Impression, in advertising and marketing, is a metric used to measure views with any form of content, such as online ads or a website. It can also pertain to how frequently the content is displayed on a screen and is seen by a user. Impressions are not based on the engagement or clicks on an ad or website.
Impressions are important in online advertising as they are used as a basis for revenue. It is also an indicator of how well online campaigns, such as dynamic ads, are performing and the broadness of brand awareness.
Impressions are also occasionally called ad views.
How It Works
Impressions are counted with every loading of a website, ad, or other forms of content.
Because they are easy to understand and measure, impressions have become among the most convenient ways to establish the visibility of the type of content being measured. However, there is no one way to interpret impressions as it can count every time a single person views the same ad, therefore skewing the numbers. Other factors can also inadvertently skew ad views.
This weakness leads to marketers using impressions together with other relevant metrics to determine whether a campaign is successful or not.
Impressions usually come in the following forms:
- Served impressions. The standard for tracking impressions is counting every occasion when an advertisement is loaded on a page. The number is determined by the server data. However, using this method does not take into consideration the impact of the content on the viewer, or the location of the ad. The count merely pertains to any time the information is transmitted by the server. Other limitations include counting the impression when fetching the page even with an ad-blocker, a robot, or plug-ins that failed to load.
- Viewable impressions. This kind of impression addresses the limitations of served impressions. It can identify behaviors that do not allow the ad to be seen, including ad-blocking software, broken plug-ins, page incompatibilities, scrolling past the content, and minimized tabs or windows. Viewable impressions then remove these from the ad view count. The information generated is more accurate and actionable.
Why Impression Matters
Impressions, when used in conjunction with other metrics, can allow a better understanding of how your marketing campaigns are performing. Brands can also determine brand awareness, which is important in increasing their target market. With important data at hand, you can better plan for a marketing strategy that meets company goals.