Google Ads Auction Insights: Every Metric and What to Do Next

The Google Ads auction insights report shows you who else shows up in the same auctions as you, and how often you beat them. It is free, it is already in your account, and its numbers come straight from Google's own auctions, not from an outside tool's estimate.

It does not show a rival's spend, bids or keywords. It shows how often you meet, who ranks higher, and how much of the market each of you takes. That is enough to answer the question that matters: did I lose ground because of my account, or because someone new turned up?

What the auction insights report shows

Google says the report "lets you compare your performance with other advertisers who are participating in the same auctions that you are." It works for Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns.

The number of metrics depends on the campaign type:

For Search you can run the report on keywords, ad groups or campaigns. For Shopping, on ad groups or campaigns. For Performance Max, on the account or a campaign. Google says the Performance Max report covers Search and Shopping ads served on the Search Network, split into a Search view and a Shopping view. YouTube and Display placements are not in it.

What each auction insights metric means

Here is each metric in plain words, with Google's own example.

Impression share

How many times your ad showed, divided by how many times it could have shown. If you could have shown 1,000 times and showed 600 times, your impression share is 60%. Google decides "could have shown" from your targeting, approval status and Quality Score. We go deeper in our impression share explainer.

In the auction insights table, a competitor's impression share is their share of the auctions where they were eligible. Google warns that this may differ from what the competitor sees in their own report.

Overlap rate

How often a competitor's ad showed at the same time as yours. Google's example: 60% means that in 6 of every 10 times your ad showed, their ad showed too. High overlap means you chase the same searches.

Outranking share

How often your ad ranked higher than theirs, or showed when theirs did not. Google's example: 20% means you beat them in 2 of every 10 auctions you both entered. This is the closest thing to a head-to-head score.

Position above rate (Search only)

How often their ad showed above yours when both showed. Google's example: 5% means they sat above you 5 times in 100 shared auctions. A rising position above rate is the clearest sign a rival is pushing harder on your terms.

Top of page rate (Search only)

How often an ad showed anywhere above the unpaid results. Google's example: 20 of 100 impressions above the organic results is a 20% top of page rate.

Absolute top of page rate (Search only)

How often an ad was the very first ad above the organic results. Google's example: 10 of 100 impressions in the first slot is 10%.

How to find auction insights in Google Ads

Google's steps:

1. Go to Campaigns, Ad groups or Search keywords inside the Campaigns menu.
2. Tick the box next to each campaign, ad group or keyword you want to check.
3. Select Auction insights.
4. If you ticked a mix of Search, Shopping and Performance Max, pick Search campaigns or Shopping campaigns in the dropdown.

Two tips. Only keywords on one page of the table can be selected at once, unless you run the report for all of them. And you can segment the report by time and by device, which is where the useful patterns hide.

To see which items have a report at all, add the auction insights filter above your statistics table. The table then shows only the keywords, ad groups or campaigns with data.

Why your report might be empty

Three common causes:

• Not enough activity. Google only shows the report for items that "meet a minimum threshold of activity" in the date range. Widen the dates or check the whole campaign.
• Impression share under 10%. Google says the report "doesn't show insights when impression share is less than 10%."
• Search partners. Search partner traffic is not in auction insights data.

You may also see "google.com" listed as a competitor. Google explains this happens when Google-hosted domains or Business Profiles are in the auction, or when a competitor's landing page sits on a Google site.

How to read the report: four patterns and the move for each

The numbers only matter when they change. Compare this month with last month, using the time segment. Then match what you see to one of these.

1. Your impression share fell and a new name appeared. A new rival entered your auctions. Check their ads in the Google Ads Transparency Center. Then decide: match them on the terms that make you money, and give up the ones that do not. Do not raise bids on everything by reflex.

2. Your impression share fell, but nobody new turned up. The problem is on your side. Usually budget, a lower Quality Score, or a bid target that got tighter. Check the impression share lost to budget and to rank columns in your campaign. Our Quality Score answer covers the rank side.

3. A rival's position above rate keeps climbing. They are bidding harder or their ads got better. Look at their latest ads, then test a stronger headline or offer before you test a higher bid. A better ad can win the slot more cheaply than a bigger bid.

4. Your outranking share is high but sales are flat. Winning the auction is not the goal. Winning profitable clicks is. If you top every auction and margin is thin, you may be paying for position you do not need. Try a lower target and watch cost per sale.

Auction insights and Smart Bidding

If you use Smart Bidding, you do not set bids by hand. Auction insights is still useful, because it explains why Smart Bidding spends what it spends. A new rival can push up your cost per click with no change in your account. Seeing that in auction insights stops you from "fixing" a campaign that is not broken.

One caution. Google says Smart Bidding needs a 7 to 14 day learning phase, and frequent changes to budgets or targets reset it. Do not react to one bad week in auction insights by changing targets every day.

Common mistakes with auction insights

• Chasing 100% impression share. The last slice of impressions is often the most expensive. Profit usually peaks well below 100%.
• Reading one day. Daily numbers jump around. Use weeks or months.
• Reading the account total. Brand and non-brand behave differently. Check them separately.
• Copying a rival's every move. You cannot see their margin. Their best keyword may be your worst.
• Treating "google.com" as a rival. It usually means Google-hosted pages, not an advertiser bidding against you.

How often to check it

Once a month is enough for most accounts, plus any week when cost per click or impression share moves a lot. Put it next to your monthly search terms review and you have a full picture: what you paid for, and who you paid against.

For the full method of sizing up rivals, including their ads, keywords and pages, read our Google Ads competitor analysis guide.

Let the report read itself

Auction insights is a report you have to remember to open. Most store owners never do. If you want the answer without the clicking, Scaley Media Buyer connects to your Google Ads account read-only. Ask it "who took impression share from me this month" and it answers from your live data. It cannot change a setting.

Want to know where your account leaks first? Run the free Google Ads audit, or start the free trial. Disclosure: Christopher Krassnig, who founded Scaley, also runs ZenoX Media, a Google Ads agency.

Where these facts come from

Checked on 2026-10-08:

• Use auction insights to compare performance, Google Ads Help - the campaign types, every metric definition and example, how to find the report, the 10% threshold, search partners, and the google.com note.
• About conversion measurement, Google Ads Help - the 7 to 14 day Smart Bidding learning phase.