On this page
Why it matters
Impressions are the top of every funnel: no impression, no click. A keyword or ad with no impressions is not competing at all, whatever its bid or quality.
On Display and video, impressions also show how often the same people see the ad, which is where frequency caps come in.
Where to find it in Google Ads
- Add the Impr. column to any table.
- Filter keywords on Impressions = 0 to find silent ones.
- Compare impressions with impression share to see how much more was possible.
- On Display, compare impressions with unique users to read frequency.
An example
A keyword has had zero impressions for a month. Its status says Low search volume: almost nobody searches it, so pausing it clears the account without losing anything.
Common mistakes
- Treating impressions as a goal on Search, where only clicks and conversions pay.
- Leaving keywords with no impressions for months.
- Reading impressions without impression share, which hides missed opportunities.
Checks that look at it
The audit checks Oppy runs on this, each with its own page.
Related terms
- Impression share: The share of searches your ads showed on, out of all the searches they were eligible for.
- Click-through rate (CTR): Clicks divided by impressions: the share of people who saw an ad and clicked it.
- Frequency cap: A limit on how many times one person sees a Display or Video ad in a period.