Google Ads Lost Impression Share Rank: Why It Is High and What to Do
Quick fix
Google ads lost impression share rank is the share of Search auctions your ads missed because Ad Rank was too low. Ad Rank depends on your bid, ad and landing page quality, thresholds and competition. To show more, raise bids, improve your ads and landing page experience, and check estimated first page bids for your keywords.
- Add the Search lost IS (rank) and budget columns.
- Compare estimated first page bids with your current bids.
- Improve ads and landing page experience.
- Check conversion tracking, then consider Maximize Conversions.
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What this error means
Impression share is the impressions you received divided by those you could have received. Lost impression share to rank is the part you missed because your Ad Rank was too low in the auction, not because the budget ran out.
Google defines Search lost IS (rank) as the percentage of time ads were not shown on the Search Network due to poor Ad Rank in the auction.
Why it happens
1Bids too low
Your bid is one of the factors that make up Ad Rank.
How to tell if this is you: Estimated first page bids are above your current bids.
2Ad or landing page quality
Ad and landing page quality feeds into Ad Rank.
How to tell if this is you: Quality Score or ad relevance is low.
3Not meeting Ad Rank thresholds
Google sets minimum thresholds an ad must reach to show.
How to tell if this is you: Ads rarely show for keywords where competitors do.
4A competitive auction
When competitor Ad Ranks are well above yours, they are more likely to win.
How to tell if this is you: Rank loss rose while your settings did not change.
How to fix it
Raise bids where it pays
For: Bids too low, A competitive auction
- Add the estimated bid columns and compare with your bids.
- Raise bids or adjust the bid type.
- With conversion tracking set up, consider Maximize Conversions.
Improve quality
For: Ad or landing page quality, Not meeting Ad Rank thresholds
- Improve ads and the landing page experience.
Read the metric correctly
For: Not meeting Ad Rank thresholds
- Check lost impression share to budget separately, because both can apply.
- Allow 1 to 2 days for impression share data to update.
How long it takes
Google says impression share metrics update within 1 to 2 days, so changes take at least that long to show.
How to stop it happening again
- Review the impression share columns regularly.
- Keep ads and landing pages aligned with your keywords.
- Do not assume a high rank loss is a budget problem: check both lost IS columns.
From my desk
Quality first, since higher bids on weak relevance mostly raise costs. I check ad relevance, expected click through rate and the landing page. Once those look healthy and results are profitable, I raise bids or targets in small steps.
Muhammed Abdul Kalam
When to get help
- You've worked through the checks and the status still isn't changing.
- The account has many campaigns and ad groups and you cannot tell which change caused the problem.
- Results are suffering during a launch or sale and every day costs real money.
Stuck on this? Send me the details.Tell me what the platform shows and what you've tried so far.
Send me the detailsFAQs
What is lost impression share to rank?
The percentage of time your ads were not shown on the Search Network because of poor Ad Rank.
How is it different from lost impression share to budget?
The budget version is lost because of insufficient budget, and is available at campaign level only.
What makes up Ad Rank?
Google says Ad Rank is based on 6 factors, including your bid and ad and landing page quality.
Why is lost IS rank missing on my Ad groups tab?
It isn't shown if you ran out of budget at any point in the date range.
How fresh is the data?
Impression share metrics update within 1 to 2 days.