Impressions in digital marketing are like counting how many times an ad shows up on a website or app for users to see. It’s a way to measure how visible an ad is. So, every time your ad pops up, it’s counted as one impression.
In paid advertising, impressions are often measured per thousand. We use a term called CPM, which stands for Cost Per Mille (thousand in French). Some people also call it cost per thousand impressions.
Why Do Impressions Matter?
If you want your ads to reach the people you’re targeting, they need to be shown. The more times they’re shown, the more likely they’ll reach your audience (depending on your goals). Impressions matter a lot, especially if your goal is to make people aware of your brand.
Understanding Reach & Frequency
When your ads are shown, they reach people, right? Reach is the number of different people your ad reaches in a certain time. It tells you how much of your target audience you’ve covered. But it doesn’t count how many times each person sees your ad.
That’s where frequency comes in. Frequency is how many times your ad is shown to one person. So, if your ad gets 1,000 impressions but reaches 200 people, each person has seen it around 5 times on average.
Here’s a simple formula:
- Impressions / Reach = Frequency
- Reach * Frequency = Impressions
- Impressions / Frequency = Reach
In summary, impressions and reach are different. Impressions, along with other metrics like click-through rates (CTR) and conversion rates, help advertisers figure out how well their digital marketing is working.