CPM (Cost Per Thousand)

Definition

The price you pay to display an ad to 1,000 people. The 'M' comes from the Roman numeral for 1,000 (mille), because advertisers love making simple concepts unnecessarily complicated.

Example Usage

Our Facebook display ads are running at a $15 CPM, which is reasonable for the finance sector.

Origin

Traditional print and broadcast advertising, inherited by digital advertising

Fun Fact

CPM varies wildly by industry and season; luxury goods might have a $50+ CPM while niche blogs might be $2-5

Source: Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) standards

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