Ad Impressions (Metric)

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What Are Ad Impressions?

Ad impressions are defined as the number of people who saw your campaign or ad but didn’t interact with it. 

You can often find this metric in paid advertising channels.

Ad Impressions generally come in two forms: served impressions and viewable impressions.

1. Served Impressions

Served impressions are the current standard of measuring ad impressions. 

A served impression is counted when an ad is ‘served’ by an ad server regardless of whether potential viewers saw the ad or not.

2. Viewable Impressions

A viewable impression is counted when at least 50% of the ad is visible to a potential viewer for a period not less than one second. 

screenshot what is a viewable ad impressions
Image source : The Online Advertising Guide

Marketers prefer this metric because it provides a better way to measure how many times the ad was seen by real people.

Why Are Ad Impressions Important?

Marketers need to know the number of impressions an advert receives for a couple of reasons. 

First, impressions allow marketers to see how many people are seeing their advertisements through an advertising channel. 

Secondly, ad impressions form the basis for calculating metrics such as click-through rate. These metrics help marketers to measure the effectiveness of their ad campaigns.

Lastly, ad impressions allow marketers to calculate the cost of CPM campaigns. 

Difference Between Ad Reach and Ad Impressions

A reach refers to the total number of people who see an ad campaign whereas an impression tells how many times the ad was shown to people. 

For example, if your ad is shown to 100 people 3x each, your reach will be 100 but your impressions will be 300.

Difference Between Ad Impressions and Ad Clicks

The difference between ad impressions and ad clicks is simple. Ad impressions tell the number of times the ad was shown to people without them interacting with it.

As the name implies, ad clicks refer to the number of times people clicked through your ad to see your offer.

How Can We Help?

Are you struggling to get a handle of your ad campaign and need an outside eye to take a look? If you contact us today - we can offer you a free strategy session to set you on the right path! 

If you like what you see, why not work with us on a more long term basis? Speak to our team to find out how we could meet your needs and help you build the sort of ad campaign you envision.