Google Ads Auction Insights: How to Read All Six Statistics

Here's the catch. The report shows nothing at all when your impression share is under one in ten, so small or tightly budgeted campaigns often see an empty screen. And a competitor's impression share in your report isn't their real impression share. Google's own example: a rival can show a full impression share in your report and only half that in their own, because their eligible auctions overlap only part of yours.

The six statistics, with Google's examples

Every statistic in the report is shown as a share of your own impressions or auctions. Here's what each one means, using the examples Google gives in its help page as of October 2026:

Statistic	What it tells you	Google's example	Search	Shopping
Impression share	Impressions you got, divided by the impressions you were eligible for	No example given	Yes	Yes
Overlap rate	How often a rival's ad showed when yours did too	6 in every 10 of your impressions	Yes	Yes
Outranking share	How often you ranked above them, or showed when they didn't	You won 2 of every 10 shared auctions	Yes	Yes
Position above rate	How often their ad sat above yours when both showed	5 times in 100	Yes	No
Top of page rate	How often an ad showed above the organic results	20 of 100 impressions	Yes	No
Absolute top of page rate	How often an ad was the very first one above the organic results	10 of 100 impressions	Yes	No

Impression share is the one to read first

Impression share is the impressions you received divided by the estimated impressions you were eligible to receive. Eligibility is based on your targeting, your approval status and your Quality Scores. So a low figure can mean a rival is beating you, but it can also mean your own targeting or ad quality is shrinking the pool you're competing in.

Don't be thrown if the impression share in auction insights doesn't quite match the one at campaign level. Auction insights filters out auctions with very low impressions, so the two can differ slightly. That's expected, not a bug.

Overlap rate and outranking share together

These two are worth reading side by side. Overlap rate tells you how often you meet a competitor. Outranking share tells you how often you beat them when you do, counting both ranking higher and showing when they didn't show at all.

A rival with a high overlap rate and a high outranking share for you is someone you're meeting a lot and beating. A high overlap rate with a low outranking share is the one to worry about: you're in the same auctions most of the time and losing most of them.

Position above, top of page and absolute top

Position above rate is the mirror image of outranking: how often their ad showed higher than yours when both appeared. It's a Search-only statistic. Top of page rate counts how often an ad appeared above the organic results, and absolute top of page rate counts how often it was the very first ad there. Absolute top is Search-only too.

If a competitor's absolute top rate is much higher than yours, they're taking the first slot on searches you both want. That's where you'd look at your bids and ad quality on those keywords rather than across the whole account.

Why a rival's numbers look different in their account

Your report only covers the auctions you were in. A competitor's impression share in your report is worked out over those auctions, not over all of theirs. That's how Google's example ends up with a rival at full impression share in your view and half that in their own. Treat the report as how a competitor looks from where you stand, never as their full picture.

You may also see google.com listed as a competitor. That happens if you use Google-hosted domains or a Google Business Profile, or if a competitor's landing page is a Google Site. It isn't Google bidding against you.

Shopping and Performance Max are different

Shopping campaigns get three statistics only: impression share, overlap rate and outranking share, for ad groups and campaigns. The data runs from October 2014, the metrics come only from the Search Network, and Shopping doesn't use Quality Score. The Product Groups tab only shows groups with enough volume to report on.

Performance Max campaigns get auction insights for their Search and Shopping ads on the Search Network, at account and campaign level, split into Search or Shopping. That data starts in November 2021. If you run both, my Performance Max guide covers how those campaigns are built.

How to run the report

1. Open the Campaigns menu and go to Campaigns, Ad groups or Search keywords.
2. Tick the items you want to compare. Keyword selections only work on a single page of results unless you run the report for All.
3. Open auction insights from the toolbar.
4. If your selection mixes Search and Shopping, choose which one in the dropdown.
5. Segment by time or device, and use the auction insights filter to see which items have reports.

My take on auction insights

I'd use auction insights to answer one question: who am I meeting most often, and am I winning or losing against them? Read overlap rate and outranking share together and you've got that answer. I'd skip treating a rival's impression share as their real number, because Google says plainly it isn't. If your report comes up empty, that's your impression share telling you something before any competitor does. I'd go through a Google Ads account health check before I'd spend time on rivals.

Reading the competition is useful, but most accounts I look at have bigger wins sitting inside them. I run AI training and workshops for teams, and help businesses with AI enablement, AI automation and GEO, which is about getting your business seen and cited in AI answers. Most of that work is with SaaS marketing teams, telecom companies and small businesses. Here's how we can work together.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my auction insights report empty?

Auction insights doesn't show insights when your impression share is under a tenth. The keyword, ad group or campaign also needs to meet a minimum activity threshold.

What is overlap rate in Google Ads?

How often another advertiser's ad got an impression when yours did too. In Google's example, a rival showed in 6 of every 10 of your impressions.

What is outranking share?

How often your ad ranked higher than a competitor's, or showed when theirs didn't. In Google's example, you won 2 of every 10 shared auctions.

Why does google.com appear in my auction insights?

If you use Google-hosted domains or a Google Business Profile, or a competitor's landing page is a Google Site.

Does auction insights work for Performance Max?

Yes, for Search and Shopping ads on the Search Network, at account and campaign level, with data from November 2021.