In brief
Frequency is the average number of times a person sees your ad. You get it by dividing impressions by reach.
Why it matters
At first, repeating a message helps it stick. Beyond a certain point people get tired of it: the click rate falls and the cost per result rises.
The main settings
- Frequency control: it limits how many times the same person sees the ad over a period. It is offered depending on the objective and the buying type.
- Awareness: frequency matters more, since the goal is recall.
A concrete example
A brand promotes a concert in a mid-sized city with a narrow audience. After a week, frequency exceeds 6 and the cost per click rises. Widening the audience or refreshing the creative works better than raising the budget.
Pitfalls to avoid
- An audience that is too small: the same people see the ad over and over.
- Letting the same creative run too long without refreshing it.
- Capping too low: delivery slows down and the budget is no longer spent.
Key takeaways
- A frequency that rises while results fall signals fatigue.
- Widen the audience or change the creative before capping.
- A frequency that is too low may mean the message is seen too little to be remembered.
Practice in TRIALO
Run a campaign on a very narrow audience, then run it again on a broad one. Compare frequency and cost per result.