What is AFOV (Average Frequency of View)?
AFOV is the average number of times someone saw your ad over a period. It helps you balance visibility with fatigue. Set guardrails so you show up often enough to convert, not so often that performance drops.
Understanding AFOV
Frequency is a core driver of outcomes: too low and people miss you; too high and they tune you out. AFOV provides an account‑ or campaign‑level read on exposure density so you can balance visibility with fatigue. Because people consume content in different contexts and speeds, the same AFOV can perform differently by placement or audience. Read AFOV alongside recall, CTR, and CPA to understand when additional exposures still help. Creative variety matters: fresh hooks and product rotation keep engagement high at similar AFOV.
Catalog ads naturally mitigate fatigue by rotating SKUs and templates, which keeps AFOV healthier at the same spend. Message match and product fit also influence how often you can show up before diminishing returns. Clear branding and fast opens help repeated exposures work instead of annoy. Device differences matter—mobile feeds may saturate faster than desktop. Document your AFOV ranges by objective so teams know when to expand reach or refresh creative.
Why AFOV matters
Managing AFOV improves efficiency and brand experience across campaigns. It helps allocate spend between reach expansion and creative rotation at the right moments. It also reduces waste by flagging when extra impressions no longer change outcomes.
- Conversion: Multiple exposures can lift recall and action up to a point.
- Cost: Excess frequency drives up CPM/CPC without incremental conversions.
- Creative freshness: Rotating products and designs combats fatigue.
How AFOV works
Platforms compute frequency as impressions divided by reach within a time window, and AFOV is the average across your audience. Interpreting AFOV requires context: placement, audience size, and creative mix all change what’s sustainable. Prospecting typically tolerates lower AFOV than retargeting, where repeated exposures can help. When AFOV rises without outcome gains, expand reach, rotate hooks, or add placements. Catalog rotation and dynamic templates keep variety high without manual rebuilds. Track AFOV trends weekly and set thresholds to trigger action.
Key Takeaways
- AFOV (average frequency of view) measures how many times the average viewer sees your ad.
- High AFOV without creative refreshes leads to fatigue and declining performance.
- Rotate creative regularly and expand audiences to manage frequency naturally.
- Use catalog templates to generate fresh variants and sustain AFOV without manual work.
