CPM advertising is a payment model for ad campaigns where the advertiser pays for every thousand impressions of an ad. In simple terms: you pay for visibility, not for clicks or conversions.
How CPM advertising works
In CPM (cost per mille) the price is set per 1,000 impressions. An impression is counted when the ad is loaded within the user’s view according to the platform’s standard metrics. On marketplaces and in display networks, counting depends on format: a banner, a product card in search, a promo block on a category page, or a native block.
- Calculation formula: Campaign cost = (CPM / 1000) × number of impressions.
- Auction and bids: in ad managers placement is often determined by an auction: CPM bid, creative relevance and predicted clickability affect winning a slot.
- Viewability: an important parameter. Platforms count only those impressions that pass the viewability threshold (for example, 50% of pixels visible for 1+ second). This reduces the number of "dead" impressions.
- CPM variants: refer to base CPM (for impressions); sometimes platforms offer an "effective CPM" after optimization for clicks or conversions.
Why CPM advertising is useful for a seller on Kaspi.kz
CPM is useful when the goal is reach, brand awareness or launching a new product. On Kaspi sellers use CPM to quickly increase visibility of a product card in search and the catalog, drive traffic to the shop and boost organic sales thanks to wide exposure.
- Launching new products: for a product launch it makes sense to allocate a weekly CPM budget to get thousands of impressions and collect initial clicks and reviews.
- Promotions and seasonal sales: during sales CPM helps capture buyer attention even before they search by keyword, especially in highly competitive categories.
- Maintaining awareness: if you have a narrow assortment, CPM lets you "keep the brand in sight" without sharp spikes in CPC/CPA.
- Additional product-card visibility: CPM formats inside the catalog or on category pages show the product to shoppers who aren’t searching for a specific model yet but are browsing related items.
Typical calculation and a budget example for a Kaspi seller
I’ll show a calculation based on a common example for sellers of electronics and accessories in Kazakhstan.
- Assume an approximate CPM for display blocks and internal promo placements on Kaspi is 300–900 KZT. The value depends on the position: a header banner or a prime slot costs more than a native in-list block or a lower-category promo.
- Example calculation: if you pick CPM = 500 KZT and target 100,000 impressions, the cost is (500 / 1000) × 100,000 = 50,000 KZT. If CPM = 300 KZT for the same impressions, cost = 30,000 KZT; at 900 KZT cost = 90,000 KZT.
- Adjust for reach and frequency: if your goal is to reach 20,000 unique users with an average frequency of 3 impressions per user, required impressions = 20,000 × 3 = 60,000. With CPM = 500 KZT cost = (500 / 1000) × 60,000 = 30,000 KZT.
- Always reserve 10–20% of the budget for creative tests and early optimization after you have initial viewability and CTR data.
Examples of CPM use in practice: three Kaspi seller scenarios
- New gadget launch: A seller wants initial visibility for a new phone accessory. Goal: 150,000 impressions in the first week to collect clicks and early reviews. At CPM = 600 KZT cost = (600 / 1000) × 150,000 = 90,000 KZT. Use top catalog promo and product-card promos to maximize exposure.
- Seasonal sale push: During a seasonal sale a seller places CPM creatives in category pages and home feed to intercept buyers before they search. Short high-frequency burst (2–3 days) with higher CPM bids for prime slots can increase impressions when conversion intent is rising.
- Brand presence for narrow assortment: A store with a limited range keeps steady CPM placements to maintain awareness among repeat customers and category browsers, avoiding spikes in CPC while keeping the product visible.
Practical tips for launching and optimizing CPM campaigns
- Set a clear objective: reach, awareness or traffic. This determines placement and acceptable CPM levels.
- Choose placements with higher viewability for better efficiency: top banners, promo blocks in product cards and category pages, and prominent native slots in lists.
- Test multiple creatives and messages in parallel (different visuals, headlines and CTAs). Allocate an initial test budget to identify the best-performing combinations.
- Use frequency caps to avoid overexposure and banner fatigue. Recommended starting point: 2–4 impressions per user per week for awareness campaigns.
