Impressions

Measure used in advertising to calculate the number of times a piece is shown. The origin of this measurement is paper, i.e., how many times a page was printed. Although it has been transferred to banners and other advertising formats, its price is still calculated per thousand impressions (Cost Per mille or CPM).

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What is the difference between impressions and outreach?

Although they are sometimes used synonymously, they do not mean the same thing. Reach refers to the number of unique users who have seen a piece of content, while impressions count all the times that piece of content has been shown, even if it is to the same person multiple times.

Why is counting impressions not enough?

Impressions indicate visibility, but they do not imply interest. You can have a lot of impressions with few clicks, which is often a sign of inaccurate targeting or content that doesn't connect. It is essential to analyse them alongside other metrics such as CTR or conversion rate.

What types of impressions are there?

They can be classified in several ways:

Visible and non-visible: a visible impression is one that has actually been displayed on screen long enough to be seen. Non-visible impressions are counted even if the user has not seen the content, for example, if the user scrolls too fast.
By channel: in search engines (SERPs), in display banners, in social networks or even in email campaigns. In the latter case, they are related to the opening of the email, as with unique opens, and not to the click.

How do you optimise impressions?

It's not just about generating lots of impressions, but making sure they are useful. Some strategies to achieve this:

Adjust the frequency so as not to saturate users.
Use formats that facilitate visible impressions, such as preferred locations or eye-catching creatives.
Perform A/B testing to compare design or message variants.
Monitor cost per mille impressions (CPM) and VCPM, which measures viewability only.

Can impressions be affected by bots or blockers?

Yes. Some systems count visits from bots or users who block tracking scripts as impressions, which distorts the data. It is therefore advisable to use platforms that filter out non-human traffic and prioritise metrics based on real users.