Not too long ago, the pricing for placing advertisements in media was a buttery smooth process. The price of your ad was determined by two things: location and size. Larger ads in magazines and newspapers cost more, and if they were on the front page, even more.
Simple, right? Well, we are now in the Internet age, and things have changed a lot.
Now, ad pricing is far more convoluted than it was earlier. The most common way to price your digital ads is through “impressions.” An “impression” is the number of times that your ad is loaded onto a web page.
The price for one impression is not worth measuring because it is so affordable.
Simply put, the most common way to measure the cost of digital ads today is to ask “How much will it cost for a 1,000 impressions”?
The advertising industry answers this question with a number called “CPM”.
If you’re confused, don’t worry. This article will clear up all your doubts about CPM. Here’s what you’ll learn.
- Understanding CPM
- What is CPM?
- How to calculate CPM?
- What is a good CPM?
- CPM for Meta Ads (formerly Facebook Ads)
- CPM for Google
- CPM for YouTube ads
- CPM for emails
- What factors affect CPM?
- CPM versus other ad metrics
- Final word
And without any further ado, let’s get into it.
Understanding CPM
What is CPM?
CPM is short for “Cost Per Mille”, with “Mille” being 1,000 in Roman numerals (it’s a Latin word). It’s easy to assume that CPM means “Cost Per Million”, but that’s wrong.
Just think of it this way: CPM = Cost Per Thousand. The next question is “Cost per thousand what?”. Impressions, that’s what. An impression in digital marketing terms is the number of times your ad is displayed on a website.
Now, let’s learn how CPM is calculated. Most advertising platforms will do this for you, but it is “good-to-know” information anyway.
How to calculate CPM?
Note down the total money that you spend on your ad. Then, you divide that number by your total number of impressions. Lastly, you multiply the resulting figure by a Mille (1,000).
And that is your CPM calculation done.
So, for example, if your CPM is $5, that means you pay five dollars to have your ad shown 1,000 times on a website.
Also, a common error is to confuse CPM with CPV (cost-per-view). CPV is a metric used on video streaming sites like YouTube.
Now that we’ve covered the “what is CPM” bit, let’s look at what a fair/good CPM is.
What is a good CPM?
Like so many other things, the answer is, “it depends”. CPM prices are very subjective, and there are various factors that affect CPM. Most commonly, these are your ad platform, target, country, and industry (among other things).
Let’s look at the average CPM of various platforms, the ones that you’ll most commonly use.
This will give you a ballpark idea of what the CPM for your country + industry is likely to be. Starting with the most popular one of them all — Meta Ads.
CPM for Meta Ads (formerly Facebook Ads)
To understand the CPM for Meta Ads, let’s try to answer some questions:
- What is the average CPM for Meta Ads globally?
- What is the average CPM for Meta Ads in the USA?
- How does the average CPM change based on targeting?
Let’s find the answers.
Global average CPM for Meta Ads
The answer to this question demands deep data analysis. We’ve taken data of average CPM for Facebook Ads from the USA, EMEA, and APAC countries. Then, we’ve converted all the currencies (Euros, Yen, Yuan, Rupees, Riyals and Dirhams) into dollars.
Globally, the average CPM for Meta ads in 2024 is $1.38 globally.
Here is a graph that tracks the changes in the global average CPM for the last few years, on a month by month basis.
Source: Elsevier, Science Direct, Sotrender Statista, Mintel, and others.
Average CPM for Meta Ads in the USA
In the USA, the average CPM is $4.29.
Here is a table that shows the average CPM (in USD) for different countries.
| Country | Average CPM (USD) |
| United Kingdom | 5.98 |
| Germany | 5.33 |
| United States | 4.29 |
| Canada | 3.97 |
| Australia | 2.81 |
| Spain | 1.69 |
| France | 1.67 |
| Italy | 1.58 |
| Portugal | 1.52 |
| United Arab Emirates | 1.50 |
Impact of targeting on average CPM
Note that targeting options can greatly vary your CPM. There was recently (February 2024) an in-depth study conducted on the profitability of Meta ads’ CPM. The study was conducted by the University of Warwick and WU, Vienna.
As a part of this study, the researchers used two types of targeting during their research. This is a table summarizing their findings.
If you’re confused, don’t worry. Here’s what it means.
- For broad targeting (ex: males over age 35), the average CPM is $0.87 across all industries.
- For narrow targeting (ex: women between ages 20 and 30 who like camping), the CPM is nearly double, at $1.62.
And that’s Meta/ Facebook ads done with. If your CPM is around these figures and you’re meeting your campaign goals, well done. Next up, we’ll cover another heavy-hitter advertising platform, Google.
CPM for Google
Before we understand the CPM for Google, we need to understand the advertisement ecosystem.
There are two main ad systems when it comes to advertising on Google (Google Ads and Google AdSense).
Google Ads is a platform that allows you to create and run online ads. These ads appear on Google search results, websites, and apps. You can target your ads to specific demographics, interests, or keywords.
Google AdSense is a program designed for website owners and publishers. It allows them to display Google ads on their websites and earn money when users click on those ads. So, in this system, ads appear on websites and apps that are part of the Google Display Network.
