About top and absolute top metrics

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Top and absolute top metrics are a set of prominence metrics. Prominence metrics give you a sense for your ads’ placement on the page.

Search top impression rate 'Impr. (Top) %' and Search absolute top impression rate 'Impr. (Abs. Top) %' tell you the placement of your ads on the Search engine result pages (SERPs).

Note: Impression share for Hotel campaigns is calculated on where your ad appears in the Hotel ads booking module. Learn more about impression share for Hotel campaigns

Search top impression share (Search top IS) and Search absolute top impression share (Search abs. top IS) help you understand the opportunity for your ads to improve triggering among top ads or in the very first position among top ads.

Unlike average position, these metrics don’t reflect the order of your ads compared to other ads, but the actual placement of your ads on the SERPs.

Note: Search partners don’t distinguish between 'top' vs. 'others' and won’t be included in location segmentation or impression share data.

Metrics about the location of your ads

You can use these metrics to understand changes in click-through rate (CTR) caused by a change in the location of your ads on the search result page. We don’t recommend you use these metrics as a target to set your bids because, sometimes, they may decrease as bids increase. This happens as higher bids may allow you to enter more competitive auctions in a worse location.

Search top impression rate

Search top impression rate 'Impr. (Top) %” is the percentage of your ad impressions that are shown among top ads.

Search top impression rate = Impressions on top/Impressions

Search absolute top impression rate

Search absolute top impression rate 'Impr. (Abs.Top) %' is the percentage of your ad impressions that are shown as the very first ad among top ads.

Search absolute top impression rate = Impressions on the absolute top/Impressions

Metrics that you can bid on to improve the placement of your ads

You can use these metrics as a target to set your bid if you want to increase the percentage of your ads that either show anywhere among top ads or at the first position among top ads.

Search top impression share

Search top impression share 'Search top IS' is the impressions that you’ve received among top ads divided by the estimated number of impressions that you were eligible to receive among top ads.

Search top impression share = Impressions on top/eligible impressions on top

Search absolute top impression share

Search absolute top impression share 'Search abs. top IS' is the impressions that you’ve received in the absolute top (the very first ad among top ads) divided by the estimated number of impressions that you were eligible to receive among top ads.

Absolute top impression share = Impressions on absolute top/eligible impressions on top

Search lost absolute top impression share (budget)

Search lost absolute top impression share (budget) estimates how often your ad wasn’t the very first ad among top ads due to a low budget.

Search lost top impression share (budget)

Search lost top impression share (budget) helps you to understand how often your ad didn't show anywhere among top ads due to a low budget.

Search lost absolute top impression share (rank)

Search lost absolute top impression share (rank) estimates how often your ad wasn’t the very first ad among top ads due to poor Ad Rank.

Search lost top impression share (rank)

Search lost top impression share (rank) estimates how often your ad didn't show anywhere among top ads due to poor Ad Rank.

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