Auction Insights: Who You Are Losing To

Auction insights is a Google Ads report of other advertisers who entered the same auctions as you. It shows overlap, position, and how often they outrank you. It does not show their budget.

Open auction insights on a campaign or a keyword. You get a list of domains that competed with you, plus overlap rate, position above rate, top of page rate, and outranking share. Read it when impression share is missing and you want to know who took the slot.

This is a who-else report. It is not a bid that beats a competitor, and not proof you should raise budget.

What is auction insights in Google Ads?

A table of advertisers who showed up in the same auctions you did. The domain is who Google shows. The rates tell you how often you shared the auction and who sat above you. You will not see their CPC or their daily budget. Google's own auction insights documentation defines each column the same way.

If you only watch your own impression share, you know you lost slots. Auction insights names who was in the room.

How do you open auction insights without mixing jobs?

Open it on one Search campaign, not the whole account, if brand and non-brand still share a roof. Brand auctions are full of directories and your own name. Non-brand auctions are the competitors you actually care about. Two sittings if you have to. Same rule as one job per campaign.

Use two to four weeks. One noisy Tuesday does not name a rival.

What do overlap, position above, and outranking actually mean?

• Overlap rate: how often the other advertiser was in the auction when you were.
• Position above rate: how often their ad sat above yours when both showed.
• Outranking share: how often they ranked higher than you, including auctions you missed.
• Top of page rate: how often their ad made the top of the page.

High overlap plus high position above means they are the one beating you on the searches you already enter. High outranking with lost impression share to rank means they are winning slots you never reached.

What can you actually do with that list?

You cannot copy their bid. You can fix the half you own. If you lose to rank, check Quality Score, the ad, and the landing page before you raise bids. If you lose to budget, that is a funding decision, not a rival decision. See lost impression share. Google's impression share definition explains how the eligible-auction total is estimated.

If a competitor's name is the problem, that is a different note: whether to bid on their brand. Auction insights will not make that call for you.

When should you ignore auction insights?

Ignore it when the campaign is brand-only and the list is directories. Ignore a one-week spike. Ignore a Display or Performance Max campaign; the report is built for Search. Do not rebuild the account because a national chain appeared in one city.

Common questions

What does overlap rate mean?

How often another advertiser was in the same auction as you. High overlap means you keep meeting them.

Can I see a competitor's budget in auction insights?

No. You see how often they showed with you and how often they sat above you. You do not see what they spend.

Should I raise bids because someone outranks me?

Not first. Check lost impression share to rank versus budget, then Quality Score and the page. A bid raise is a last write, and it waits for approval.

AdvisorPPC is an AI manager. It can pull auction insights next to impression share and name the overlap. Bid writes wait at the gate. Manual is the default.

See who took the slot. Find my wasted spend.