Target Impression Share
01 Definition
Target Impression Share meaning: A Google Ads automated bidding strategy that sets bids to appear in a chosen percentage of eligible auctions, in a chosen position on the page.
Target Impression Share is an automated bidding strategy built around visibility rather than conversions. You tell Google what share of eligible auctions you want to appear in, and where on the page, and it sets bids to reach that share.
You configure three things: the target percentage, the placement, and a maximum CPC limit. The placement can be anywhere on the results page, the top of the page, or the absolute top, meaning the very first result. Each step up the page is materially more expensive than the last.
Impression share itself is the ratio of impressions you received to the impressions you were eligible to receive. A 40 percent impression share means you appeared in four of every ten auctions you could have entered, with the rest lost to competing bids, budget limits, or ad rank thresholds.
Because it ignores conversions entirely, this is not a performance strategy. It buys presence. Use it where being seen reliably is the objective, and use a conversion-based strategy where efficiency is.
Also called
Why it matters
How Target Impression Share fits the work
Impression share targeting is mainly a brand-defence tool. Companies use it to make sure they occupy the top result for their own brand name, where a competitor bidding on that term can otherwise intercept people already looking for them. It is also common for launches and short campaigns where the goal is coverage during a fixed window.
In context
A software company found a rival appearing above it on searches for its own product name. It moved the brand campaign to Target Impression Share at 90 percent, absolute top of page, and reclaimed the first position on those searches.
Practical note
Always set the maximum CPC limit. Without one the strategy will bid whatever it takes to hit the target, and chasing absolute top on a contested term can raise costs sharply for very little extra return. Be realistic about the target too, because 100 percent is rarely achievable or worth paying for. Keep this strategy on the campaigns where visibility is genuinely the goal, usually brand terms, and leave prospecting campaigns on conversion-based bidding.