Clicks vs. Impressions?

Web terminology can be confusing, sometimes even to an experienced internet marketing professional. Most individuals that manage a dealership’s web presence are familiar with the difference between an Organic Optimization campaign and a Pay-Per-Click campaign. A smaller majority of those individuals are familiar with the difference between an ad impression and an ad click.

An ad impression is simply the number of times your ad, whether it’s a banner, button, or text link, has been (or will be) exposed to a potential viewer. In simple terms, this is the number of times that image appeared on any computer screen anywhere in the world. As an advertiser this is the least advantageous way to purchase advertising. Yes your ad is being viewed, but what is it really doing for you?

A click-through is the actual number of times someone has taken their cursor, placed it on your advertising image and used their mouse to click on that image and be taken to your website. This is the most advantageous way to purchase advertising for the advertiser, because it really takes all the guess work out of the equation. You’ll know exactly how many visitors will visit your site relative to the ad purchase. Once the end-user is on your website, it should be engaging and interactive enough to generate some sort of emotion to make contact with you.

It’s important to know the difference between these terms because it will make a difference when perusing a Pay-Per-Click campaign.