Google Auction Insights: How to Read the Report Like a Pro (and Stop Wasting Budget)
I’ve been running Google Ads for 17 years, and if there’s one tool that separates strategic advertisers from those bleeding money, it’s the auction insights report. Most people glance at it, see a list of competitor domains, and move on. That’s a mistake.
Google Ads auction insights isn’t just a competitor list—it’s a live record of every auction you share with other advertisers. Every time someone searches a query that triggers your ads, Google runs an auction. Since around 2011, billions of these auctions have determined which ads appear, in what order, and at what cost. This report shows you which domains showed up in those same auctions and how often they beat you.
This article isn’t about finding the report. You can Google that. Instead, I’m going to show you how to use auction insights to save money and avoid bidding wars that destroy profitability. We’ll cover time-based analysis, detecting when competitors are running Smart Bidding algorithms, and the “exit strategy” decisions that have saved my clients thousands in wasted ad spend.
I’m Sarah Stemen, a paid ads consultant who’s spent nearly two decades in the trenches of Google Ads. If you’re already spending on Google Ads and want clear, actionable strategy instead of vague advice, you’re in the right place.
Quick Start: How to Open Auction Insights in 2026
Accessing the ads auction insights report takes less than a minute. It works for search campaigns, shopping campaigns, and Performance Max campaigns (with some limitations on PMax that I’ll cover).
Here’s exactly where to find it:
Account level: Navigate to “Insights & reports” in the left menu, then select “Auction insights.” This view exists but can be noisy since it aggregates everything.
Campaign level: From your Search, Shopping, or Performance Max campaigns table, check the box next to one or more campaigns. A blue action bar appears—click the auction insights button there.
Ad group level and keyword level: Within search campaigns, select specific ad groups or keywords, then click “Auction insights” in the blue bar. Note that keyword-level data isn’t available for Performance Max as of 2026.
One important constraint: data only appears for entities with roughly 10% or higher impression share in your chosen date range. Brand-new campaigns or very low-volume keywords often return “no data.”
Also worth noting: since August 24, 2024, Google removed Auction Insights from external tools like Looker Studio. You must now analyze it directly in the Google Ads interface or export the data manually.
Core Metrics in Google Auction Insights (And What They Really Mean)
Google exposes six primary metrics in the auction insights data. Understanding what each one actually tells you—not just the textbook definition—is where strategic value lives.
Impression share: This metric shows the percentage of impressions your ads received compared to the total impressions you were eligible for. If you received 2,500 impressions out of 10,000 eligible auctions, your impression share is 25%. Low impression share at the campaign level or ad group level often indicates budget caps or bids that aren’t competitive. At the keyword level, it can also signal mismatched search intent or weak quality score dragging down your ad rank.
Overlap rate: This tells you how often another domain appeared in the same auctions as you. A 60% overlap rate means that in 60 out of 100 auctions where your ad showed, their advertiser’s ad showed too. This is your fastest signal for identifying who your real paid search competitors are—which often differs from your SEO competitors or the companies you consider competition in the traditional sense.
Position above rate (Search only): This shows how often a competitor’s ad ranked higher than yours when both ads appeared. A 40% position above rate means they were above you in 4 of 10 shared impressions. This isn’t a static “ad rank score” but a relative outcome in each auction. Watching this metric shift over time reveals who’s pushing bids or improving ad relevance and ad quality.
Top of page rate (Search only): This is the percentage of impressions where an ad showed anywhere above the organic search results. If your top of page rate is 30%, that means 300 of 1,000 impressions appeared above organic results. Even the lowest ad position above organic still counts here. It’s useful for understanding how much premium SERP real estate competitors occupy.
Absolute top of page rate (Search only): This is the percentage of impressions where an ad was the very first ad on the search results page. If you have 12% absolute top, you were position 1 in 12 of 100 impressions. Here’s something most people miss: brands burning cash often have very high absolute top rates. In low-margin industries, chasing this metric can destroy profitability. It’s often a red flag, not a goal.
Outranking share: This metric shows how often your ad ranked higher than a specific domain or showed when theirs did not. A 35% outranking share vs. example.com means in 35 of 100 eligible auctions, you beat or displaced them. You can’t see the competitor’s outranking share against you—only your own row—so tracking trends over time matters more than any single snapshot.
Segmenting Auction Insights by Time: The Single Most Valuable Move
The auction insights metrics I just described are useful. But they become powerful only when you segment by time. This is where you spot competitor patterns, coverage gaps, and active bidding wars.
In my experience, this is the single most underutilized feature in the entire report. Most advertisers never touch it.
How to segment by time:
In the Auction Insights report, find the “Segment” dropdown in the toolbar
Choose “Time” then select “Hour of day” or “Day of week”
Use a 7–30 day date range for reliable patterns; very short windows produce noise
The time-segment tell: Flat, consistent impression share by hour typically signals manual bidding or flat CPC strategies. But spiky impression share at specific hours—like jumps every weekday at 8am–11am followed by drops in the afternoon—suggests automated Smart Bidding reacting to historical conversion data.
