Impressions
An impression is counted each time your ad is displayed on screen, regardless of whether the same person sees it more than once.
What it actually means
Impressions count total ad displays, not unique people — if one person sees your ad three times, that is three impressions but one person reached. This distinction matters because impressions divided by reach gives you frequency, the average number of times each person saw the ad. Impressions are the denominator for CPM and CTR, so understanding them is foundational. High impressions with low reach means you are showing the same small group your ad repeatedly, which can lead to fatigue. Impressions alone say nothing about quality; they simply measure how much exposure your budget bought.
For a small local audience, impressions pile up fast on the same people. If impressions climb but leads stall, your frequency is probably too high and it is time to refresh the creative.
Related terms
Reach is the number of unique people who saw your ad at least once during a given time period.
Frequency is the average number of times each person saw your ad, calculated as impressions divided by reach.
CPM is the cost to show your ad 1,000 times, calculated as total spend divided by impressions, multiplied by 1,000.
CTR is the percentage of people who click your ad after seeing it, calculated as clicks divided by impressions.
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