Account managers have relied on average position for years to gauge the effectiveness of their advertisements, and for good reason. The average position of your ad on a certain search engine results page (SERP) indicates how it compares to other ads there. According to conventional thought, your audience would be larger the higher this measure was. Google has significantly changed the way it displays ads over time. The average position is now far less valuable than it formerly was as a result of these modifications. In reality, starting in September 2019, Google will stop using this old measure.

 

Fortunately, there are four updated metrics that are more useful in the current PPC context. In order to avoid being surprised a few months from now, continue reading to understand more about these new measures.

 

The Issue with Median Position

Average position illustrates how your ad stacks up against others, but it doesn’t provide the full picture. For instance, even though your ad may seem to be in the top slot, the SERP may not actually have it at the top. It can appear below organic search results for less competitive phrases.

 

What Average Position Tells: The effectiveness of your ad in comparison to other ads on the SERP

What Average Position Doesn’t Tell: The overall placement of your advertisement in the SERP.

When advertisements appeared on a SERP in their own sidebar, this was useful. The metric’s usefulness has decreased now that Google incorporates advertisements with its other results. For this reason, Google recently introduced four new metrics to aid in your comprehension of ad effectiveness in the current PPC environment.

 

Modern Metrics

Thanks to the fact that these new measures are already available, you have until September to get used to utilizing them before Average Position is eliminated. To establish new benchmarks for your company’s ad success, you may even compare these KPIs to your existing average position benchmarks. Let’s examine each metric and what it can tell you in more detail.

 

The four new metrics, which replace Average Position, are as follows:

 

1. The “Impr. (Top)%,” also known as the “Search Top Impression Rate,” is the percentage of times your ad was displayed above organic search results. It is determined by:

 

Impr (Top)% is calculated as Impr (Top)/Total Impressions.

 

2. A little more exact is the “Impr. (Abs. Top)%,” or search absolute top impression rate. It calculates what proportion of your impressions came from the top result on the page. This is determined by:

 

Impr. (Abs. Top)% is calculated as Impr. (Abs. Top) / Total Impressions.

 

To determine your ad’s click-through rate, we advise using these two indicators. You should expect your click-through rate to rise as soon as one of these percentages starts to rise.

 

3. Top Search Impressions Share, or “Search top IS,” demonstrates how frequently your advertisement really appears above organic search results in comparison to the number of possibilities it has to do so. With those words:

 

Actual top impressions minus eligible top impressions are the search top IS.

 

4. The “Search Absolute Top Impression Share,” or “Search abs. top IS,” compares the number of opportunities you had to land that position with the frequency with which you received first-position impressions:

 

Look up ABS. Top IS stands for eligible absolute top impressions and absolute top impressions.

 

After That?

As you can see, compared to Average Position, these new measurements tell a far more complete tale. Start experimenting with these new measures right away, whether you’re an account manager or a business owner. You’ll be prepared when Google eliminates Average Position in September if you do this.

 

We’re currently evaluating how these new indicators may impact our reporting at SimpSocial. This includes setting up fresh benchmarks to gauge a campaign’s effectiveness. We are also learning how these measurements might help us enhance the effectiveness of our client’s advertisements.

 

Are you prepared to learn how we will increase PPC conversions for your company by utilizing the most recent reporting updates? To start maximizing your restricted advertising budget, get in touch with SimpSocial right away.

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