What is Frequency?
Frequency is the average number of times a person saw your ad in a period.
Understanding Frequency
Frequency is calculated as impressions divided by reach over a defined period. It describes how often the average person saw your ad, which affects recall and fatigue. Too low and people miss the message; too high and performance can drop as the audience tunes out. Read frequency by placement and audience since norms differ across contexts. Track alongside recall, CTR, CVR, and CPA to understand when additional exposures still help.
Catalog rotation (multiple SKUs/templates) keeps frequency healthier at the same spend by varying what people see. Creative refreshes that change hooks and visuals reduce fatigue without abandoning proven structure. Audience expansion can disperse impressions before costs rise. Device and placement differences matter; vertical video often tolerates different ranges than feed static. Document target ranges by objective so teams know when to act.
Why frequency matters
Frequency matters because repetition can build recall, but overexposure wastes budget and hurts sentiment. The right range boosts efficiency by balancing presence and freshness. Clear targets keep optimization focused on outcomes instead of arbitrary caps.
- Recall: Some repetition is good.
- Fatigue: Too much hurts performance and sentiment.
How frequency works
Frequency works by distributing impressions across people and time, influenced by budget, audience size, and creative rotation. As budgets rise against fixed audiences, frequency climbs quickly unless reach expands. Platforms optimize delivery using predicted value, which can concentrate spend and raise frequency in high‑performing pockets. Creative and product variation reset attention so additional exposures stay productive. When frequency rises without improvement in CTR/CVR, expand audiences or placements to disperse impressions. Monitor ranges weekly and set triggers for refresh or expansion.
Key Takeaways
- Frequency measures how many times the average person sees your ad within a given period.
- High frequency without creative refresh leads to fatigue and declining performance.
- Rotate creative regularly, expand audiences, and use frequency caps to manage exposure.
- Track frequency by campaign and creative variant to identify when to refresh or retire assets.
