Definition

Install per Mille (IPM) tracks the number of app installs per thousand ad impressions. This provides a measure of how many users out of every 1,000 people who see your ad go on to install the app.

Importance

App developers and user acquisition managers often use this metric as part of mobile advertising drives. A high IPM indicates that a creative or ad campaign is effective in reaching its intended audience and whether to scale it or not.

Impact

IPM is a more accurate measure of user app engagement than CTR (click-through rate), showing a more complete picture of the user journey. Also, users are less likely to accidentally click the install button than an ad during scrolling. However, it does not replace metrics such as CTR and other KPIs (key performance indicators) that must be looked at in conjunction with each other and as a whole.

Significance to Strategy Development

IPM is a handy indicator of an app’s early performance after launch. App developers and user acquisition managers should evaluate IMP results in conjunction with retention rates and other post-install metrics to gain a quality picture of app performance.

Formula

The formula for calculating Install Per Mille (IPM) is:

Install Per Mille (IPM) = (Total Installs ÷ Total Impressions) X 1,000

Example

An ad campaign for a newly launched social casino app received 25,000 impressions over 30 days. During this time there were 200 installs from these impressions. The IPM is 8 per thousand impressions. The ultimate IPM is 1000, everyone who saw the ad installed the app!

More Essential Mobile App Marketing KPIs:

Learn about the essential Key Performance Indicators to measure and improve your mobile app marketing acquisition, engagement, retention, conversion and campaign performance. Check out more KPI metrics to measure your app success:

•  App Installs  
• Average Order Value (AOV)  
• Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)  
• Cost Per Install, Cost Per Action and Customer
  Acquisition Cost (CPI, CPA, CAC)  
• Daily Active Users (DAUs) and Monthly Active
  Users (MAUs)  
• Install to Payer Conversion  
• Lifetime Value (LTV)  
• Purchase Frequency 
• Return On Ad Spend (ROAS)