Let’s start with Google AdSense.
CPM for Google AdSense
Here is our data, compiled across 40 countries (The average Adsense CPM for all of them is $0.31).
Source: BannerTag, Statista, others
CPM for Google Ads
Now, we come to the far more commonly used Google Ads. If you’ve been around long enough, you’d know it was originally called Google AdWords. Again, we have two advertising pathways within Google Ads.
The first is the Google Display Network (GDN), and the second is Google Search advertising. Each of the two has different costs, so let’s get into it.
CPM on Google Search Network (GSN)
The Search Network focuses on showing ads to users actively searching for specific keywords on Google’s search engine.
Here is the compiled data for Google Search Advertising (average CPM is $3).
Source: WordStream, Mintel, Statista, Elsevier, and others.
CPM on Google Display Network (GDN)
The Display Network places ads on a vast array of websites across the internet, not just on Google search pages. These ads can appear on news sites, blogs, and other websites that partner with Google.
Here is the compiled data for Google Display Network ads (the average CPM is $0.69).
Source: Elsevier, WordStream, Statista, and Passport
Note that we have only been able to source data for five years (2018-2023). Our calculations are based on AdWords’s rebranding to Google Ads.
Also, with the CPM for Google Ads, your country matters less than your industry. That is why we haven’t included the country-wise breakup in this section.
Now, surely you’re wondering about the notable omission of YouTube ads, right?
After all, YouTube falls under Google. That has its own considerations, so we put it in a separate section.
CPM for YouTube ads
We’re going to club this section with the CPM of other social media channels, including LinkedIn.
Note:The performance of video ads is ideally measured in CPV (cost per view).
However, YouTube allows two types of ads.
First, are the video ads that play before or in-between a YouTube video. The others are the static ads that show in the “recommended” videos or the “watch next” sections. For static ads, it’s okay to think in terms of CPM.
Research from finance analytics firm SeekingAlpha shows that YouTube’s CPM is $9.68.
Take a look at the data for yourself (interestingly, LinkedIn is 30% cheaper, at $6.59).
Data compiled from SeekingAlpha, WebFX, Statista, and Mintel
The data above was the YouTube CPM for static ads. For the in-between-the-video ads, find CPV data for your niche — it gives a whole picture.
Lastly, we’re going to look at the CPM for email marketing campaigns.
CPM for emails
Now, just like with YouTube ads, email marketing has a better metric that you can measure (CPA). We’ll talk more in detail about CPM v/s other ad metrics in the last section of this article.
First off, email CPM (sometimes called eCPM) is different from the other three options on this list. Their CPM means cost per thousand impressions. eCPM refers to the cost per thousand emails sent.
Think about it — there is no guarantee that an email you send will be opened or even viewed.
Thus, your email CPM depends on your ESP (email service provider).
It mostly revolves around the amount of emails you send. The more emails you send, the lower your eCPM.
To begin with, the compiled data from DirectIQ, Paved, Statista, and WebFX says that, on average, it costs $0.0015 to send 10,000 emails. Thus, sending 1000 emails (your eCPM) would cost $1.5, on average.
For instance, you may be charged a CPM of $1.5 for 10,000 emails but only $1 for 100,000 emails.
It depends on your service provider.
If you are sending emails in bulk though, try and see if your ESP will give you a discount.
But, as we said, eCPM covers emails sent. That is why, for emails, metrics like CTR and open rate must be used in tandem with eCPM. That is what will give you an accurate idea.
And with the Email CPMs covered, we’ve finished the 4 main marketing channels where CPM is used. We’re sure you’ve noticed that various platforms have their CPMs sorted by various factors.
Some were by industry, some were by country, and so on.
You must be wondering about the factors that affect CPM, and how they affect the price given to you. Let’s find out.
What factors affect CPM?
Here are the eight most important factors that affect CPM.
1. Supply and Demand
Advertisers want to put their ads on websites visited by their target customers. Publishers provide this ad space inventory.
When a lot of advertisers bid on the same ad space, the price (CPM) goes up due to demand. Things like economic conditions impact overall advertiser demand.
2. Seasonality
Your CPM will likely be higher around major holidays.
These are sales periods when many advertisers run promotions. This includes Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day, Black Friday, etc.
Advertisers boost spending to maximize sales during these peak shopping times.
3. Ad Platform
The ad platform impacts CPM. In general, costs are highest on YouTube and Instagram, followed by Facebook, Google, and then emails.
However, these platform costs can change over time as user bases shift.
For instance, Google ads used to be ridiculously expensive when they had a monopoly over online ads in the 2000s.
4. Audience Targeting
Broader audiences have lower CPMs while narrower targeting increases costs. Targeting by age, gender, location, and interests makes an audience smaller. A smaller audience is easier to sell to, hence it is more valuable to advertisers.
This means a smaller, narrower audience will have a higher CPM than a broader one.
We showed you a real-life case study of this with the Facebook ads research paper above by the University of Warwick.
