Impression share reporting changes coming soon

In early November, AdWords impression share (IS) reporting will get some improvements to give you better insights, including new columns and hour of day segmentation. Along with these improvements, we’re also announcing some changes in the availability of certain historical IS data.

What’s new
Here’s a list of the improvements.

1. Distinct search and display columns. We’re adding new columns to cleanly separate search and display impression share.
2. “Hour of day” segmentation. Based on your feedback, we’re enabling “Hour of day” segmentation so you can evaluate how your ad coverage varies by the hour.
3. Filters, charts and rules. You’ll be able to apply filters, see charts, and create automated rules using IS metrics.
4. Accuracy. We’re improving the accuracy of how we calculate impression share data.

Changes to existing columns and historical IS data
As we launch these improvements, there will also be some changes to the availability of historical IS reporting data. We’ll also be phasing out the existing columns. Below are the key milestones.

Milestone	Existing IS Columns	New IS Columns
Early November 2012	Historical IS data in existing columns will only be available going back to October 1, 2012	New IS columns appear for the first time with historical IS data available going back to October 1, 2012
February 2013	Existing IS columns and data permanently retired	Historical IS data available in new IS columns back to October 1, 2012

Up until February 2013, data will continue updating in the existing IS columns. Once the existing IS columns and data are retired, you’ll only have access to the new IS columns.

Preserving pre-October 2012 historical IS data
If you rely on historical IS data for reporting or decision making, please plan ahead and take action before November.

To preserve an offline copy of your pre-October historical IS data with the existing columns, you must download all desired reports before the start of November 2012. After early November you’ll only have historical IS data for the existing columns going back to October 1, 2012.

We’ll post again around the time of the November milestone. In the meantime, please contact AdWords support if you have questions.

Posted Dan Friedman, AdWords Product Manager