How to Read Your Google Ads Auction Insights Report

The Auction Insights report is one of the most useful — and most overlooked — tools in Google Ads. It shows you exactly who is competing against you in the ad auction, how often they appear, and where they rank relative to your ads.

For brand protection specifically, Auction Insights is your first line of defence. It tells you when competitors start bidding on your brand keywords, how aggressively they are doing it, and whether their presence is growing or shrinking.

This guide walks through every column in the report, explains what the numbers mean in practice, and shows you how to use the data to make better decisions about your brand campaigns.

How to access the Auction Insights report

There are several ways to get to Auction Insights in Google Ads.

From the Campaigns tab:

1. Sign in to Google Ads
2. Click on the campaign, ad group, or keyword you want to analyse
3. Click the "Auction Insights" tab at the top of the page

From the Keywords tab:

1. Navigate to Keywords in the left menu
2. Select one or more keywords (tick the checkboxes)
3. Click "Auction Insights" in the blue bar that appears

For brand-specific insights:

1. Go to your brand campaign or brand ad group
2. Select your brand keywords
3. Click "Auction Insights"

This last method is the most useful for brand protection. It shows you exactly who is appearing in auctions for your brand terms.

You can also set the date range at the top right to compare different time periods — useful for spotting when a competitor started or stopped bidding on your brand.

Understanding each column

The report shows a table with your domain and the domains of other advertisers who appeared in the same auctions. Here is what each column means.

Impression share

What it shows: The percentage of total available impressions that you (or a competitor) received.

How to read it: If your impression share is 85%, you appeared in 85% of the auctions where your ad was eligible to show. The remaining 15% represents missed opportunities — auctions where your ad could have appeared but did not, due to budget constraints, ad rank, or other factors.

What to watch for on brand terms:

• Your own impression share should be 90%+ on brand keywords. If it is below 85%, you are missing a significant number of brand searches. This could be due to insufficient budget, low bids, or ad scheduling gaps.
• Competitor impression share above 20% means they are showing on a meaningful portion of your brand searches. Above 40% is aggressive and warrants attention.
• A competitor's impression share increasing over time suggests they are scaling up their brand bidding efforts.

Example: You see your impression share on brand terms is 92% and a competitor called "RivalCo" has 35% impression share. This means RivalCo is appearing in roughly one-third of your brand searches. That is significant — one in three people searching for your brand are also seeing RivalCo's ad.

Overlap rate

What it shows: How often another advertiser's ad appeared at the same time as yours. If your overlap rate with a competitor is 60%, it means that in 60% of the auctions where your ad showed, their ad showed as well.

How to read it: High overlap rates on brand terms indicate a competitor who is consistently targeting your brand keywords. An overlap rate above 50% means they are showing alongside you more often than not.

What to watch for:

• Overlap rates above 70% suggest the competitor is specifically targeting your brand name (not just appearing incidentally through broad match).
• Low overlap rates (under 20%) might mean the competitor's ads only trigger occasionally, possibly through broad match or a limited budget.
• Compare overlap rates over time. A competitor whose overlap rate is growing is investing more aggressively in your brand terms.

Position above rate

What it shows: How often the competitor's ad appeared in a higher position than yours when both ads showed in the same auction.

How to read it: On brand terms, this number should be very low for you. As the brand owner, your Quality Score advantage should keep your ad above competitors in the vast majority of auctions.

What to watch for:

• If a competitor's position above rate exceeds 10% on your brand terms, something is wrong. Either your bids are too low, your Quality Score has dropped, or the competitor is bidding very aggressively.
• A position above rate of 0% is the ideal — it means you are always on top when both ads show.
• Rising position above rates over time signal that a competitor is increasing their bids or improving their ad relevance for your brand terms.

Top of page rate

What it shows: How often your ad appeared at the very top of the search results page (the first ad position).

How to read it: For brand keywords, you want this to be as close to 100% as possible. Your brand ad should almost always be the first thing a user sees when they search for your name.

What to watch for:

• Your top of page rate on brand terms should be 85%+. Below that, and users are frequently seeing competitor ads before yours.
• If a competitor has a high top of page rate on your brand terms, they are paying premium prices to appear above you. This is aggressive and usually targeted.
• The gap between your impression share and your top of page rate tells you about positioning quality. An impression share of 90% but a top of page rate of 60% means you are showing often but in lower positions.

