What is CPM?
CPM stands for Cost Per Mille — the cost per 1,000 impressions (times your ad is shown). CPM measures how efficiently you are buying reach. A lower CPM means you are reaching more people for the same budget. In India, Facebook and Instagram CPMs are generally lower than Google Display Network CPMs. Social Adz supports Viewable CPM bidding for Google Display campaigns and calculates CPM from campaign data on the analytics page.
What is CTR (Click Through Rate)?
CTR is the percentage of people who saw your ad and clicked on it. Formula: (Clicks ÷ Impressions) × 100. A CTR of 1–2% is considered average for most Facebook and Google ads. Higher CTR means your ad is relevant and compelling. Low CTR usually signals a weak headline, poor image, or wrong audience.
What is ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)?
ROAS measures how much revenue you earn for every rupee spent on ads. Formula: Revenue from ads ÷ Ad spend. A ROAS of 3 means you earned ₹3 for every ₹1 spent. Whether a ROAS is good depends on your profit margins. Social Adz shows ROAS on your campaign analytics dashboard automatically.
What is CPC (Cost Per Click)?
CPC is how much you pay each time someone clicks your ad. Formula: Total ad spend ÷ Total clicks. CPC varies by industry, audience, and competition. Google Search Ads typically have higher CPC than Facebook ads because the user intent is higher. Lower CPC is not always better — a high-CPC click that converts is more valuable than a low-CPC click that does not.
What is CPL (Cost Per Lead)?
CPL is how much you pay for each lead — an inquiry, form submission, or contact. Formula: Total ad spend ÷ Number of leads. If you spent ₹5,000 and got 20 leads, your CPL is ₹250. Whether this is profitable depends on your customer value — if a customer is worth ₹10,000 and you convert 1 in 5 leads, each lead is worth ₹2,000 to you.
What is a Conversion?
A conversion is when someone takes the action you wanted — buying a product, filling a lead form, calling your number, or installing your app. Conversion rate = (Conversions ÷ Clicks) × 100. Improving your conversion rate is often more impactful than reducing ad cost — doubling conversions doubles results without increasing spend.
What is Frequency?
Frequency is the average number of times each person in your audience has seen your ad. A frequency of 3 means each person saw your ad 3 times on average. High frequency (above 5–7) often leads to ad fatigue — people start ignoring or hiding your ad. When frequency gets high, refresh your creative or expand your audience. Social Adz analytics helps you spot rising frequency early.
What is Reach?
Reach is the number of unique people who saw your ad at least once. Different from impressions — if the same person sees your ad 3 times, that is 3 impressions but 1 reach. Reach tells you how many distinct individuals your campaign touched. For brand awareness campaigns, maximizing reach at low CPM is the primary goal.
What is a Campaign Objective?
A campaign objective is the goal you tell Meta or Google to optimize for — Awareness, Traffic, Leads, or Sales. The objective determines how the algorithm delivers your ads and who it shows them to. Choosing the wrong objective is one of the most common and costly mistakes in digital advertising. For most small businesses in India starting out, Lead Generation is the most practical objective.
What is an Ad Set?
An ad set is the middle layer of Meta's campaign structure — between the campaign (goal) and the ad (creative). The ad set is where you define your audience, daily budget, schedule, and ad placements. You can have multiple ad sets inside one campaign to test different audiences against the same creative.
What is Audience Targeting?
Audience targeting means specifying who sees your ad — by location, age, gender, interests, behaviors, or past interactions with your brand. Good targeting is the single biggest factor in ad performance. Meta's interest targeting lets you reach people who follow competitors, have specific hobbies, or behave in certain ways online.
What is a Lookalike Audience?
A lookalike audience is a targeting option where Meta or Google finds new people who are similar to your existing customers or page fans. You provide a source (your customer list or website visitors) and the platform finds people with similar profiles. Lookalike audiences are often more effective than interest targeting because they are based on real customer data — not guessed interests.
What is Retargeting?
Retargeting means showing ads to people who previously visited your website or interacted with your content — but did not convert. Most people do not buy on their first visit. Retargeting re-engages warm prospects who already know about you. It typically has much higher conversion rates than cold audience ads. Social Adz supports Facebook retargeting through Meta Pixel integration.
What is Quality Score?
Quality Score is Google's rating (1–10) of how relevant your ad, keywords, and landing page are to a user's search. Higher Quality Score means lower cost per click and better ad position. Improve it by writing ads that closely match your keywords and sending people to a fast, relevant landing page. Social Adz helps you set up Google Search campaigns with keyword-aligned ad copy.
What is Ad Rank?
Ad Rank determines your position in Google search results. It is calculated using your bid, Quality Score, expected impact of ad extensions, and auction context. A competitor with a higher bid can still rank below you if your Quality Score is significantly better. This means small businesses can outrank large competitors by having more relevant ads.
What are Negative Keywords?
Negative keywords are search terms you exclude from triggering your ad. If you sell premium furniture, you might add "cheap" and "free" as negative keywords to avoid paying for irrelevant clicks. Adding negative keywords is one of the most impactful and underused optimizations in Google Search campaigns — it directly reduces wasted budget.
What is the Meta Pixel?
The Meta Pixel is a small piece of code installed on your website that tracks what visitors do after clicking your Facebook or Instagram ad — did they visit a page, add to cart, or make a purchase? This data enables conversion campaigns, retargeting audiences, and accurate ROI measurement. Without the Pixel, you cannot run Sales or Conversion campaigns effectively.
What is GST on Facebook and Google Ads?
When an Indian business pays Meta or Google for ads, it is classified as an import of services. Under the Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM), the Indian buyer must pay 18% GST to the government — even though Meta and Google do not show GST on their invoices. GST-registered businesses can claim Input Tax Credit to offset this cost, making the net tax often zero. The Equalization Levy (2%) was abolished in August 2024 and no longer applies.
What is Ad Fatigue?
Ad fatigue happens when your audience has seen your ad so many times they stop responding. Signs: rising CPL, falling CTR, increasing frequency. Fix it by refreshing your creative, expanding your audience, or pausing and restarting after a few weeks. Social Adz campaign analytics shows frequency trends so you can catch fatigue before it wastes your budget.
Brand Awareness vs Lead Generation — Which to Choose?
Brand awareness campaigns maximize how many people see and remember your brand — measured by reach and impressions. Lead generation campaigns collect contact details from interested people — measured by cost per lead. For most small businesses in India, lead generation delivers more immediate and measurable ROI. Brand awareness is valuable long-term but harder to directly link to sales. Social Adz supports both campaign types on Facebook and Google.
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