Google Ads No Longer Serving Average Position Metrics
September 30, 2019Search absolute top impression rate = Impressions on the absolute top/ImpressionsStarting on September 30th (that's today!) Google ads will be removing a feature that many of us have used to gauge our ads performance - the Average Position metrics.
While Google has hinted about the removal since as early as February this year, there were no exact dates until recently.
Absolute Top Impression Rate & Top Impression Rate to Replace Average Position Metrics on Google Ads
Along with the removal of Average Positions, several other features that you might have in your account will also be no longer available:
- Rules using Average Position
- Custom columns with Average Position
- Saved reports with filter on Average Position
- Saved filters with Average Position
Why is Google Removing the Average Position Metrics?
A curious decision indeed, isn't it? After all, most Google Ads clients also refer to their ads' average position to gauge whether their ads are doing well; Higher position, higher visibility, higher chances for a click & a conversion.
Google isn't exactly removing the metrics per se, but rather, replacing the useful feature with one that is more accurate on where your ads are appearing on the search results page.
The metrics being newly introduced here are Top Impression Rate & Absolute Top Impression Rate.
What Does Top Impression Rate Mean?
Top Impression refers to any position within the top set of paid listings. The top impression rate then refers to how often your ads are shown above the organic search results.
The calculation is done as follows:
Search top impression rate = Number of impressions on top / Total impressions
You may find this column listed as "Impr. (Top) %" on Google Ads.
What Does Absolute Top Impression Rate Mean?
Absolute Top Impression refers to when your ad is shown on the very top of the search result page, above organic search results and other search ads. As such, the absolute top impression rate refers to how often your ads appear above everything else on the search results.
The calculation is done as follows: Search absolute top impression rate =
Number of impressions on the absolute top / Total impressions
You may find this column listed as "Impr. (Abs. Top) %" on Google Ads.
Use Top Impression & Absolute Top Impression to Measure & Optimize Your Ad Performance
With these features now rolled out to the public, users are encouraged to use the newly-introduced metrics to gauge their Google Search Ads performance.
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