What is an Impression? Meaning, and How It Differs from Reach
Also known as: impressions, ad impression
Short answer
An impression is one time your ad appears on someone screen. A person who sees your ad five times creates five impressions but still counts as one reach. Impressions count appearances, not people.
Example
2,000 people see your ad, each about three times. Impressions = 6,000. Reach = 2,000. Frequency = 3.
The simple way to think about it
Impressions count how many times your billboard was passed, not how many people passed it. One person passing three times a day creates three impressions.
How the three numbers relate
Impressions = Reach x Frequency
If impressions rise while reach holds, frequency rose. The same people are seeing your ad more often. That is the early sign of ad fatigue.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between impressions and reach?
- Impressions count how many times the ad appeared. Reach counts how many different people saw it. Impressions always equal or exceed reach.
- Many impressions but no clicks. Why?
- An appearance is not attention. An ad can render in a part of the screen people scroll past. Check CTR, then check which placements deliver appearances without clicks.
- Do impressions count when the ad was never really seen?
- Each platform defines its own moment when an ad counts as shown. So never compare raw impression counts across platforms. Compare the results instead.
Related terms
Your ad numbers are only as accurate as the data behind them
Konektor captures the Click ID and sends conversions that close on WhatsApp, over the phone, or in a shop back to the ad platform.