CPM – Cost Per Mille
The cost of advertising per 1,000 ad impressions. A key metric in awareness-focused and brand-building campaigns.
In practice
CPM matters when you want people to know you, not necessarily buy right away. A new store that spends everything on conversion campaigns without allocating budget to brand-building will run into an audience that doesn't recognize it.
Common misconception
'High CPM = a problem.' A high CPM for a very targeted audience can produce excellent ROAS. A low CPM for an irrelevant audience is a waste.
How to fix it
Did CPM rise? (1) Check Relevance Score, (2) check for peak season, (3) try narrowing the audience.
Example
A cosmetics store: broad-audience CPM was $7.50. Narrowing to women 25-40 who bought beauty products in the last 30 days raised CPM to $11 but ROAS rose from 2.1 to 4.7.
Priority
Track CPM as a symptom, not a target. Optimize for ROAS or CPA instead.
Related terms
Keep learning. Metrics that touch the same area:
- ReachMarketingThe number of unique people exposed to content. Different from impressions — a person who saw it 5 times is counted once.
- FrequencyMarketingThe average number of times each unique visitor saw the ad. High frequency causes ad fatigue.
- Brand AwarenessMarketingThe degree to which your target audience recognizes your brand. Measured by: direct Google searches (brand search volume), direct traffic, and brand mentions. The foundation of any long-term marketing strategy.
- eCommerce / Electronic CommerceMarketingAll business activity conducted online — showcasing products, ordering, payment, shipping, and post-sale service. The backbone of every online store.
- CPC – Cost Per ClickMarketingThe price an advertiser pays each time a visitor clicks the ad. Influenced by competition, Quality Score, and landing page relevance.
- CPA – Cost Per AcquisitionMarketingThe amount it costs to get a customer to complete a desired action. A core profitability metric — if CPA exceeds gross profit, the campaign loses money.
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