Impressions

What are impressions?

Impressions are the number of times your ad is shown to someone. In Google Ads, an impression counts as soon as your ad appears, even if nobody clicks. With search campaigns you usually pay per click, not per impression. Impressions are the basis for CTR and impression share.

Why are impressions important?

• Reach: you see how often people can see your ad.
• Basis for other metrics: without impressions you cannot calculate CTR or impression share.
• Diagnosis: few impressions point to too little search volume, bids that are too low or settings that are too strict.

Examples of impressions

• 2,000 impressions and 100 clicks gives a CTR of 5 percent.
• A keyword with only a handful of impressions per month can be too specific.
• A campaign gets more impressions after you add a broader keyword.

How do you use impressions?

Track impressions next to clicks, conversions and costs. Impressions are rarely a goal in themselves: more impressions without more conversions only cost more. Together with impression share, see how much you are still missing. Want help with that? See Google Ads management.