ads related to the search network.
It represents the percentage of impressions your ads received on the Search Network compared to the total number of impressions they could get.
A high Search Impression Share means your ads frequently appear in search results, ensuring a broad reach among your target audience.
Conversely, a low Search Impression Share could indicate that your ads are not showing as often as possible, suggesting potential room for improvement in your campaign strategy.
Tracking Search Impression Share is crucial for maximizing ad visibility, understanding your competitive standing, and making informed decisions about ad budget and bids. It is a barometer of your ad's presence in search results.
2. Display Impression Share: Display Impression Share is a Google Ads metric that measures the percentage of impressions your ads receive compared to their potential impressions across Google’s display network.
It reflects your ads' frequency across Google's vast network, including platforms like YouTube, Gmail, and partner sites. Tracking display Impression Share can help gauge the competitiveness of your ads.
You can make informed decisions on adjustments to your budget, bids, or ad relevance based on the insights collected from tracking display Impression Share.
3. Search lost Impression Share (budget): Search Lost Impression Share (budget) is a metric in Google Ads that shows the percentage of time your ads did not appear on the Search Network due to insufficient budget.
In other words, it represents the estimated impressions you missed out on because your budget was too low.
If you have a high Search Lost Impression Share, it means that your ads could be showing up more often in search results if you increase your budget.
This can be an important metric to monitor as it directly indicates opportunities for improving your ad visibility and potentially increasing clicks and conversions simply by adjusting your budget.
4. Display lost Impression Share (budget): Like Search lost Impression Share, this is a Google Ads metric that displays the percentage of time your ads did not appear on the display network due to a limited budget.
A high display lost Impression Share (budget) implies that if you had a higher budget, your ads could show up more often in Google’s display network on websites such as YouTube, Gmail, and so on.
5. Search lost Impression Share (Rank): Search Lost Impression Share (rank) shows the percentage of time your ads did not appear on the Search Network due to poor Ad Rank.
Ad Rank is determined by several factors, such as your ad quality (including relevance and landing page experience), bid amount, the Ad Rank thresholds, and other ad formats.
Monitoring Search Lost Impression Share can provide insights into why your ads may not perform as well as they could and guide you on where to focus your optimization efforts.
6. Display lost Impression Share (Rank): Display Lost Impression Share (rank) depicts the percentage of potential impressions your ads missed on the Google Display Network due to low Ad Rank.
If your Display Lost Impression Share is high, it suggests that your ads could have been shown more frequently if they had a better Ad Rank.
7. Search exact match Impression Share: Search Exact Match Impression Share shows the percentage of impressions your ads received for searches that exactly matched your keyword, compared to the estimated number of exact match impressions you were eligible to receive.
It evaluates only the instances where the user's search query exactly matches or is a close variant of your keyword. For example, if your keyword is "phone cover," exact match impressions could come from searches like "buy phone cover" or "phone cover for sale," but not "cover for phone."
If your Search Exact Match Impression Share is low, it could suggest you may be missing out on potential impressions due to low bids, low ad quality, or budget constraints. It can be a valuable metric to monitor to ensure you effectively reach users searching for your exact keywords.
Increasing your Impression Share in Google Ads can significantly improve your campaign performance, ad visibility, and overall return on investment.
However, reaching a more significant portion of your target audience requires a strategic approach and a deep understanding of various factors influencing your ad's performance.
Here are some ways in which you can improve your Impression Shares.
1. Focus and improve your Ad quality: Google Ads' Quality Score, which factors in ad relevance, landing page quality, and click-through rate, dictates your Ad Rank.
Enhancing ad relevance, creating engaging content, and optimizing your landing page can uplift your Quality Score, leading to a superior Ad Rank.
Consequently, this can increase your Impression Share by ensuring your ads appear more frequently in search and display networks.
2. Adjust Geo-Targeting Settings: You can maximize your chances of receiving impressions by tailoring your ads to appear in specific locations where your audience is more likely to engage with them.
For instance, if data indicates that your ads perform better in certain cities or regions, consider focusing more of your budget and ad efforts there. Similarly, if specific locations are underperforming, it might be worth excluding them or reducing your bids.
This targeted approach can help increase your Impression Share by optimizing where your ads are shown.
3. Optimize Keywords: Optimizing your keywords is a strategic way to increase your Impression Share. Begin by analyzing your keyword performance to identify which ones are driving impressions and which ones are not.
Consider adding more relevant keywords to your campaigns, but also ensure they are specific to your product or service to attract qualified traffic. Additionally, review your keyword match types.
Broad-match keywords can increase your Impression Share due to their wide reach, but they can also attract irrelevant traffic. You might find a balance by using modified broad match, phrase match, or exact match keywords.
Lastly, regularly use negative keywords to filter out irrelevant search queries, maintaining the quality of your impressions.
4. Increase your budget: If your campaigns regularly exhaust their daily budget, Google Ads may not show your ads as often as they could. This could lead to a lower Impression Share. By allocating more budget to your campaigns with high-performing keywords and ads, you are giving Google Ads more leeway to show your ads throughout the day.
This can lead to an increase in impressions, thus increasing your Impression Share. However, it is essential to balance this with ensuring your increased spend leads to a satisfactory return on investment.
5. Refine your keywords list: Refining your keywords list can be an effective way to boost your Impression Share. Start by reviewing your keywords' performance.
Pause or eliminate low-performing keywords that are not generating impressions or are contributing to low-quality traffic. Next, focus on the keywords that align closely with your product or service and are known to drive high-quality traffic.
Regularly refining your keywords list keeps your campaigns focused and can help improve your Impression Share. Adding long-tail keywords can also be favorable, as they tend to be less competitive and more targeted. This could increase your chances of winning impressions.
6. Improve your quality score: Quality Score is a Google Ads metric that depends on the relevance of your keywords to your ads and your landing page, as well as your ad's click-through rate (CTR).
Boosting your Quality Score is a pivotal step to raising your Impression Share on Google Ads.
Ensure your ads closely align with the keywords you are targeting and that your landing page offers visitors a smooth, pertinent experience. A top-notch Quality Score can result in superior ad rankings and reduced costs, ultimately contributing to a higher Impression Share.
Impression Share is a vital metric in Google Ads that gives you a window into your ad’s visibility and how effectively they compete. Optimizing keywords and assigning a decent budget for your Google Ads campaigns are vital in boosting your Google Ads Impression Share.
Dataflo's customizable Google Ads dashboards allow you to keep a close eye on your Impression Share and other key Google Ads metrics, making it easier to spot trends, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions.
By leveraging these strategies, you can up your game with Google Ads Impression Share and, ultimately, enhance the performance of your digital advertising campaigns. Book a demo with Dataflo and start your free trial today!
Ira is a writer and blogs about her love of words. She has been responsible for creating powerful and effective content that attracts and retains customers. A blend of her humble writing experience and an endeavour to inspire people with her words is on her table now. She is an avid reader and a music lover too. She loves to devote time each day to yoga and meditation in addition to going for walks.
