How popular isGoogle Ads in search?

In September 2026, there were an estimated 5M branded searches for Google Ads worldwide which is up 22.4% over the last 12 months. Google Ads holds 80.3% estimated Share of Search among advertising platforms worldwide and is ranked 1st of 5 competitors for search popularity. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

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Which advertising platforms compete with Google Ads?

Google Ads against advertising platforms worldwide, by month

Month	Google Ads	Meta Ads	TikTok Ads	Microsoft Advertising	LinkedIn Ads
Oct 2025	79.8%	10.7%	7.1%	1.2%	1.2%
Nov 2025	82.7%	9%	6%	1.2%	0.99%
Dec 2025	83%	9.1%	6.1%	1%	0.82%
Jan 2026	81.1%	10.8%	5.9%	1.2%	0.97%
Feb 2026	81.1%	10.8%	5.9%	1.2%	0.97%
Mar 2026	78.8%	12.9%	5.8%	1.4%	1.2%
Apr 2026	79.2%	12.9%	5.8%	1.2%	0.95%
May 2026	79.2%	12.9%	5.8%	1.2%	0.95%
Jun 2026	79.2%	12.9%	5.8%	1.2%	0.95%
Jul 2026	79.2%	12.9%	5.8%	1.2%	0.95%
Aug 2026	77.1%	15.4%	5.6%	1.1%	0.76%
Sep 2026	80.3%	13.1%	4.8%	0.96%	0.79%

Rank	Brand	Share of Search	Estimated monthly branded searches	vs prior month	Share change
1, held 1st	Google Ads Google	80.3%	5M	+22.3%	+3.2 points
2, held 2nd	Meta Ads Meta	13.1%	823K	0%	-2.3 points
3, held 3rd	TikTok Ads	4.8%	301K	0%	-0.8 points
4, held 4th	Microsoft Advertising Microsoft	0.96%	60.5K	0%	-0.2 points
5, held 5th	LinkedIn Ads Microsoft	0.79%	49.5K	+22.2%	0 points

1.Google Ads
80.3%
Held 1st. 5M estimated branded searches, +22.3% vs prior month. Share +3.2 points.
2.Meta Ads
13.1%
Held 2nd. 823K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share -2.3 points.
3.TikTok Ads
4.8%
Held 3rd. 301K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share -0.8 points.
4.Microsoft Advertising
0.96%
Held 4th. 60.5K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share -0.2 points.
5.LinkedIn Ads
0.79%
Held 5th. 49.5K estimated branded searches, +22.2% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

Compare search popularity between Google Ads and its closest rivals

Every comparison with Google Ads

12 comparisons

How has branded search demand for Google Ads changed worldwide over the last 12 months?

2 findings

Across the 12 months ending September 2026, estimated monthly branded searches for Google Ads worldwide rose from 4.1M to 5M.
Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Google Ads’ estimated Share of Search among advertising platforms worldwide peaked at 83% in December 2025 and was lowest at 77.1% in August 2026.

How did search popularity change for advertising platforms worldwide in September 2026?

4 changes

In September 2026, Google Ads gained estimated Share of Search among advertising platforms worldwide, from 77.1% to 80.3%.
In September 2026, Meta Ads lost estimated Share of Search among advertising platforms worldwide, from 15.4% to 13.1%.
In September 2026, TikTok Ads lost estimated Share of Search among advertising platforms worldwide, from 5.6% to 4.8%.
Estimated monthly branded searches for LinkedIn Ads worldwide fell 18.2% over 12 measured months, from 60.5K to 49.5K in September 2026.

Where does Google Ads compete?

Google Ads is ranked in three competitor sets. Each share is worked out among that set's brands, so it differs from set to set.

Competitor set	Rank	Share of Search	Ranking
Seo Services brands	2nd of 5	1.1%	Show ranking
Advertising platforms	1st of 5	80.3%	Shown above
Display advertising platforms	1st of 5	97.6%	Show ranking

How is Google Ads measured?

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Google Ads’ name. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brand is growing, holding steady, or fading.

2 branded search terms