5. Campaign Objective
Top-of-funnel campaigns for brand awareness have the lowest CPMs. Middle-funnel campaigns for traffic/engagement are more costly.
And bottom-funnel campaigns focused directly on conversions/sales have the highest CPMs. Take a look at the Facebook campaign data below.
Granted, it is about cost-per-click, but it’ll be equally true for CPM as well.
Source: AdEspresso and Statista
Your CPM (for impressions) will be the highest, and your CPA (for link clicks) will be the lowest.
6. Geography
Advertiser demand is highest in countries with strong economies and high consumer spending power. This increases CPMs in places like the US, Germany, France, and UK.
Just take a look at any of the graphs we’ve shown you; you’ll see that these countries are the most expensive ones in terms of CPM.
It’ll be a similar story for other metrics as well, including CPC, CPA, CPL, and cost per conversion.
7. Ad Creative
High-quality ads that grab attention can lower CPMs by maximizing impressions. On the other hand, low-quality static ads may get ignored or flagged, reducing impressions.
On the other hand, if you’re actually worried about your CPM not being worth it because your CTR is too low, consider alternative models like CPC (cost per click). CPA (cost per action) could also be a good bet.
We’ll talk more about CPC v/s other marketing methods in our last section.
8. Device Targeting
Mobile campaigns usually have lower CPMs than desktop/tablet campaigns. This is because typical conversion rates vary by device and audience.
Remember that graph from earlier about Google AdWords spending? It was in terms of search and GDN.
Well below is what it would look like if the campaign only targeted mobiles.
Here it is for Google Search ads (it is $2.67, about 15% cheaper than for the “regular” Google ads campaign, which was $3).
Source: Statista, Others
And here it is for GDN mobile ads. It is $0.60, again, about 15% cheaper than the “regular” GDN campaign, which was $0.69.
Source: Statista, Others
And now you have the full picture of how CPM is calculated and what is a (relatively) good CPM for you. You also learnt about the factors that affect CPM, and how their effects change the cost of your ad.
The only remaining point to discuss is whether CPM is the best or if there are any other, better metrics you can use.
CPM versus other ad metrics
CPM isn’t the only ad metric out there. And if this guide has shown you anything, it is that CPM isn’t the be-all-end-all that it’s made out to be. You should always use CPM as a yardstick and include other metrics in your data.
Let’s look at some alternatives and pit CPM v/s other ad metrics.
1. CPM vs CPC
CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions) and CPC (cost per click) are both important metrics. But they measure different things. You use them for different goals.
CPM tells you the cost to show 1,000 people your ad. A low CPM is good if your main goal is brand awareness and visibility. You want to get your brand in front of many potential customers affordably.
CPC shows the cost each time someone clicks on your ad.
This matters if you want to drive traffic to your website or landing page. The lower the CPC, the more visitors you can get for your budget.
CPM spreads your message widely without direct action. CPC directly yields website visits, but you pay per click. Prioritize CPM in your ad-spend management for top-of-the-funnel awareness campaigns.
Use CPC to optimize mid-funnel traffic volumes efficiently.
2. CPM vs CPA
This metric tracks the cost of each new customer acquisition like a purchase or sign-up. You pay for conversions, not just views or clicks.
So CPA is crucial for bottom-funnel direct response campaigns. Where your priority is acquiring new buyers and subscribers profitably at the lowest possible cost.
Compared to CPA’s revenue focus, CPM only gives you large brand exposure numbers.
However, CPM alone does not show sales impact or ROI.
Use CPM to make your brand visible far and wide. But monitor CPA relentlessly to ensure you acquire new customers in a cost-effective manner. Brand awareness through CPM must ultimately convert to real CPA performance.
3. CPM vs CTR
CTR (click-through rate) shows you the percentage of your total impressions that resulted in clicks. CTR indicates how engaging and relevant your ad creative and audience targeting is.
If you have a high CPM but low CTR, you likely wasted money showing ads to the wrong audience.
They weren’t interested.
An affordable CPM paired with a high CTR is the ideal scenario. It means you efficiently reached a relevant, engaged audience.
You need both an efficient CPM for cost control AND a strong CTR to validate the ad’s effectiveness. CTR insights are what help optimize your targeting.
Then, CPM insights tell you about ad delivery across channels and inventory sources.
The key takeaway? Layer CPM with CPC, CPA, and CTR metrics. CPM alone gives reach but lacks engagement and ROI visibility. Together, these interconnected metrics provide a complete performance picture.
Final word
Metrics like CPC, CPA, and CTR help you evaluate your campaigns’ performance in an objective way.
So, do not rely only on CPM. Use it together with these other metrics.
That will help optimize your campaigns effectively. Ensure you have the right budget and strategy. Set clear objectives – awareness, traffic, or conversions. Then track the relevant metrics diligently.
Also, performance should be regularly reviewed from different angles.
Make changes to messaging, targeting, and budgets as needed. With the right approach, you can run profitable campaigns.
You will get your brand in front of interested audiences. And ultimately, drive sales and business growth. Keep measuring, keep learning, keep improving.
And with that, we come to the end of this article on CPM. We hope you found it useful, and we’ll see you in the next one.