Google Ads now shows the share of your impressions that appeared above the search results, and the share where your ad came first. Unlike average position, these say where on the page your ad was seen.

New columns in the account

Earlier this month Google Ads added a set of measures describing where on the search results page an ad appeared.

The two that matter most are search top impression rate and search absolute top impression rate. Each has a companion impression share figure, and further columns show what was lost to budget or to ad rank.

They sit alongside average position, the number many advertisers have watched for years, and answer a question it never could.

For a small account, they make it much easier to tell whether the ads are actually being seen.

What each measure says

The third changes decisions most. The rates describe where your ad landed when it showed; the shares reveal how many top-of-page chances went by without it.

What average position measured

Average position records how your ad ranked against the other ads in each auction, averaged over every time it showed. One is the highest.

It never described the place on the page. Ads appear above the organic results and, on many searches, below them as well, and the order among the ads says nothing about which block an ad was in.

An ad in first position can even sit at the bottom of the page, on searches where no ads are shown above the results.

And an average blends very different searches into one figure. A 2.0 can mean second place every time, or first place on half the searches and third on the rest.

Why the top of the page matters

On a phone, the ads above the results can fill the entire first screen. An ad below the results is seen only by someone who scrolls past every organic listing first.

On a computer the difference is smaller but still real, since the top block sits where the eye lands.

So the most practical question about any keyword is how often its ad reached the top block at all, which is exactly what top impression rate answers.

When first place is worth the price

The absolute top is the most prominent spot, and usually the dearest. Whether it is worth the price depends on the search.

On your own business name, first place matters: a competitor's ad above yours is catching people who were looking for you.

On a general search, second or third place above the results can bring similar enquiries at a lower price per click. Compare cost per enquiry by keyword before bidding for first.

A worked example

A security alarm company with four installers sells monitored systems to homes and small businesses across a metropolitan area, and runs Google Ads all year.

The owner checked one number each month: average position on the main keywords, which hovered around two and was read as second place, near the top.

The new columns told a different story. On computers the ad reached the top block on most searches. On phones it did so far less often, and it was rarely the very first ad on either.

The cause was a bid adjustment for phones, lowered years earlier when the landing page did not work on small screens. The page had since been rebuilt, but the adjustment had stayed.

Average position had hidden it. It blended computers and phones into one figure, and it never recorded whether a position was above the results or below them.

The adjustment was raised, the landing page was checked on a phone again, and top impression rate is now read by device each month, beside the calls the ads produce.

Read them by device and keyword

A campaign total blends searches for your name, where you nearly always come first, with general searches, where you may rarely reach the top. The blend describes neither.

Add the new columns at the keyword level, then segment them by device. Phones and computers often tell different stories, as they did in the example.

Start with the keywords that spend the most. A weak top rate on a keyword costing a few dollars a month can wait.

Rates and shares together

Pair a high top impression rate with a low top impression share and the picture is clear: placed well when it appears, absent from many searches it was eligible for.

The lost share columns then say why: budget, when the money runs out before the day does, or ad rank, when the bid or the ad's quality falls short.

Budget losses are fixed with money or narrower targeting. Rank losses usually come down to the ad, the keyword and the landing page as much as the bid.

What moves an ad toward the top

Ads appear above the results only when their ad rank clears a threshold, and ad rank combines the bid with the quality of the ad and its extensions.

So the cheapest route upward is often a closer match between keyword, ad and landing page, which also lowers the price of each click.

A higher bid works too, but it buys the same place at a higher price, and belongs at the end of the list rather than the start.

The counter-case

Where an account gets only a few hundred impressions a month, these rates jump about from week to week. Read them over a quarter rather than a fortnight.

They describe the search results page, so display campaigns have nothing to report here.

And position is never the goal in itself. A keyword that sits below the results and still brings profitable work is doing its job.

Where ads are meant to be seen, though, top impression rate is the clearest view yet of whether they are.

This week

  1. Add the new columns to your keywords view.
  2. Segment them by device.
  3. Separate brand keywords from general ones.
  4. Check the phone bid adjustment against today's pages.
  5. Read lost share for budget and rank.
  6. Improve ads and pages before raising bids.
  7. Compare position with enquiries, keyword by keyword.

Step two is where the surprises usually are. Phones and computers behave like separate markets, and a combined figure can hide one of them doing badly for years.

What fills those top positions is changing as well, as covered in responsive search ads are being tested.

Frequently asked questions

What is top impression rate in Google Ads?

The share of your ad's impressions that appeared above the organic search results rather than below them. It describes where on the page the ad was seen.

What does absolute top impression rate mean?

The share of your impressions in which your ad was the very first ad on the page, above every other ad and every organic result.

Why is average position not enough?

It records how your ad ranked against other ads, not where on the page it appeared. A first-position ad can sit at the bottom when no ads show above the results.

Is the first position worth paying for?

On your own business name, usually. On general searches, second or third place above the results can bring similar enquiries for less, so compare cost per enquiry first.

What do the lost share columns show?

How much top-of-page share you missed, and whether budget or ad rank caused it. Budget losses need money or tighter targeting; rank losses usually need better ads and pages.

Should I read these figures by device?

Yes. Phones and computers often behave very differently, and a campaign total can hide an ad that rarely reaches the top on phones.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

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