What is ad frequency?
Frequency is the average number of times each person in your audience sees your ad. To find it, divide total impressions by reach, which is the number of unique people who saw the ad.
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How to calculate Frequency
Divide total impressions by reach, the number of unique people who saw the ad.
Why frequency matters
Seeing an ad more than once can help people notice and remember it. Seeing it too often can annoy people and waste money on repeat exposure.
Frequency helps you find the balance. It's most useful for awareness campaigns, where the goal is to reach many people enough times to make an impression.
Finding the right level
There's no ideal number that fits every campaign. It depends on your offer, your creative, and how long the campaign runs.
Watch for signs of fatigue as frequency rises, such as falling click-through rate or rising cost per result. Those suggest it's time to refresh the creative or widen the audience.
Controlling frequency
A frequency cap limits how many times one person sees your ad in a set period. Some platforms also manage this for you based on your campaign goal.
Disclaimer
This calculator is for informational purposes only, and we don't guarantee the accuracy of its results. You're responsible for verifying any results before relying on them. See our terms of use.
Common questions
How do you calculate frequency?
Divide impressions by reach. For example, 300,000 impressions across 100,000 people is a frequency of 3.
What is a good ad frequency?
It depends on the campaign, creative, and goal. Rather than aim for a fixed number, watch performance as frequency rises and act when results fall.
What is the difference between reach and frequency?
Reach counts unique people who saw your ad, and frequency counts how many times they saw it on average. Together they explain your total impressions.
What is ad fatigue?
Ad fatigue is when people have seen an ad so often that they stop responding to it. Rising frequency alongside falling results is a common sign.
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