Share of Impressions
What it means: This shows how often an advertiser ad appears compared to the total number of searches in the sample.
Example:
We monitor 10 relevant searches and find 3 different advertisers.
Advertiser A ad appears in 8 out of 10 searches.
Advertiser B ad appears in 7 out of 10 searches.
Advertiser C ad in 5 out of 10 searches.
The following will be the Impression share per advertiser:
Share of impressions advertiser A: 8/10 = 80%
Share of impressions advertiser B: 7/10 = 70%
Share of impressions advertiser C: 5/10 = 50%
Absolute Top of Page
What it means: This tells you how often an advertiser’s ad was the first result on the search paid results page over how many times they appeared.
Example:
If an advertisers ad appears in the #1 spot for 2 out of 10 searches, their absolute top impression share is 20%.
Formula:
Number of times advertiser ad was displayed in position #1 / Number of times advertiser ad was displayed
Average Position
What it means: This is the average ranking position of an advertiser's ad across all the searches where it appeared. A lower number means a better (higher) position.
Example:
If a competitor’s ad appeared in position 1 once and position 2 once (and wasn’t shown in other searches), their average position is 1.5.
Position Above You
What it means: This tells you how often a competitor's ad appears in a higher position than yours when both of you are shown in the same search.
Example:
Your positions: 1, 2, 3, 0, 1
Competitor’s positions: 2, 1, 1, 1, 0
Your competitor appeared above you in 2 out of 3 shared searches → 66%
Ad Position Distribution
What it means: This shows how often an advertiser's ad appears in different positions. For the fourth position we consider any time the advertiser appeared in position 4+.
Example:
If an advertiser's ad appeared in these positions: 1, 2, 1, 4, 5 they will see the following ad positions:
Position 1 (2 out of 5 times): 40%
Position 2 (1 out of 5 times) : 20%
Position 3 (0 out of 5 times): 0%
Position 4+ (2 out of 5 times): 40%
These metrics help you understand how your competitors are performing in Google Ads, so you can adjust your strategy accordingly. 🚀