Metrics & NumbersFrequency
What is Frequency? Safe Limits and Signs of Ad Fatigue
Also known as: ad frequency
Short answer
Frequency is how many times one person sees your ad on average within a period. A frequency of 3 means each person in your audience saw that ad about three times. Too much frequency tires the audience and pushes cost up.
Formula
Frequency = Impressions / Reach
Example
An ad produces 60,000 impressions across 20,000 people. Frequency = 60,000 / 20,000 = 3.
The simple way to think about it
Frequency is how many times your neighbour has heard the same story from you. Once is interesting. Three times is fine. Ten times and they cross the street.
How to read it
| Frequency | CTR | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Rising | Falling | The creative is spent, change it now |
| Rising | Flat | Still safe, watch another week |
| Flat | Falling | The audience shifted or a competitor entered |
| Falling | Rising | The new creative is working |
What to do when frequency runs high
- Change the creative, not just the headline.
- Widen the audience or add a new one.
- Exclude people who already bought, so budget is not wasted.
Frequently asked questions
- What frequency is still safe?
- On prospecting campaigns, 1 to 2 a week is reasonable. Above 3 to 4 a week, CTR usually starts falling and CPA starts rising. Retargeting tolerates more, because the audience is small and already knows you.
- My frequency is high. What should I do?
- Pick one of three: widen the audience, change the creative, or lower the daily budget. Adding budget to the same audience only pushes frequency up faster.
- How does frequency relate to ad fatigue?
- Ad fatigue is the effect; frequency is the cause you can measure most easily. Frequency rising while CTR falls, at the same time, is the clearest sign the creative must change.
Related terms
Your ad numbers are only as accurate as the data behind them
Konektor captures the Click ID and sends conversions that close on WhatsApp, over the phone, or in a shop back to the ad platform.