Benchmark CPM, also known as cost per thousand impressions (CPM), is a key metric for measuring the efficiency of your advertising campaigns. It tells you how much you’re paying to get your ads in front of 1,000 people.
CPM is calculated by dividing your total ad spend by the number of impressions your ads generate, multiplied by 1,000. For example, if you spend $10,000 on a campaign that reaches 2 million people, your CPM is $5. This means you pay $5 for every 1,000 impressions of your ads.
Why is benchmark CPM important?
Benchmark CPM is important because it allows you to compare the performance of your advertising campaigns across different channels and platforms. It also helps you to set realistic CPM goals and track your progress over time.
For example, if you’re running a campaign on Google Ads and your benchmark CPM is $5, you can use this information to set a budget for your campaign and to track your performance against your goals. If your CPM is higher than $5, you may need to adjust your targeting or your ad budget.
How to set benchmark CPM goals
When setting benchmark CPM goals, it’s important to consider a number of factors, including:
• Your industry: Average CPM rates vary from industry to industry. For example, CPM rates for the technology industry are typically higher than CPM rates for the retail industry.
• Your target audience: CPM rates can also vary depending on your target audience. For example, CPM rates for targeting high-income earners are typically higher than CPM rates for targeting the general population.
• Your advertising platform: CPM rates can also vary depending on the advertising platform you’re using. For example, CPM rates on Google Ads are typically higher than CPM rates on Facebook Ads.
Once you’ve considered all of these factors, you can start to set benchmark CPM goals for your advertising campaigns. It’s important to be realistic when setting your goals, and to track your progress over time so that you can make adjustments as needed.
How to achieve realistic benchmark CPM goals
There are a number of things you can do to achieve realistic benchmark CPM goals, including:
• Target your audience wisely: The more specific you can be with your targeting, the lower your CPM is likely to be. This is because advertisers are willing to pay more to reach a more targeted audience.
• Create high-quality ads: High-quality ads are more likely to be clicked on, which can lead to a lower CPM.
• Use negative keywords: Negative keywords can help you to prevent your ads from showing for irrelevant searches, which can also lead to a lower CPM.
• Test different ad placements: CPM rates can vary depending on where your ads are placed on a web page. Experiment with different ad placements to see which ones perform best in terms of CPM and click-through rate (CTR).
• Use ad extensions: Ad extensions can add more information to your ads, which can make them more appealing to users and lead to a higher CTR. This can in turn lead to a lower CPM.
By following these tips, you can increase your chances of achieving your benchmark CPM goals and running successful advertising campaigns.
