Google’s Optimization Score, which provides recommendations to improve ad performance, has been updated to highlight the specific competitive pressures impacting impression share.
Why we care. This new feature gives you a clearer view of how major competitors like Amazon are affecting ad campaigns, helping you to make more informed optimization decisions. However, mimicking competitor strategy isn’t a great strategy and could just lead to unnecessary overspending. Approach this update with care.
How it works.
- Optimization Score now identifies when competitors are affecting campaign metrics.
- This provides advertisers with real-time insights into auction-level competition.
First seen. Google Ads expert Craig Graham, shared this discovery on LinkedIn:
Big picture. Understanding the role of major competitors is important for optimizing paid search campaigns effectively. This new visibility into auction-level dynamics could be a game-changer for many advertisers. However, it could just be a means of getting you to spend unnecessarily.
- “I definitely think it’s to encourage bidding more and FOMO [fear of missing out] on users to competitors that it thinks you’ll be worried about, but also an actually useful feature,” said Chris Chambers, head of Paid Search at Understudy, in response to Graham’s posting about this update.
What to watch. Whether Google expands this level of competitive transparency to additional Optimization Score insights over time.
Bottom line. By shining a light on the impact of rivals like Amazon, Google could be empowering advertisers to make more informed decisions to improve their search ad performance or it could be a ploy for more spend from advertisers who don’t want to feel like they are missing out on an auction where their competitors are present.
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About the author
Anu Adegbola has been Paid Media Editor of Search Engine Land since 2024. She covers paid search, paid social, retail media, video and more.
In 2008, Anu’s career started with
delivering digital marketing campaigns (mostly but not exclusively Paid Search) by building strategies, maximising ROI, automating repetitive processes and bringing efficiency from every part of marketing departments through inspiring leadership both on agency, client and marketing tech side.
Outside editing Search Engine Land article she is the founder of PPC networking event – PPC Live and host of weekly podcast PPCChat Roundup.
She is also an international speaker with some of the stages she has presented on being SMX (US), SMX (Munich), Friends of Search (Amsterdam), brightonSEO, The Marketing Meetup, HeroConf (PPC Hero), SearchLove, BiddableWorld, SESLondon, PPC Chat Live, AdWorld Experience (Bologna) and more.