Your client noticed last month that his ad often showed up beside another advertiser’s ad for the same search terms. How can you help your client understand how he is performing compared to other advertisers?
Correct Answer
Use the Auction insights report to show how often his ads rank higher in search results than those of other advertisers
Why is this the correct answer?
To understand how his ads rank against specific competitors appearing for the same search terms, the client should use the Auction Insights report, which shows how often his ads rank higher in search results than those of other advertisers. The Auction Insights report provides competitive data including impression share, overlap rate, position above rate, and top of page rate — specifically comparing your ad performance against other advertisers in the same auctions. This directly answers the client's question about competing alongside another advertiser.
Why are the other options wrong?
Use the top movers report which campaigns have seen the biggest change in clicks since last month
The Top Movers report identifies which campaigns have seen the biggest changes in performance over time — useful for diagnosing performance shifts, not for competitive comparison.
Use the paid & organic report to show when his website appears in organic search, with no associated ads
The Paid and Organic report shows when the website appears in organic search alongside paid ads — useful for channel strategy, not for comparing against specific competitors in auctions.
Use the Search term report to show which search terms lead to the most clicks on his ads
The Search Terms report shows which queries triggered ads — useful for keyword management, not for understanding competitive ad positioning.
Real-world example
A solicitor notices a competitor's ad appearing alongside theirs every day. They run the Auction Insights report and discover the competitor wins the top position in 68% of shared auctions while their own top of page rate is only 34%. This prompts them to improve Quality Score and increase bids, eventually achieving a 52% top of page rate.
Official documentation: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2579383
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About the Google AdWords Fundamentals Exam (Retired)
The AdWords Fundamentals exam was retired when AdWords became Google Ads.
Exam guide and all 140 AdWords Fundamentals (Legacy) questions →Related AdWords Fundamentals (Legacy) questions
- 1Maria noticed last month that her ad often showed up beside a competitor’s ad for the same search terms. How can Maria understand how her performance compares to that of other advertisers?Explained
- 2When reviewing the Search terms report for one of your client’s campaigns, you notice several terms that aren’t relevant to what they’re advertising. How can you use this information when refining the campaign’s keywords?Explained
- 3What is the recommended next step if you noticed from the Search terms report that certain terms are leading to a high number of clicks on your ads?Explained
- 4An advertiser wants to increase the Quality Score of a low-performing keyword. Which approach would you recommend?Explained
- 5What report can help you identify opportunities to improve your keywords and ads?Explained
- 6An advertiser looking to drive conversions is using manual cost-per-click (CPC) bidding. Which factor should be most important for this advertiser when deciding keyword bids?Explained