Ad impressions are an essential data set, since they can help businesses understand just about everything that happens from the time an advertiser releases an ad, to the moment a customer makes a purchase — or takes another action the marketers were seeking, such as signing up for a newsletter. But how do they work? Let’s start by defining the ad impression.
What Is an Ad Impression?
An ad impression occurs when an advertisement is displayed to a person on a computer, tablet, or smartphone. No one has to engage with the ad or even see it for it to count as an ad impression — even an ad that was scrolled right by without acknowledgement is an ad impression. In fact, even ads that are quickly skipped over can be of value to marketers.
“An ad impression simply means your ad was displayed on someone’s screen, whether they interacted with it or not,” says Sasha Berson, co-founder and chief growth officer at Grow Law Firm. “It doesn’t mean they read it or even noticed it.”
As we’ll see, a lack of tangible interaction does not mean that an ad wasn’t in some way effective. Often, marketing is about playing the long game.
Why Are Ad Impressions Important?
Ad Impressions Inform Advertisers
Advertisers thrive on data. Knowing how many ad impressions were delivered lets you compare that to ad clicks and conversions, such as sales, sign-ups, or likes. This calculation will help you figure out which types of ads are working and which need a revamp. “The creative is everything,” says Nikki Lindgren, founder and managing partner of Pennock. “An impression is only valuable if it makes someone pause, so advertisers test different hooks, visuals, formats, and lengths.”
Ad Impressions Build brand Awareness
As noted, even an ad delivered but not engaged with can be of great value, because each ad delivered can start to cement a brand in the mind of potential consumers. “On average, it takes five to seven impressions before someone remembers a brand,” says Berson. “So, impressions are like digital billboards. You’re planting a seed that may lead to awareness, trust, and eventually action.”
If you’re using a performance AI to smartly target your users by intent, these impressions will have even more value, especially as you can optimize them in real time.
Ad Impressions Lead to Engagement and Conversions
“Ad impressions are the top of the funnel,” says Ivan Vislavskiy, co-founder and CEO of Comrade Digital Marketing Agency. “They don’t generate sales directly, but without them, nothing else happens. You can’t get a click if nobody sees the ad.” An ad impression can lead to that click that ends up with a sale or, better yet, with a loyal customer for years to come.
How Does an Ad Impression Work?
“An ad impression is noted whenever an advertisement is displayed on a user’s screen,” says Brandon Schroth, founder of Reporter Outreach. “While no interaction may occur, impressions represent the first step toward interaction or visibility, brand recognition, and recall. From an SEO perspective, although ad impressions don’t directly affect SEO rankings, they enhance visibility and drive traffic to the site, which can result in brand engagement or searches that will help improve the presence in the digital space. Ad campaign target settings affect the CPM (cost per mille, i.e., cost per thousand impressions) rate advertisement. Thus, tailoring the audience improves cost effectiveness.”
“A strong impression strategy sets the stage for higher engagement (clicks, views, saves), better recall, and ultimately conversions,” adds Lindgren.
Types of Ad Impressions
Served Impressions
This is the most basic form an ad impression can take. It counts the total number of times an ad is delivered to a web page, regardless of whether a user sees it.
Viewable Impressions
This type of impression compiles the actual number of times the ad is visible to a user. It is visible on the screen for a certain duration and within an active tab.
Verified impressions
The most valuable ad impressions confirm that the ad was actively shown to a real user, helping to eliminate fraud and wasted money, and ensuring that ad delivery is happening properly.
How Advertisers and Publishers Use Ad Impressions
“I always remind clients that visibility without conversion is just noise,” says Sophie Musumeci, founder and CEO of Real Entrepreneur Women. “Yes, impressions help build brand awareness and can warm up cold audiences, but it’s what you do with that visibility that counts. A single impression can lead to a conversation, a click, a conversion — but only if your messaging is magnetic and aligned.”
Publishers use ad impressions to calculate their revenue following ad spend, while advertisers use them to evaluate their ad’s visibility and potential impact. They track CPM to judge how well ad content and design are resonating with people, to retarget advertising as needed, and to calculate an overall return on investment (ROI), also known as return on ad spend (ROAS).
Ad Impressions vs. Ad Clicks
Ad impressions represent the number of times an advertisement is displayed to users, while ad clicks signify a user’s actual interaction with the ad, such as a click or tap on a button, link, or hyperlinked image. Impressions measure reach, showing how many people could have potentially seen the ad, while clicks indicate actual engagement, showing how many people actively interacted with it.
Ad Impressions vs. Ad Reach
Ad reach counts the number of unique people who have seen an ad at least once. Impressions are a broader measure of ad visibility, but they don’t take into account that the same impressions may be served multiple times to the same people, whereas reach focuses on the number of distinct individuals exposed to the ad. Reach is not necessarily the more valuable metric, though, as multiple impressions served to the same person can lead to elevated brand recognition and actions leading to conversion.
Impression-Level Ad Revenue
Impression-level ad revenue refers to the tracking and reporting of ad revenue at the individual impression level, providing granular data on how much revenue each ad impression generates. This data helps advertisers understand which ads and placements are most effective and allows for more precise optimization of ad campaigns and a better ROAS.
Ad Impression and Mobile Marketing Metrics
Ad impressions in mobile marketing measure the number of times an advertisement is displayed to a user on a mobile device, primarily a smartphone. This metric tracks the reach and visibility of mobile ads, helping marketers understand campaign performance and assess ad visibility. Key metrics related to ad impressions include click-through rate (CTR), CPM, and conversion rate, which refers to a consumer taking a desired action.
Key Takeaways
“First and foremost, an ad impression in its simplest form is a single instance of an ad being served to a user, no matter if they engage with it or not,” reiterates Darian Shimy, CEO of FutureFund. “Of course, it is a very core metric in online advertising, especially when running awareness campaigns. While it doesn’t guarantee a click or conversion, it’s often the first step in building brand familiarity.”
Tracking ad impressions can help marketers get a sense of how well their ads are performing and how much revenue they are likely to generate vs. the cost of the placements. There are different types of ad impressions, like served impressions, viewable impressions, and verified impressions, each with a different level of import.
Ad impressions are distinct from clicks, which represent concrete action taken by a user. Even without clicks, though, impressions build up in the mind of potential customers, and can be an important first step in the journey down the marketing funnel.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What does 1,000 ad impressions mean?
1,000 ad impressions means that a given ad has been served 1,000 times, whether it was actually seen that many times or not. 1,000 is often used as a metric that advertisers monitor to track the overall cost of their marketing campaign. This is where the term CPM, or cost per mille, comes in.
What is an ad impression on Nextdoor?
As with other sites and apps, on Nextdoor, an ad impression refers to the number of times a specific ad is displayed to a user, regardless of whether they interact with it. Nextdoor ad impressions are a basic metric indicating how many times your advertisement has been shown to potential customers.
What are impression examples?
Ad impressions can come in the form of an advertisement served at the start or end of a video, in a banner on a website, in a social media feed, at the end of a news article, in a pop-up window, and in many other forms. If the ad was served up online, that’s an impression.
