Impression Share

Impression Share is an Apple Search Ads metric that measures the percentage of times an ad is shown to users compared to the total number of opportunities for the ad to be displayed.

An opportunity for an ad to be displayed in Apple Search Ads is created when a user:

• Opens the Today tab by launching the App Store app (for Today tab ads);
• Opens the Search tab (for Search tab ads);
• Sees a search results page (for search results ads);
• Accesses an app’s product page (for product page ads).

How is impression share calculated in Apple Search Ads?

Impression share is calculated by dividing the number of impressions an ad receives by the number of opportunities for the ad to be shown. For example, if an ad is shown 100 times out of 1,000 possible opportunities, the impression share would be 10%. However, in Apple Search Ads, impression share is presented in percentile ranges, such as 0-10%, 11-20%, and so on.

Why is impression share an important metric in Apple Search Ads?

In Apple Search Ads, impression share is a valuable indicator of our growth potential for a specific keyword. Sometimes, reaching and maintaining a particular impression share a strategic campaign goal.

• Low impression share means we can increase our visibility through more courageous bidding, provided we don’t exceed our cost per acquisition (CPA) or cost per goal (CPG) targets.
• High impression share (exceeding 90%) means that our ads appear almost exclusively for specific searches, cutting off our competitors from that traffic source.
• High impression share is desirable in brand campaigns because we don’t want our competitors to take advantage of keywords most relevant to our brand. Optimizing a brand campaign for a high impression share of over 90% is called brand protection.
• Low impression share of competitors for their branded keywords indicates an opportunity to use them for our user acquisition. Such keywords can be considered poorly protected. However, maintaining a high impression share for competitor campaigns may be financially unviable.

How can you track the impression share in the free SplitMetrics Acquire Starter Plan?

In Apple Search Ads, the impression share metric is accessible through custom reports and on the Recommendations page. In the free SplitMetrics Acquire Starter Plan’s Ads Manager, impression share is immediately visible next to each keyword.

Recommended reading

Apple Search Ads Optimization Checklist & Troubleshooting

Apple Search Ads Keywords in 2024: Basics, Expansion & Best Practices