Concrete example: Imagine pulling January 1–31 and seeing a competitor’s search impression share surge from under 10% overnight to 70% between 9am–5pm Monday through Friday, then drop to near-zero on weekends. This pattern almost certainly indicates a budget-limited or target CPA/ROAS bidding strategy focused on business hours. That’s actionable intelligence.
Finding your own weak windows: Overlay your impression share against competitor share by hour. Where are you consistently absent? If you show zero impression share after 6pm while competitors stay present, that might be intentional for B2B accounts where conversions don’t happen at night. But for B2C or e-commerce, you could be leaving revenue on the table.
I recommend exporting this data and creating a simple chart showing your impression share vs. top competitors by hour and day. Competitor on/off cycles become immediately obvious—and so do your opportunities.
How to Spot Smart Bidding and Aggressive Algorithms in the Auction
After segmenting by time, the next layer is recognizing when competitors are running automated bidding strategies like Target CPA, Target ROAS, or Maximize Conversions. These algorithms behave differently than manual bidding, and their patterns show up in auction insights metrics if you know what to look for.
Impression share “fingerprints” of Smart Bidding:
Large swings in competitor impression share within the same day when you haven’t changed your settings
Example: A competitor jumps from 5% to 55% impression share in late afternoon for 3–4 hours, then drops back for the rest of the day—and this pattern repeats for multiple days
Day-of-week patterns: I’ve seen competitors’ impression share spike only on Fridays and Saturdays for non-brand shopping queries. This behavior often reflects automated systems ramping up when historical conversion rates are higher. The algorithm “learns” that weekends convert better and starts bidding aggressively during those windows.
Budget exhaustion patterns: If a competitor’s impression share is high from 8am–noon and near zero from 3pm–11pm, they’re likely front-loading budget and capping early. Your manual opportunity: be present when their algorithm goes dark. CPCs often drop significantly in those windows because aggressive bidders have already exhausted their daily budgets.
Distinguishing manual scheduling vs. Smart Bidding:
Manual scheduling creates clean on/off windows—ads run 9am–5pm sharp Monday through Friday with almost no impressions outside those hours
Smart Bidding creates more gradual shifts tied to performance patterns—ramping up around 7pm for DTC brands, not tied to traditional office hours
Real example from my work: In 2025, I had a lead-gen client where we noticed a rival’s impression share doubling every Tuesday and Thursday morning after we increased our bids. That wasn’t coincidence—it was algorithmic response. Their automated strategy was reacting to our bid changes within hours. We adjusted by testing different bid timing and found windows where we could gain ground without triggering their algorithm’s counter-moves.
The Exit Strategy: When the Smart Move Is to Stop Fighting
Here’s something most agencies won’t tell you: the goal isn’t always to win every auction. In competitive verticals like legal, SaaS, and home services, bidding wars are where profit disappears.
How to identify an irrational competitor:
Consistently near-100% absolute top of page rate on high-intent, high-CPC terms
Outranking share against you exceeding 80% for weeks or months, while your own ROAS or CPA is deteriorating
Their impression share remains high even after you raise bids or improve quality score—signaling they’re willing to overpay indefinitely
Deciding when to “exit” a fight: Compare auction insights with your own CPA and ROAS trends for that campaign or keyword set. If your cost per lead spikes whenever a particular competitor’s impression share is high, the smart play may be lowering bids or narrowing match types—not chasing a higher position.
Tactical exits that work:
Pull back bids or budgets during windows where competitors are overly aggressive (often 8am–2pm weekdays in B2B) and lean into alternative hours where their impression share drops
Shift focus to higher-intent long-tail search terms, brand+modifier terms, or remarketing lists instead of broad, expensive generic queries
Use ad schedule bid adjustments to systematically reduce exposure during competitor-heavy periods
Using the report over time, not as a one-off: Export weekly or monthly auction insights and chart impression share against your cost metrics. When you see repeated spikes in CPC and declining profitability coinciding with specific competitors pushing hard, you’ve confirmed a bidding war. That’s when exit strategy becomes essential.
Example from my consulting: In 2023, I worked with a home services client who was fighting a well-funded franchise competitor on generic “plumber near me” terms. Their competitor was bidding aggressively for absolute top constantly. Instead of matching their aggression, we intentionally ceded the #1 spot. We focused on slightly narrower specific keywords, different time windows when they exhausted budget, and improved our landing pages for higher conversion rates. Result: profit increased despite “lower” ad position. The other advertisers burned through budget while we stayed efficient.
Using Auction Insights to Rebuild Your Google Ads Strategy
This is where auction insights data translates into concrete campaign changes. In my audit and coaching work, this is often where we start.
Identifying true competitors vs. noise: Domains with high overlap rate across many campaigns—say, 40% or higher overlap on your top non-brand ad groups—are your core competitors. Create a simple list by domain and tag each as:
Direct competitor (same product/service)
Aggregator (comparison sites, directories)
Affiliate (resellers, partners)
This distinction matters because your response to each should differ.
