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Glossary

What is impressions?

Impressions: Impressions are the total number of times your video was shown on screen, including repeat views by the same account and appearances in feeds, search, and profile visits. Comparing impressions to reach tells you how often the platform re-served your content and whether viewers came back for more.

Why impressions matter

Impressions show how many chances your video got; reach shows how many people took one. The gap between them is diagnostic gold. When impressions run well above reach, the platform is re-serving your video to the same accounts — sometimes because they rewatched it, sometimes because it surfaced again in their feed, in search, or on your profile. When impressions and reach sit nearly identical, almost nobody is seeing the video twice, which usually means it isn't sticky enough to be worth a second serving.

How to use them

  • Divide impressions by reach to get average serves per person — a number that rises over time suggests your content is getting resurfaced.
  • Check the traffic-source breakdown in your analytics: impressions from search or profile visits point to different strengths than For You feed impressions.
  • Treat impressions as opportunities, not results. Platforms define views differently, so pair impressions with retention metrics to see what actually happened once the video appeared.
  • If impressions are high but watch time is weak, your first frame isn't stopping the scroll — fix the opening before blaming distribution.

Common misconception: impressions equal unique viewers. They don't — one person can generate many impressions across feed, search, and your profile. Reach is the unique count; impressions are total appearances. Reading impressions as audience size will always overstate how many people you actually reached.

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Related terms

Browse the full creator glossary, read the growth guides, or try the free virality score checker.