Why Your CPM Is High

If you’re running ads and your CPM keeps climbing, you’re not alone. CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions) can go up even when your targeting and budget feel “normal.” The tricky part is this: a high CPM doesn’t always mean your campaign is failing but it does mean you’re paying more to reach people, so you need a clear plan.

Benefits Of CPC vs CPM

In this guide, we’ll explain why CPM gets high in simple terms, what usually causes it, and how to lower it without hurting results. If you’re working with a digital marketing agency singapore or managing ads in-house, this checklist will help you spot the problem faster.

First, what CPM actually means

CPM is the cost to show your ad 1,000 times.

So if your CPM is high, it means the platform is charging more to place your ad in front of people. This can happen for many reasons competition, targeting, ad quality, or even your landing page experience.

High CPM is common in digital marketing singapore campaigns where many brands compete for the same audience (especially during festive periods, major sales, or peak seasons).

1) You’re targeting an audience that’s too small

When your audience is tiny, platforms have fewer people to show ads to. That can push CPM up.

Common causes:

• Location too narrow + too many filters (age, interests, job titles, behaviours)

• Stacking too many exclusions

• Narrow retargeting pool (e.g., only 7-day website visitors)

A practical fix:

• Widen targeting slightly, then let the algorithm learn who responds.

• Use broad targeting with strong creative and messaging.

This is especially important in social media marketing campaigns where creative quality often matters more than super-tight targeting.

2) You’re in a competitive auction

CPM increases when more advertisers want the same audience. Think:

• Payday periods

• Holiday seasons (CNY, Hari Raya, Christmas)

• Big events and mega sales (9.9, 11.11, 12.12)

If you’re in a competitive niche, it may help to balance paid social with other channels like pay per click singapore so you’re not fully dependent on one platform’s auction.

3) Your ad is being judged as “low quality” 

Most platforms reward ads that people enjoy and engage with. If your ad gets ignored, your CPM can rise because the system thinks users don’t like seeing it.

Signals that can increase CPM:

• Low engagement (few clicks, saves, comments, shares)

• High “hide ad” or negative feedback

• Repetitive creatives that people have already seen too many times

Fixes that often help:

• Use fresh creatives more frequently (new hooks, new formats)

• Keep the message clear and simple

• Avoid “salesy” ads that feel pushy right away

If you need a proper system for this, use a creative testing approach and plug it into your broader social media marketing agency singapore plan.

4) Your frequency is too high

When the same audience keeps seeing the same ad, fatigue kicks in. Engagement drops, CPM can rise, and performance slows down.

Signs of ad fatigue:

• Frequency going up week by week

• CPM rising while CTR drops

• Conversions slowing even with stable spend

What to do:

• Rotate creatives (new angles, new visuals)

• Expand the audience slightly

• Refresh placements (feed + reels + stories instead of only one)

Many teams solve this faster with a consistent social media analytics and reporting routine so you catch the trend early instead of after performance drops.

5) You’re using the wrong objective for your goal

If you want leads but run a campaign optimised for engagement (or vice versa), the platform may push your ads into more expensive placements or less efficient delivery.

A simple rule:

• If you want enquiries, optimise for leads/conversions.

• If you want reach, optimise for reach.

• If you want sales, optimise for purchases.

When in doubt, align your funnel and tracking first (so the platform can optimise correctly). This is where technical setup matters and why conversion tracking is often paired with meta-ads-singapore management.

6) Your landing page experience is weak 

Even if CPM is a platform metric, your landing page affects the overall performance signals the platform sees especially conversion rate and post-click engagement. If many people click but leave quickly, your overall results weaken, and the system may stop prioritising your ads efficiently.

A fast, clear landing page supports better results across channels. If your site needs improvement, it’s worth looking at seo services singapore and technical seo together because site experience impacts both paid and organic growth.

7) Your creative isn’t matched to the audience stage

If you show a “Buy now” message to cold audiences, it often performs poorly. Cold audiences usually need a simpler first step (awareness → interest → action).

A better structure:

• Cold audience: problem + value + simple promise

• Warm audience: proof + benefits + offer

• Hot audience: urgency + clear CTA + friction-free page

Paper Cut Collective

If you want to build this properly, combine your paid strategy with strong content marketing agency support so every stage has the right content and messaging.

Quick checklist to lower CPM

Try these in order:

1. Widen your audience slightly

2. Refresh creatives (new hooks + formats)

3. Watch frequency and rotate ads before fatigue

4. Make sure your objective matches your goal

5. Improve landing page speed and clarity

6. Track results weekly with reporting

When all of these work together, you’ll usually see CPM stabilise and even if it stays high due to competition, your overall cost per lead/sale improves.

If your CPM is high and you want a clear fix plan (not random tweaks), explore our social media agency singapore and seo agency services, or start from the digital marketing companies in singapore approach where your ads, tracking, and website are optimised as one system.