Cost per thousand impressions (CPM)

CPM prices the audience, not the outcome. A high CPM isn't automatically bad if that audience buys, and a low one isn't automatically good if nobody clicks. The three numbers are linked: CPM equals CPC multiplied by click-through rate (as a decimal) multiplied by 1,000, so with CPM held steady, a better click-through rate lowers the cost of every click.

Compare CPMs within one platform and one objective, not across platforms, because each counts and sells impressions differently. Read CPM beside frequency. DataReportal, citing United Nations data, put the UAE at 11.6 million people in its 4 November 2026 report, and a narrow audience such as Arabic speakers in one emirate is a small slice of that, so frequency builds quickly. A rising CPM alongside rising frequency is the cue to widen the audience or refresh the creative.