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You know that Google Display Network campaigns can be an incredibly helpful part of your marketing strategy. But how do you know how much you want to invest? Most people want to learn how to calculate impressions, or at least estimate impressions and clicks based on their budget. This helps you decide how much you will need to spend to meet your goals.
Discover how to estimate impressions and clicks based on your spend, as well as how to see how many impressions you actually have.
The easiest method of calculating impressions expected for your budget on the Google Display Network is to opt to pay per impression. This is one of the three main pricing options from Google Ads.
The pricing options are as follows:
Google suggests using CPM bidding if your main goal is branding. In this scenario, you want as many people to see your message as possible, regardless of the amount of traffic it brings in. Google suggests CPC bidding if your goal is to drive traffic. CPA is best for driving online transactions.
Calculating the number of impressions you expect to get with your budget is straightforward if you opt for a CPM pricing model.
Just follow these steps:
This final figure is the number of impressions that your budget should purchase.
Of course, you are unlikely to have an exact figure for CPM. Remember, it is a bid system, and the prices vary based on various factors, including competition.
As an example of how to calculate impressions, assuming that average CPM as $2.80 you make and you have a budget of $100, you could complete the following steps to get an estimate:
You can do a similar calculation if you want to estimate how many clicks you expect to get for your spend, assuming you plan on using the CPC pricing model. The only difference is that you pay per click, not per thousand. This means you just need to divide your budget by the cost per click to get the number of clicks.
As with CPM, CPC varies based on dozens of factors. If assumed the average CPC is $0.75, so we’ll use that in a sample calculation. Let’s assume that you have the same budget of $100 and use it all for cost per click.
If you already use Google Ads and the Google Display Network, you likely already know that Google automatically makes numerous calculations for you. Estimates of clicks and impressions are no exception.
As you set your budget, Google will give you estimates on your likely results. This lets you easily adjust your budget based on your goals and other places you would like to allocate funds to.
The reach estimates for the Google Display Network are the best method of estimating your likely impressions. Google creates your reach estimates based on targeting options and settings. Google includes them to let you adjust your targeting and settings.
When you start a new campaign, you will automatically see your reach metrics on the right side of the screen. As you adjust the targeting and settings, your reach estimates will also change. Google uses over a dozen factors to estimate your potential reach, including:
Keep in mind that Google Ads will not use the following information in its estimate:
Google’s estimates come from its historical data. They don’t account for recent shifts in how many pages are on the Display Network or any seasonal trends.
Another feature that can help you with how to calculate impressions is the Display Planner. This planner shows historical CPMs, impression estimates, and reach estimates.
You can look at the data in the Display Planner as a whole by looking at the “Available network inventory.” If you prefer, you can also go into the “Ad group” or “Targeting ideas” tabs to get ideas for ad groups and targeting ideas.
When you look at statistics across ideas, you can see the number of total impressions that Google estimates to be available.
With the above calculations or with Google’s estimates, pay attention to the word “estimate.” These are only estimates, and there is no way to accurately predict the future. Remember that the final impressions or clicks will depend on more factors, including the ad quality and your bid.
You can only have accurate information on how to calculate impressions after your campaign is already in progress or completed. At this stage, Google will give you final data that includes the relevant details.
All you have to do is visit your Google Analytics page. Go to “Behavior” and then “Events” and “Overview.” You can also explore other areas of your Google Display Network analytics to see more information on your impressions.
When talking about impressions and data, impression share data is also worth noting. This shows how your ads perform compared to other people’s ads. Google calculates this metric by dividing your number of impressions by the total impressions that your ad could have received.
If you want to view impression share data, select the icon for “Columns” and choose “Modify columns.” You will find impression share data as a box to check under “Competitive metrics.” Remember to click “Apply” when done.
Keep in mind that you will see both the Search impression share and the Display impression share. These both follow the above formula but are for the Search Network and Display Network, respectively. You may also want to pay attention to other metrics related to the impression share (IS), such as:
Tracking impressions on your Google ads is a great way to track your branding campaign. Google helps you estimate how many impressions you are likely to get based on your budget, but you can also do some simple math to create your own estimate. After your campaign has begun, Google will show you how many impressions you have had so far, which is far more accurate than these estimates.
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