CPM
(Ad cost ÷ impressions) × 1,000
Cost per thousand impressions helps compare how expensive it is to get an ad seen.
MARKETING THAT MAKES SENSE
Know what your marketing really delivers.
A simple resource for students, creators, and small businesses to understand ad performance without getting buried in jargon.
Five metrics. One clearer picture of performance.
CAMPAIGN OVERVIEW EXAMPLE DATA
Sample cost per order$1.11900 orders from a $1,000 campaign
Learn the numbersMake better choices
01Measure attention
02Track engagement
03Understand outcomes
THE METRICS GUIDE
Five numbers worth knowing.
Each metric answers a different question. No single number tells the whole story.
CTR
(Clicks ÷ impressions) × 100
Click-through rate shows what percentage of ad impressions generated clicks.
CPC
Ad cost ÷ clicks
Cost per click measures how much you spent, on average, to earn each click.
Conversion rate
(Orders ÷ visits) × 100
Conversion rate measures the share of visits that produced an order. Use a consistent visit count.
Cost per order
Ad cost ÷ orders
Cost per order compares advertising spend with how many orders were generated.
Note: Some classroom exercises use impressions as the denominator for a simplified “conversion rate.” In practice, analytics reports commonly calculate session or user conversion rates using visits or users. Always state your denominator.
PUT NUMBERS TO WORK
Campaign calculator.
Enter any campaign values to calculate reach, clicks, and order efficiency. The results update instantly in your browser; nothing is submitted or stored.
Helpful tip
Look at the metrics together. A cheap click can still be expensive if few visitors convert.
CPM—
CTR—
CPC—
Conversion rate / visits—
Cost per order—
Educational calculator. Input values are examples, not claims about live campaign performance.
WORKED EXAMPLE
What does a $1,000 ad actually buy?
Imagine a hypothetical banner campaign with 95,000 impressions, 1,500 clicks and 900 orders. The calculations below help explain the tradeoffs.
1.58%
Click-through rate
1,500 clicks ÷ 95,000 impressions × 100
1,500 clicks ÷ 95,000 impressions × 100
How to read the results
$10.53 CPM
It cost about $10.53 to deliver 1,000 impressions.
$0.67 CPC
Each click cost approximately 67 cents.
$1.11 CPO
Each order cost about $1.11 in ad spend.
Check conversion carefully
900 ÷ 95,000 impressions = 0.95% (impression-based classroom exercise); 900 ÷ 1,500 visits = 60% (visit-based conversion rate). Both are mathematically valid ratios, but they answer different questions.
Hypothetical illustration adapted from a marketing-metrics practice scenario. It does not represent real business performance.
ABOUT THIS PROJECT
Clarity over vanity metrics.
MetricWise is an educational digital marketing website developed by William Van Wie for an NSU marketing course. Its audience is students and small-business owners who want practical explanations of common performance metrics.
It was designed as a learning resource, not a marketing agency or paid advisory service. The example campaign figures are illustrative and are clearly labeled. The goal is to help readers ask better questions before spending money on advertising.
Three things to remember
- Start with your business goal, not the biggest-looking number.
- Compare metrics that measure the same thing.
- Use results to decide what to change next.
GET IN TOUCH
Have a question about a metric?
This site was created for an educational marketing project. For questions or feedback, use the course discussion board to contact the project author, William Van Wie.
CONTACT METHODNSU course discussion board
Class participants can send questions or feedback through the MKT 3600 course discussion area. No public contact form is used.