Media Planner
A media plan is a set of bets across channels, each with its own price and its own pull-through. Split the budget, set each channel’s CPM, click-through and conversion rate, and the plan shows where every dollar buys the cheapest outcome.
A media plan flows in one direction: budget → impressions → clicks → conversions. For each channel, spend ÷ CPM × 1,000 gives impressions, × click-through rate gives clicks, × conversion rate gives conversions. Summing across channels yields total volume and a blended CPA, and comparing per-channel CPA shows where to lean in. The planner assumes linear scaling, so treat the cheapest channel as a place to test more, not a place to dump the budget.
Media Planner inputs and result
| Channel | Spend | Impressions | Clicks | Conversions | CPA |
|---|
How to use this calculator
- Set the total budgetEnter the full media budget you have to allocate. The planner distributes it across channels by the percentages you set.
- Allocate by channelGive search, paid social and display each a share of the budget. Aim for the three to total 100% — the planner flags it if they do not.
- Enter each channel’s economicsSet CPM, click-through rate and conversion rate per channel. These are the assumptions the whole plan rests on, so pull them from your own data where you can.
- Compare per-channel CPARead the channel table: it shows impressions, clicks, conversions and cost per conversion side by side, so the efficient channels are obvious.
- Export the planCopy a share link, download the CSV for your media schedule, or print the PDF for the planning meeting.
RGM Expert Says
The value of a media plan is not the forecast — it is the argument it forces. The moment you put CPM, click-through and conversion side by side across channels, the assumptions you have been carrying loosely become numbers you have to defend. We use this planner in the first working session precisely to surface where someone has been optimistic about a channel they like.
The trap is treating the cheapest modeled CPA as a verdict. The math here is linear: it assumes the millionth impression converts as well as the first. Real channels do not behave that way — CPMs rise and conversion rates soften as you push past the high-intent core of an audience. So we read the cheapest channel as the best place to run the next test, then re-plan with the real curve once the spend has taught us where it bends.
We also push clients to plan in conversions, not impressions. It is easy to buy a billion cheap impressions and feel productive; it is harder, and far more useful, to ask what each channel actually contributes to the conversion line. Holding every channel to a CPA keeps the plan tied to outcomes instead of reach for its own sake.
How it works
For each channel the planner runs the same chain, then sums the channels and divides spend by conversions for the blended cost.
- Total budget — the media spend to allocate across channels.
- Channel % — each channel’s share of the budget.
- CPM — cost per 1,000 impressions for the channel.
- CTR and CVR — click-through rate and the conversion rate on those clicks.
The planner assumes linear scaling — CPM, CTR and CVR are held constant as spend rises. Math is rounded for display; the model uses full-precision values.
Plan in conversions, and respect the scaling curve
The most common media-planning mistake is summing platform-reported conversions and believing the total. Channels overlap and each platform claims credit for the same buyer, so the sum overstates reality. A plan built from your own blended CPA — total spend over total conversions — sidesteps that double-counting and keeps the number honest.
The second mistake is assuming a channel scales forever at its test efficiency. Spend always meets diminishing returns: the high-intent audience is finite, CPMs climb in auctions, and conversion rates fall as you reach colder users. A plan that holds CPA flat from the first dollar to the last will overstate the volume a big budget can buy.
Used well, though, the planner is a fast way to compare bets. Seeing search, social and display in one table — with cost per conversion side by side — turns a vague mix debate into a concrete reallocation you can test, measure, and re-plan against real curves.
Reading the channel table
CPMs, click-through and conversion rates vary widely by platform, format, geography and audience. Use your own data; the bands below are only a rough orientation.
| Channel type | Typical role |
|---|---|
| Search | High intent, higher CPM, strong CVR |
| Paid social | Mid-funnel reach, mid CPM and CTR |
| Display / video | Low CPM awareness, low CTR and CVR |
| Blended CPA | The only cross-channel comparison that travels |
What operators say about media plans
Judge the mix on blended efficiency against the business, not on each platform’s self-reported, double-counted conversions.
Every channel has a point where the next dollar works less hard; a good plan knows where that bend is.