Reach vs Impressions – Is Reach Overrated?

When you create a website or launch a business, it’s all about exposure. Right? For many business owners and marketing departments, the strategy is typically to reach as many people as possible. After all, the more people that see your product the better. 

This way of thinking is common. And it makes sense. It’s natural to want to have a large reach. But is reach in digital marketing important or is it simply overrated?

What is market reach?

In terms of digital marketing, reach refers to the total number of users that see your campaign. It’s not about the size of your campaign or how many people you target, it’s about how many actually view your content. It’s important to understand the difference between reach vs impressions. Impressions are the number of times your content shows up in a search result. Reach is how many users see that content and actually click on it and interact with it. You want to focus on both metrics with a different frame of mind in order to improve your online presence while still making sure your reach is relevant to your business. If your reach isn’t presented to your target audience, you are largely wasting your time and marketing efforts.

Is reach really important?

The short answer – yes and no. Reach is important in creating brand awareness. People can’t find you and use your product if they’ve never heard of you. But reach means nothing if you aren’t targeting the right audience. If you sell fish food, it doesn’t really do you any good if you reach thousands of dog owners and zero fish enthusiasts. Who sees your campaign is usually more important than how many people see your campaign. 

It’s important to understand the difference between reach vs impressions as well. Impressions in digital marketing refer to any time your digital content or website is rendered on a user’s screen. Separating these two metrics is essential to making sure your digital campaign is an effective one and not one that has you end up investing your time and effort in the wrong direction. Practicing both of these items with an open mind and knowing what the relevance is of each individual topic is how you should run your online marketing campaigns.

At SocialSEO, our team has over 20 years of experience in search engine optimization and digital marketing. Our SEO specialists understand the importance of reach vs impressions and the value of reaching the right audience. SEO is complex and requires an understanding of not only your product, but your buyer persona and what your buyer is searching for. For more information on how your business can grow by changing your view on market reach, contact SocialSEO for a free quote today.