Impression (online media)

An impression (in the context of online advertising) is when an ad is fetched from its source, and is countable. Whether the ad is clicked is not taken into account.[1] Each time an ad is fetched, it is counted as one impression.[2]

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Because of the possibility of click fraud, robotic activity is usually filtered and excluded, and a more technical definition is given for accounting purposed by the IAB, a standards and watchdog industry group: "Impression" is a measurement of responses from a Web server to a page request from the user browser, which is filtered from robotic activity and error codes, and is recorded at a point as close as possible to opportunity to see the page by the user.[3][4]

Purpose

Counting impressions is the method by which most Web advertising is accounted and paid for, and the cost is quoted in CPM (cost per thousand impressions) or CPI (cost per impression). (Contrast CPC, which is the cost per click and not impression-based).

Construction

A movement is underway to move from the current standard of served impressions, to a new standard of viewable impressions.[5][6][7] The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), Association of National Advertisers (ANA), and the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) have joined forces in an initiative called 3MS (Making Measurement Make Sense), with the purpose of better defining the value of display media.[8]

  • Served impressions are the current standard. They are recorded by ad servers, and are counted whether or not the ad itself is fully loaded and in a space viewable to the end-user.[6]
  • Viewable impressions are defined as those that are at least 50% visible to the user for at least one second.[8]

See also

References
  1. Yahoo Search Marketing Glossary
  2. Google AdWords Help: Impression
  3. IAB Glossary of Interactive Advertising Terms v. 2.0
  4. Interactive Audience Measurement and Advertising Campaign Reporting and Audit Guidelines
  5. Mane, Sherill. Measuring Return From Interactive Advertising. MASB Summer Board Meeting and Summit, August 2012.
  6. http://www.iab.net/mmms iab. Making Measurement Make Sense (3MS). Cited 13 March 2013.
  7. http://www.measurementnow.net www.measurementnow.net. Making Measurement Make Sense. Cited 15 March 2013.
  8. http://www.rosetta.com/about/thought-leadership/Display-Advertising-Trends-Standardizing-Viewable-Impressions.html Rosetta. Display Advertising Trends: Standardizing Viewable Impressions. Cited 13 March 2013.
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