Pay-Per-Click Marketing: What Is Search Impression Share and Why Does It Matter?

When it comes to Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Search Engine Marketing, the search impression share is perhaps the most important metric when gauging success and identifying opportunities for improvement.

What is search impression share and why is it important?

Put simply, search impression share is how often your ad is appearing in search results for your targeted search campaign. If your share is 50%, you are showing up half of the time someone conducts a search matching your target (keywords, demographic, geography, etc.).

Impression share is important in determining possible missed opportunity in your search strategy. With a low impression share, you aren’t being represented as much as you could be. Most marketers only focus on the cost per click and the total amount of traffic being driven, and completely ignore this very important metric.

What influences search impression share and how do I improve it?

PPC search marketing is an auction system heavily influenced on supply and demand. Supply equates to search traffic. Demand equates to competition. Less competition and/or more search traffic will stretch your PPC budget further, but any time these aren’t the case, it can take a more complex strategy to achieve a high impression share.

The only way to improve your impression share is to offset the supply-demand balance in your favor. Usually, this is achieved by increasing your budget or refining your target to a more specific niche. As always, we can help you strategize this.

What is a good impression share?

Well… that depends on many factors. Every client will be different based on their industry, ROI target, and general campaign objectives. We can help you with this.