Why impression-based advertising will redefine search and CTV

Microsoft search ads updates usually fly under the radar — such is life as a distant second to Google — but a late August announcement deserves attention: the launch of impression-based remarketing.

Given Microsoft’s scale, this won’t be a game-changer. Symbolically, though, it marks a significant shift away from outdated click-based advertising toward a healthier measurement, analysis and budget allocation model.

Here’s how marketers can pivot to impression-based advertising — and why it ultimately leads to more efficient campaigns.

Impression-based measurement and analytics shifts

The allure of click-based marketing is that it’s simple and easy to measure. An Instagram user sees an ad, clicks and converts. End of story, with 100% of the credit going to that ad in last-click measurement and a significant portion still going to it in more advanced models like time decay or data-driven attribution. It’s easy to report those numbers to management and make a case for that channel’s budget.

But easy doesn’t mean accurate. Click-based measurement ignores two critical questions: 

• How much did upper-funnel channels (like CTV and OOH) influence the conversion? 
• And would this user have converted without seeing the Instagram ad?

Answering those questions requires more holistic measurement methods like MMM (media mix modeling) and lift/holdout tests to measure incrementality. These are more advanced — read: harder to measure — but they break the siloed limitations of Google and Meta reporting and promote a broader, more objective analysis of your entire advertising strategy.

Don’t expect to land on one perfect approach. Measurement is iterative. Test multiple approaches and combinations, including MTA, MMM and lift tests, to get as close as possible to a point of truth.

Dig deeper: What your dashboards reveal about channel performance — and what they miss

Impression-based channel shifts

Moving away from click-based attribution will almost certainly cast a more objective — and often more critical — light on bottom-funnel channels like brand search, retargeting and direct-response paid social. Advertisers running MMM and incrementality tests are learning quickly that these channels are not nearly as influential or valuable as click-based attribution has made them seem.

This shift is already visible in search, where clicks are dwindling as AI-driven results and zero-click behaviors reshape the user journey. Walled gardens like Meta may also lose some dominance — though it’s worth noting that Meta anticipated this shift, introducing brand lift tests highlighting the strength of its upper-funnel campaigns.

The TL;DR: Traditional performance favorites will lose luster in an impression-based world, while channels like programmatic, upper-funnel social and CTV will gain share as their contributions to down-funnel activity are measured more accurately.

CTV is especially well-positioned for this shift. On the big screen, TV impressions — non-skippable, 100% viewed on the big screen — carry more inherent value than their mobile or desktop programmatic counterparts, making CTV a clear winner in an impressions-first landscape.

Dig deeper: How to assess CTV’s impact on other ad channels

How to embrace the shift to impression-based advertising

The most important step in shifting to impression-based advertising is the first one: just get started. If you need the push, remember that the model you’re moving away from is profoundly flawed and you risk far more by standing still than by changing your approach.

From there, prioritize internal communication and executive buy-in. Make it clear that results will be reported differently and analyses will take new forms — all to better understand which marketing dollars truly drive the bottom line.

It’s equally important to recognize — and to explain to leadership — that measurement is an inexact science. Success requires testing multiple models, learning from failures and wins and evolving your reporting accordingly.

Yes, your budget allocations will change over time, but your first objective should be consistent communication and a genuine, data-backed effort to prove the impact of every channel.