CPM (Cost Per Mille)

Definition

The amount you pay per 1,000 ad impressions, or 'the rate at which you hemorrhage money showing ads to people ignoring you.' Mille is Latin for thousand—fancy but depressing.

Example Usage

Our CPM jumped 40% after the algorithm change, so either we're premium or we broke something.

Origin

From Latin 'mille' (thousand); standardized in digital advertising early 2000s

Fun Fact

In print advertising, CPM has existed since the 1920s, proving marketers have been obsessed with per-unit costs forever.

Source: Foundational advertising metrics

Related Terms

Advanced

Deterministic Matching

Connecting online and offline user data using logged-in identifiers rather than probabilistic guessing—basically asking people who they are instead of playing statistical poker.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

Advanced

platform decay

The gradual decline in organic reach and user experience as social platforms prioritize paid content and algorithmic feeds over chronological ones. The inevitable enshittification of your favorite channel.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

Intermediate

micro-conversion

Small user actions indicating progress toward a primary goal, like newsletter signups or video views. The participation trophy of marketing metrics, celebrating tiny victories on the path to actual business outcomes.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

Intermediate

long-tail keywords

Highly specific, low-competition search phrases that attract fewer visitors but convert better, like fishing in a small pond with hungry fish instead of the ocean with everyone else. The unsexy workhorses of SEO that collectively drive more traffic than flashy head terms.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

Intermediate

softening

To weaken resistance, morale, or harsh edges—the corporate equivalent of turning down an opponent's defenses before asking them to sign the contract.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

Advanced

Demarketing

Intentionally discouraging certain customers from using your product—the anti-marketing move deployed when you're overwhelmed or want to look edgy.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

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