- Optimize for viewability: prefer placements and formats with proven viewability metrics. If viewability is low, move placements or increase bids for higher-quality slots.
- Design creatives for mobile first: most traffic on Kaspi.kz is mobile, so make sure images, fonts and CTAs are readable on small screens.
- Monitor early signals (viewability, CTR, bounce rate, time on page) and reallocate budget quickly from low-performing placements to the best ones.
Metrics to track and formulas
Key metrics to monitor:
- Impressions: total number of served creatives.
- Reach and Frequency: unique users reached and average impressions per user.
- CPM: bid or platform price per 1000 impressions.
- eCPM: effective CPM after accounting for actual spend and delivered impressions.
- Viewability: share of impressions that met the viewability threshold.
- CTR (click-through rate): clicks divided by impressions.
- CVR (conversion rate): conversions divided by clicks.
- CPC/CPA: cost per click and cost per acquisition (useful for hybrid analysis).
Useful formulas:
- Cost = (CPM / 1000) × impressions
- eCPM = (total spend / impressions) × 1000
- CTR = clicks / impressions
- CVR = conversions / clicks
- Reach = impressions / average frequency (approx)
Typical mistakes and how to avoid them
- Focusing only on CPM without viewability: a low CPM with poor viewability wastes budget. Track viewability and prioritize placements where ads are actually seen.
- Insufficient creative testing: running a single creative risks low engagement. Allocate a test slice of the budget to find the most effective visuals and messages.
- Too high frequency: excessive repeated impressions cause ad fatigue. Use frequency caps and monitor CTR declines.
- Poor mobile adaptation: if creatives aren’t mobile-optimized, viewability and CTR suffer. Design mobile-first assets.
- No tracking of downstream metrics: don’t stop at impressions and CTR. Link CPM activity to sales, review volume and organic traffic lift to measure real impact.
CPM is a powerful tool on Kaspi when used with clear goals, good creative testing and constant monitoring of viewability and engagement. It’s especially effective for launches, seasonality and maintaining brand presence without switching immediately to performance-only payment models.
Часто задаваемые вопросы
- How do I correctly calculate the budget for a CPM campaign to launch a new product on Kaspi.kz?
- Determine the target reach and the average frequency of impressions per user, then calculate the required number of impressions: impressions = reach × frequency. Budget = (CPM / 1000) × impressions, where CPM is the platform rate or your target price. Allocate a 10–20% buffer for testing creatives and adjustments after initial viewability data.
- Which key metrics should I track in a CPM campaign and which formulas should I use?
- Be sure to monitor viewability, CPM, CTR and conversions. Formulas: cost = (CPM / 1000) × impressions; eCPM = (total spend / impressions) × 1000; CTR = clicks / impressions; CVR = conversions / clicks. These metrics help you understand the cost of visibility and the efficiency of traffic.
- How do I choose placement and banner format on Kaspi to increase visibility with a limited CPM budget?
- Prioritize formats with high viewability — top banners, promo blocks in product cards and catalog, and native spots in lists. Test several creatives and placements in parallel, then reallocate budget to those with better CTR and viewability. Consider audience relevance and adapt creatives for mobile screens.
- What should I do if the campaign has low viewability?
- Switch placements to zones with better visibility and reduce impression frequency on ineffective sites. Check creatives and mobile adaptation, remove lazy loading that prevents counting visible impressions. If necessary, increase CPM bids to win auctions for priority slots.
- When does it make sense to switch from CPM to CPC or CPA models on a marketplace?
- Switching is logical when the campaign objective shifts from awareness to actions — clicks or sales — and conversion analytics are set up correctly. If CTR and CVR are stable and you can optimize for specific actions, CPC/CPA lets you pay for results rather than visibility. The switch is also justified when eCPM is high and sales return is low.
- What are common mistakes when launching CPM campaigns on Kaspi and how to avoid them?
- Common mistakes: using a bid without checking viewability, insufficient creative testing and poor targeting. Avoid them by allocating a test budget, tracking viewability and engagement metrics, segmenting audiences and rotating creatives. Regularly analyze reports and adjust placements based on performance.
