For advertisers it’s very important to understand where your ads are positioning on the search results page. From knowing where your ads are ranking you are able to diagnose significant changes in the CTR. It’s also good to know what the percentage of the eligible highest ranking impressions are, which are already being captured helps you decide if any changes need to be made in the campaign.The average position is not supposed to describe where the ad ranks on the page. The average position shows advertisers the order that the ad appears versus the other ads in the ad auction. When Google shows your average position to be 1.0 this doesn’t always mean your ad is at the very top of the search results. It means that your ad is above all other paid ads. In some circumstances Google does not place your ad above the organic listings this is because you have not reached googles ideal price to be ranking in position 1.0 above organic results.Google have come up with a new strategy on how we read and understand the positions of the ads are showing. In the next coming weeks Google will release and provide clear insights on where ads will be positioned on the results page.

New Position Metric

Impr. (Absolute Top) %: The percentage of your ad impressions which are shown at the very top google ads positions.

Impr. (Top) %: The percentage of your ad impressions which are shown above the organic results but below position 1.0.

Search (Absolute Top) IS: The impressions which have been received at the very top of the organic search results in the top google ads position divided by the estimated number of impressions you were eligible to receive in the very top location.

Search (Top) IS: The impressions you’ve received in the top locations above the organic results compared to the estimated number of impressions you were eligible to receive in the top ad positions.

For ads to be at the top of the search results page above the organic listings we now have these two metrics; “Impression (Absolute Top) %” and “impression (top)”. Which show you when your ad impressions show above the organic results. Then the last two position metrics “Search (Absolute Top) IS” and “Search (Top) IS” which are metrics that show your ads search impression shares positions. They will indicate when you have ether received the absolute top ad positions or just at the top of the organic listings.

Google are currently working on the new position metrics to be incorporated into Googles automated bidding strategies. This will allow advertisers to show their ads in the positions they want their ad to be seen.

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