You may have heard that Google Adwords changed a key metric in their reporting abilities in Q4 of 2019. Here is what you need to know about the change, and what you need to know about the new prominence metrics that the platform uses.
The Google Adwords Change
Average position was once a key metric on the Google Adwords platform, but Google has since retired this from its reporting. If you have been using the platform for a while now you will know that average position was a metric that took into account your max bid and quality score and gave your ad a rank, and was generally considered one of the top metrics to look at.
Why would Google get rid of average position? Well, it simply wasn’t that valuable of information anymore. As new data abilities come up and our interpretation and understanding of how ads and consumers act online evolves, new ways of looking at performance have surfaced. So what metrics are you supposed to look at now to understand how your advertisements are doing?
Impression share metrics are the new go-to on Google Adwords. Google classifies top impression share and absolute impression share as prominence metrics, which means that they are estimating your ads visibility and location on a search page.
Top impression share is the percentage that your ads are shown above the organic search results as a percentage of all the impressions you could have received. Understanding impression share is similar to understanding marketing share; it is the amount of customer eyeballs you purchased out of all the possible customers eyeballs in your market.
Absolute top impression rate is only slightly different; it is the percentage that your ad is shown as the very first ad above the organic results of a search, which you can see highlighted in the image to the right.
Using Google Adwords
Digital marketing is a constantly evolving industry that requires attention and daily adjustments, and while Google Adwords is an invaluable tool it also takes some getting used to. We suggest working with a digital partner that specializes in these management platforms and can help you by optimizing and constantly monitoring your digital marketing. Contact us for a no-strings attached inquiry and learn how our digital experts can help with your digital marketing efforts.