Should I aim for 100% impression share?

For branded keywords, yes, aim for 95-100% to protect your brand from competitors. For non-branded, 100% is rarely cost-effective because it means bidding on every marginally relevant search. Focus budget on 40-60% impression share for your highest-converting non-branded keywords, then expand as budget allows. Diminishing returns set in quickly above 80% for competitive terms.

Advertising

Impression Share

The percentage of total available impressions your ads receive compared to the total impressions they were eligible for.

Impression share reveals how much opportunity you are missing: 60% IS means you are invisible for 40% of eligible searches.
Lost IS (budget) is solved by increasing budget. Lost IS (rank) requires better Quality Score, higher bids, or better ad extensions.
Target 90%+ impression share for branded keywords and 40-60% for non-branded depending on budget and competition.

High Lost IS (Budget): Your ads perform well but budget runs out before all impressions are served. Increase budget or narrow targeting to focus spend on highest-converting segments.
High Lost IS (Rank): Your Ad Rank is too low to compete. Improve Quality Score (better ads, landing pages) or increase bids. Quality Score improvements are more sustainable than bid increases.
Both are high: Fundamental campaign issues. Review keyword strategy, targeting, and whether you are competing in realistic markets.

Budget Allocation

If branded impression share is below 90%, reallocate budget from non-branded campaigns to branded. Competitors bidding on your brand name steal traffic that you should capture at low CPC.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Services

Digital Marketing

Related Terms

PPC

Pay-Per-Click. An advertising model where advertisers pay each time a user clicks on their ad.

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