Budget allocation decisions: Use impression share and outranking share to decide where extra budget actually buys meaningful ad exposure. If you already outrank a main competitor 70% of the time on a term and ROAS is flat, raising bids is likely wasteful. Redirect that budget to terms where you have room to grow profitably.
Creative and landing page differentiation: Compare auction insights with your search terms, RSA assets, and landing page messaging. Instead of only trying to beat competitor rank, focus on differentiated offers, pricing transparency, or proof elements that competitors can’t easily copy. Better ad copy and landing pages can improve your ad relevance and quality score, letting you compete at lower CPCs.
Aligning with conversion and margin data: Auction insights must be read alongside real business numbers—ROAS, CPA, LTV, and margins by product or service line. Being #2 on a $2,000 B2B service keyword with 20% top of page rate but strong ROAS is often better than forcing #1 at twice the CPC.
How I use this in audits: In a typical Google Ads audit, I pull 60–90 days of auction insights, segment by time and device, then cross-reference with conversion and revenue data. I’m looking for:
Wasted ad spend driven by unnecessary position battles
Missed opportunities where impression share is low but profit potential is high
Scheduling and device bid adjustments that exploit competitor blind spots
Practical Analyses You Can Run This Week
You don’t need an analyst on staff to run these. Each takes 30–60 minutes and produces actionable insights.
Brand protection check:
Filter auction insights to only brand campaigns
Look for new domains with significant overlap or high position above rate
Action: Adjust bids, add brand negatives for unauthorized resellers if appropriate, or update your brand terms bidding strategy
Non-brand money pit scan:
For your top-spend non-brand campaigns, pull last 30–60 days, segment by hour and device
Note periods where a particular competitor outranks you heavily AND your CPA/ROAS is worst
Action: Test lowering bids or pausing ads during those windows; let competitors burn their budget
Find cheap opportunity pockets:
Look for ad campaigns where your impression share is low, but competitor impression shares are also low or fragmented among many small players
Action: Test slight bid increases or creative improvements there instead of fighting saturated terms where established competitors dominate
Device split review:
Segment auction insights by device
Identify if competitors push heavily on mobile vs. desktop
Action: If you close better on desktop and see low competitor presence there, re-weight budgets and use device bid adjustments accordingly
Performance Max sanity check:
At account or PMax campaign level, open auction insights and see which domains dominate your performance max campaigns search component
Action: If you see the same competing advertiser domains as in your search and shopping campaigns, ensure PMax and Search aren’t cannibalizing each other on expensive terms without incremental conversions
When You Need a Second Set of Eyes: How I Use Auction Insights in Audits & Coaching
Many clients come to me after months of rising CPCs and flat conversions. They’re unsure whether the real problem is competitors strategies, account structure, or broken conversion tracking. Auction insights is one of the first places I look.
How Auction Insights fits into my Google Ads audits:
First step: Pull 60–90 days at campaign and ad group level
Apply time segmentation to spot on/off cycles and algorithmic behavior patterns
Cross-check findings with conversion tracking integrity and overall Google Ads account structure
How I use the report in one-hour clarity calls:
Share screen and open auction insights live
Walk through impression share vs. profitability in real-time
Show business owners exactly where they’re stuck in a bidding war and where they’re leaving revenue on the table by not showing in eligible auctions
My 90-day method: I use auction insights as one of the core tools to design a “get out of the race to the bottom” plan. This includes rebuilding google ads campaigns, restructuring match types, cleaning up tracking issues like invalid traffic, and teaching teams how to monitor competitors themselves using the competitive landscape data in their Google Ads account.
If you suspect you’re overspending to “beat” competitors without seeing profit lift, consider scheduling a one-hour clarity call or requesting a transparent Google Ads audit. The goal isn’t to chase impression share—it’s to find where your ads appear profitably and where you’re paying for position that doesn’t convert.
Key Takeaways: Turning Auction Insights into a Competitive Advantage
Auction insights is a competitive radar, not a vanity leaderboard. The goal isn’t having the highest impression share or absolute top position—it’s making profitable decisions about where and when your ads compete.
Time segmentation, detecting Smart Bidding behaviors in competitor data, and knowing when to exit bidding wars are the three skills that separate strategic advertisers from those who just throw money at auctions hoping for improved performance.
Three habits to build:
Check auction insights with time segments at least monthly—set a calendar reminder
Compare auction trends against your own ROAS and CPA, not just position metrics
Treat “losing” certain auctions as a strategic win when it protects profit margins
Your immediate action: This week, pull 30 days of auction insights from your top-spend campaign. Segment by hour of day. Mark one time window where a competitor is clearly overspending and test lowering your bids there. Track what happens to your CPA over the next two weeks.
That single analysis—taking maybe 30 minutes—could reveal whether you’re in a bidding war that’s draining your Google Ads budget or competing in a healthy auction where aggressive positioning makes sense.
