“Search top impression share”, shown in the column as “Search top IS”, is the number of impressions you received among the top ads divided by the estimated number you were eligible to receive there. It is a share of what was possible, not the place where your ad sits.
You add it to the campaigns table: select the Campaigns icon, open the Campaigns dropdown and choose Campaigns or Ad groups, then select the columns icon. The help names the “Competitive metrics” menu, where “Search impr. share” lives; look for the top-of-page columns by name. To see who else is in the same auction, open auction insights.
What it means
The neighbor column, “Search abs. top IS” (search absolute top impression share), uses the same math but counts only the very first ad among the top ads. So “top” means anywhere in the top block, and “absolute top” means first place inside it.
Google states the key point itself: unlike average position, these metrics do not reflect the order of your ads compared to other ads, only where your ads actually appeared on the page. A low share does not mean you sit below everyone. It means you did not take most of the top impressions you could have. The full definitions are in the Google Ads help.
How to read it
Two pairs of columns have similar names, and they behave differently.
| Column | What it shows | Use it as a bidding target? |
|---|---|---|
| “Impr. (Top) %” | The percent of your impressions shown among the top ads | Google advises against it: it can fall as bids rise |
| “Impr. (Abs. Top) %” | The percent of your impressions shown as the very first ad | Google advises against it, for the same reason |
| “Search top IS” | The share of possible top impressions you received | You can, if you want to show among the top ads more often |
| “Search abs. top IS” | The share of possible first-position impressions you received | You can, if you want to be first more often |
Next to them sit the lost columns: “Search lost top impression share (budget)” and the same with “(rank)”. The first says how often your ad did not show among the top ads because of a low budget, the second because of poor Ad Rank. The absolute top version has its own pair. These are the lines that explain why your share is small. More on each: lost to rank and lost to budget.
The numbers will not match the impressions column in the Campaigns table. For these metrics Google counts at most one impression per advertiser for a given search, while the Campaigns table counts every impression. The data updates within 1-2 days.
What to do
- Add “Search top IS” and “Search abs. top IS” to the campaigns table, plus the four lost columns: budget and rank for each of the two positions.
- See which loss is bigger. If rank, the questions are ad quality, the landing page, and the bid. If budget, the question is the campaign budget limit.
- Decide where you really need the top spot. In my practice it pays more often on searches with your company name and on urgent ones, say “emergency plumber”. On the rest, a pricier spot does not always give a cheaper lead, so test it on your own data.
- If you decide to push the share up, the help allows bidding toward the “IS” columns, not the percent columns. Change one thing at a time and give the data 1-2 days to update.
- Judge the result by cost per lead, not by the share itself.
What not to do
- Do not read the column as a position or a rank in the results. It does not show that.
- Do not make “Impr. (Top) %” a bidding target. Google advises against it: higher bids may enter you into more competitive auctions in a worse location, and the metric drops.
- Do not raise a bid or a budget before you look at the lost columns by reason.
When this does not apply
Search partner sites are not counted in these columns, because partners do not distinguish top placements from the rest. For hotel campaigns the share is calculated from where the ad appears in the hotel booking module. Impression share data is reported separately for each campaign type and is not added up across the account. And the column says nothing about whether those impressions bring leads.
I put the way I read these columns, together with the rest of my weekly account checks, into a short e-book.
My e-book “19 Google Ads Secrets”: how to get the most out of Google Ads without draining your budget, drawn from real campaigns and tests.
See the book →Questions and answers
Does a high top share mean I am first?
No. The column does not show ad order. Even the absolute top column is a share of possible impressions.
Why does “Impr. (Top) %” drop when I raise a bid?
The help explains that higher bids may let you into more competitive auctions where the location is worse. That is why Google points to the “IS” columns for bidding.
Why does the figure not match the impressions in my table?
These metrics count at most one impression per advertiser for a search, while the Campaigns table shows every impression.