How to read impression share
Tell whether budget or auction rank limits eligible reach.
The scenario
A campaign has 45% impression share, 30% lost to budget, and 25% lost to rank for a comparable date and report scope.
A budget increase cannot directly fix rank loss. In a simplified view, 450 of 1,000 eligible impressions were won, while 300 were missed for budget and 250 for rank.
Apply it to your own work
Inspect losses by campaign, device, and time window. If budget loss is concentrated in hours with valuable leads, test shifting spend toward those hours before raising the daily budget.
What to watch for
Eligible auctions change with targeting and competition. Impression share can fall even as impressions increase.
Read the share beside eligible volume
Record impression share, impressions, budget loss, and rank loss in the same report view. A campaign winning 45% of 1,000 eligible auctions serves more impressions than one winning 70% of 500. A share decline after wider targeting can reflect a larger set of opportunities.
Before raising bids, sample the segments that drive the loss. If expensive generic queries are responsible and rarely yield qualified work, decide whether you want those auctions. If a narrow profitable segment is constrained, test changes there first.
Try a related tool
Divide remaining spend by the days left in a campaign. Adjust the daily figure for changes in expected demand.
