Published on May 24th, 2021 | by Sumit Bhowal

Understanding vCPM and How to Improve It for Your Advertising Strategies

A visitor does not see every advertisement on the web pages he/she browses. It removes the user’s ability to communicate with the ad, defeating the purpose of the ad existing in the first place. Viewability is a metric that measures the number of ad impressions that users can see rather than the total number of ad impressions served.

The International Advertising Bureau (IAB) defines a viewable impression as an ad that appears at least 50% on screen for at least one continuous second. One second is described as ten consecutive 100-millisecond observations. Viewable cost per thousand impressions (vCPM) is the cost spent by marketers to earn these viewable impressions.

CPM vs. vCPM

CPM stands for cost per thousand impressions. You pay for a thousand banner ad views, regardless of whether or not a customer sees your banner ad. Advertisers use CPM to figure out how much money they’ll invest in a campaign.

Viewable cost per thousand impressions (vCPM) is a marketing metric that counts the number of times a person sees an ad rather than the number of times the seller places it. The standard CPM measures the cost per thousand impressions, while the vCPM measures the cost per thousand viewable impressions.

Formula to Calculate vCPM

vCPM = 1000 x Campaign Cost / Viewable impressions

vCPM = CPM x Total Impressions / Viewable impressions

vCPM = CPM / Percentage of Viewable Impressions

Importance of Viewable Cost Per Thousand Impressions (vCPM) for Publishers

Impressions indicate how many times an advertiser has outbid the opposition in an auction for the right to make a customer display their ad. A combination of efforts of a digital marketer, platform, and exchange contributes to whether an ad receives impressions.

The issue with counting impressions without considering viewability is that the advertiser pays for unused inventory. Viewable impressions are a more accurate indicator for determining how many advertisements are seen. To get a clear picture of every digital marketing campaign, remember to look at all impressions and viewable impressions.

Advertisers will more accurately calculate ad success if they know the ad is being viewed. Because of the transition from impressions served to impressions watched, publishers must pay attention to ad placement and output to optimize their ad revenue.

How to Improve vCPM

Here are a few steps you can take to improve the visibility of your ads and finally earn a deserving ROI for your marketing efforts:

Ad Size

Play with various ad sizes to increase your chances of getting greater success. Ad sizes such as 300×250, 300×600, 120×140, 160×160, and 120×600 are thought to be the most viewable.

Ad Placement

To improve viewability and interaction, use the most popular ad locations on your web pages. For example, ads are placed closer to the fold and near the content, so they are more in line with where users are going.

Consider comparing the results of various ad placements to see check performance before deciding that advertisements above the fold are always visible.

Minimal Ad Count

To maximize viewability, do not place too many ads, or it will lead to a poor user experience.

Vertical Ad Formats

Experiment with different ad forms and models to see which ones work best. Vertical ads or tall ads, according to Google, do better than horizontal ads.

Fix Page Load Speed

Users can leave the page before seeing the ad, even if it has already been counted as an impression if your website is slow. You can use Google’s Website Speed Testing Tool to see how fast your site is.

Device Compatibility

If a website is not optimized for other devices, it could affect the placement of the ad and, eventually, the viewable impressions. Make sure you display your ad on mobile-responsive websites.

Lazy Loading

Lazy loading renders content and ads only when they are in the user’s visible area. This helps increase viewability by decreasing the number of impressions served out of the view.

Immediate Ad Call

Ascertain that the Google ad call occurs as soon as possible. The user could have left the page before the ad is seen if the ad call arrives too late.

If you’re looking to enhance your ad visibility, you should find an expert in digital advertising who understands viewable cost per thousand impressions (vCPM) and other important metrics.

It would help if you found a publishing partner that implements the latest ad technology to improve the ROI on your ad campaigns. Learn the best tricks to reach your target audience and get your business famous by implementing these effective technologies in the best possible ways.

Tags: advertising, advertising strategies, CPM, programmatic advertising

About the Author

Sumit Bhowal An Internet addict and a MASTAN , Also a lazy Freelancer . I don't try to reinvent the wheel I just like to soak things in Steroid's :p Thanks (y)