Absolute top of page rate

What it shows: How often your ad appeared as the very first ad above all other ads and organic results. This is the most prominent position on the page.

How to read it: This is the most important metric for brand terms. When someone searches for your brand name, you want your ad to be the absolute first thing they see.

What to watch for:

• Aim for 80%+ absolute top of page rate on brand keywords.
• If this number is dropping over time, competitors are outbidding you for the top spot more frequently.
• Compare your absolute top of page rate with your regular top of page rate. A large gap suggests you are appearing at the top of the page but not always in the absolute first position.

Outranking share

What it shows: The percentage of time your ad ranked higher than a specific competitor's ad, or your ad showed when theirs did not. This is a combined measure of when you beat them in position and when you appeared and they did not.

How to read it: A higher outranking share means you are dominating the competitor in the auction. For brand terms, your outranking share against competitors should be 80%+.

What to watch for:

• Outranking share below 70% against a competitor on your brand terms means they are a serious threat.
• Track outranking share over time. Declining outranking share indicates the competitor is becoming more competitive.
• If your outranking share is 95%+, the competitor is barely visible and may not be worth worrying about.

How to spot brand bidding threats

With an understanding of each column, here is how to identify and assess competitor threats.

The new entrant

A domain appears in Auction Insights that was not there before. They have low impression share (5-15%) and low overlap rate. This is a competitor testing the waters. They may be running a small campaign or have your brand triggering through broad match.

What to do: Monitor for 2-3 weeks. If their impression share grows, they are expanding intentionally. If it stays flat or disappears, it was likely incidental.

The committed bidder

A competitor consistently shows 20-40% impression share, 50%+ overlap rate, and a low position above rate. They are bidding on your brand terms regularly but not outbidding you.

What to do: Check if your CPCs have increased since they entered. Use our brand spend calculator to estimate the incremental cost. Consider whether a trademark complaint is appropriate.

The aggressive attacker

A competitor shows 40%+ impression share, high overlap rate, and a position above rate exceeding 10%. They are spending heavily to appear on your brand terms and occasionally beating you.

What to do: This requires active defence. Ensure your brand campaign bids and budget are sufficient to maintain the top position. Review your ad copy and extensions to maximise Quality Score. Consider retaliatory bidding on their brand terms. Read our guide to your options when competitors bid on your brand.

Tips for ongoing monitoring

Set a regular schedule

Check Auction Insights for your brand terms at least monthly. Weekly is better if you are in a competitive industry. New competitors can appear at any time, and early detection gives you more options.

Compare time periods

Use the date range selector to compare the current month against the previous month, or the current quarter against the previous quarter. This reveals trends that are invisible in a single snapshot.

Segment by device

Auction insights can differ significantly between desktop and mobile. A competitor might focus their brand bidding on mobile devices where screen space is limited and ads dominate. Check both segments.

Export and track historically

Google Ads only shows Auction Insights for available date ranges. Export the data regularly to build a historical view. A simple spreadsheet tracking each competitor's impression share over time is invaluable for understanding trends.

Automate your monitoring

Manual checking works but is easy to forget. SERP monitoring tools can automate the detection of competitor ads on your brand terms and alert you when new threats appear. This gives you the benefits of daily monitoring without the manual effort.

When to worry and when to relax

Not every competitor appearance in Auction Insights is a crisis. Here is a quick framework.

Relax when:

• A competitor has less than 10% impression share and is not growing
• Your impression share is above 95%
• Your position above rate against all competitors is 0%
• Your brand CPCs have not increased

Pay attention when:

• A new competitor appears with growing impression share
• Your brand CPCs have increased by more than 20%
• Any competitor has an overlap rate above 50%
• Your impression share drops below 90%

Act when:

• A competitor has position above rate exceeding 10%
• Multiple competitors are active with combined impression share above 40%
• Your brand CPCs have doubled or more
• Your absolute top of page rate has dropped below 75%

For a comprehensive view of competitor activity beyond what Auction Insights shows, request a free brand audit. We monitor the actual search results pages for your brand terms and can detect competitor activity that Auction Insights may not fully capture — including organic competitors, shopping ads, and local results that compete for the same clicks.