Skip to content
Ads Lighthouse

Glossary

Ad Rank

A plain definition, the context behind it, what Ads Lighthouse can and cannot observe, and the official sources.

Definition
Ad Rank is the set of values Google uses to decide whether an ad can show and where it appears relative to other ads.

Google describes it as calculated from factors including the bid, ad and landing page quality, Ad Rank thresholds, the competitiveness of the auction, the context of the search and the expected impact of assets.

Because context such as location, device and time is part of the calculation, the same search can show different ads, in a different order, from one moment or place to the next.

How Ads Lighthouse observes it

Each saved ad keeps its position among the ads on that results page, with the location, device and time of the check. Positions describe one observation, not an advertiser's average.

Official sources

Sources checked on .

Related help articles

Related reading

All terms

See these terms in your own brand searches

Monitor Google and Bing by keyword, location and device, and review each observation with its full context.

Your privacy choices

We use storage needed for sign-in and your workspace. With your permission, optional analytics and marketing tags can help us understand visits and measure campaigns. Read our Cookies & browser storage notice.