What do the abbreviations in Ads Manager mean? Linkedin - Facebook - Youtube etc.

Ad Metrics Abbreviations & Definitions

Cost & Performance Metrics

CPM (Cost Per Mille)
The cost to show your ad 1,000 times.
Formula: Total Spend ÷ (Impressions ÷ 1,000)
Use: Measures cost efficiency for reach-based campaigns.

CPC (Cost Per Click)
The cost you pay for each click on your ad.
Formula: Total Spend ÷ Clicks
Use: Measures how much you're spending to get someone to take interest.

CTR (Click-Through Rate)
The percentage of people who clicked your ad after seeing it.
Formula: Clicks ÷ Impressions × 100
Use: Indicates how relevant your ad is to your audience.

CPA (Cost Per Action / Acquisition)
The cost of a desired action (e.g. sale, sign-up, or lead).
Formula: Total Spend ÷ Conversions
Use: Helps evaluate the true cost of acquiring a customer.

ROAS (Return On Ad Spend)
How much revenue you make for every £1 spent on ads.
Formula: Revenue ÷ Ad Spend
Example: £500 revenue ÷ £100 spend = 5.0 ROAS

CPL (Cost Per Lead)
The average cost to acquire one lead.
Formula: Total Spend ÷ Number of Leads
Use: Key metric for lead generation campaigns.

CPV (Cost Per View)
The cost to get one video view (used in video campaigns).
Use: Relevant for platforms like YouTube or Facebook video ads.

Engagement & Reach Metrics

Impressions
How many times your ad was shown (includes repeats).

Reach
The number of unique users who saw your ad.

Frequency
The average number of times each person saw your ad.
Formula: Impressions ÷ Reach
Use: High frequency may lead to ad fatigue.

Engagement Rate
The percentage of users who interacted with your ad (likes, shares, comments, clicks).
Formula: Engagements ÷ Impressions × 100

Video Ad Metrics

ThruPlays (Meta)
The number of times your video played for at least 15 seconds (or to the end if shorter).

VTR (View-Through Rate)
The percentage of users who watched your video to a specific point (e.g. 25%, 50%, 100%).

Conversion Metrics

Conversions
The number of times users completed a desired action (purchase, form submission, etc.).

Conversion Rate
The percentage of clicks that led to a conversion.
Formula: Conversions ÷ Clicks × 100