
Quick Review: What Is Impression Share?
(Last Updated: 6/20/2025) Impression Share (IS) = your ad impressions ÷ total eligible impressions. Eligible impressions depend on settings (locations, schedules), approval status, and Quality Score. IS data is available at campaign, ad group, keyword, and shopping group levels. Low IS means you’re missing auctions—either budget or rank is holding you back.
Why Your Impression Share Isn’t 100%
- Budget Constraints (Lost IS – Budget): Daily caps limit share.
- Ad Rank Issues (Lost IS – Rank): Low bids or Quality Score.
- Targeting Restrictions: Narrow locations, limited ad schedules, restrictive device bid adjustments.
7 Tactical Ways to Boost Your Impression Share
1. Increase Your Campaign Budget
- Audit average daily spend vs. budget cap.
- Raise budget by 10–20% and monitor lost IS (budget).
2. Raise Your Bids or Switch to Smart Bidding
- If using manual CPC, increase max CPC by 10-15%.
- Or migrate to a Portfolio Bid Strategy (e.g., Target Impression Share).
3. Improve Quality Score
- Optimize ad relevance, CTR, and landing page experience.
- A 0.1 point QS lift can translate to a 2–3% IS gain.
4. Expand Keyword Coverage
- Identify high-intent long tails (e.g., “tips to improve impression share”).
- Add exact– and phrase-match variants with appropriate bids.
5. Adjust Location & Ad Schedule Settings
- Broaden geo‑targets to include adjacent markets.
- Shift budget to peak hours when IS loss is highest.
6. Use Impression Share Bid Adjustments
- Increase bid modifiers (+10–25%) on top‑performing devices or locations.
- Decrease bids where ROI is weak, then reallocate the budget.
7. Automate with Rules & Scripts
- Apply automated rules: e.g., +$X bid when lost IS > 20%.
- Use Google Ads scripts to alert or adjust settings in real-time.
Advanced Strategies
- Shared Budgets: Smooth spending across campaigns.
- Auction Insights Analysis: Identify competitors winning high IS.
- Target Impression Share Bidding: Set a target % of top‑of‑page impressions.
FAQ
Q: How to improve impression share?
A: Prioritize budget and ad rank by raising budgets, bids, and Quality Score, then refine targeting to capture more eligible auctions.
Q: Tips to improve impression share?
A: 7 tactics above—budget, bids, Quality Score, keywords, targeting, bid adjustments, automation.
Q: How do you get more impressions on Google Ads?
A: Win more auctions: expand budgets, optimize Quality Score, add relevant keywords, and automate bid changes.
Visuals & Schema
- Diagram: Lost IS – Budget vs. Lost IS – Rank comparison table.
- FAQ Schema markup for the three FAQ questions above.
Next Steps:
- Implement tactics #1–7.
- Add visuals and update the publish date.
- Republish and promote via newsletter and LinkedIn.
- Monitor GSC for keyword position gains in 2–3 weeks.

Co-founder Custom Design Partners
Alexander Hatala is the co-Founder at Custom Design Partners. He specializes in e-Commerce operations, performance marketing strategies, and behavioral analytics.