Metric — Frequency
Frequency = impressions / reach. Avg views per user. Healthy 1.5-3 prospecting. > 5 = fatigue. Action: refresh / pause / broaden.
Written By Salvatore Sinigaglia
Last updated About 5 hours ago
Frequency = impressions / reach. Avg views per user. Healthy 1.5-3 prospecting. > 5 = fatigue. Action: refresh / pause / broaden.
Metric — Frequency
Frequency = impressions ÷ reach. The average number of times each unique user saw the ad. Healthy range: 1.5-3 per week typical for prospecting; higher for retargeting (where you intentionally hit the same user repeatedly). Fatigue signal: frequency > 5 + CTR drop > 30% from launch = your creative is exhausted; refresh or broaden audience.
Who is this for
Anyone reading the frequency column and unsure what's "good" or what to do when it's high.
What frequency measures
Frequency = Impressions ÷ ReachIf reach = 100 users and impressions = 250, frequency = 2.5 — on average each user saw the ad 2.5 times.
Distinct from delivery frequency (cron, polling, etc.) — this is ad-frequency only.
Why it matters
Each user has limited tolerance for seeing the same ad. Beyond a threshold:
- CTR decays (people scroll past after seeing it multiple times)
- Ad fatigue sets in (negative sentiment, "blindness")
- CPC rises (auction systems detect declining engagement)
- Brand fatigue in worst cases (negative brand perception)
Watching frequency lets you intervene before efficiency tanks.
Healthy ranges
By campaign type:
Per platform:
Fatigue signals to watch
Signal 1: CTR decay vs launch
If CTR drops > 30% from launch CTR (e.g. from 2.5% to 1.5%): fatigue likely.
Signal 2: Frequency > 5 for last 7 days
Hard threshold. Beyond 5/week, most audiences are saturated.
Signal 3: CPC rising while spend pacing stable
Auction systems penalize fatigued ads. Rising CPC = signal.
Signal 4: Negative comments / hide-ad reports
Platform-side feedback (if visible). Signal of audience annoyance.
Actions
Refresh creative
Most common. Generate new variants via ch-113 images / ch-114 videos. Pause old, launch new.
Broaden audience
Same creative, larger audience = more fresh users seeing it. Reduces frequency by spreading impressions.
Pause adset
For badly fatigued: pause + let audience reset. Re-launch later (different season, new creative concept).
Rules-based automation
Create a rule:
IF frequency > 5 FOR last_7dTHEN pause adsetCOOLDOWN 720 minSee rul-116 best practices for the frequency-cap recipe.
Distinct from related metrics
You can have:
- Same impressions, different reach + frequency
- 1000 impressions / 500 reach = freq 2
- 1000 impressions / 100 reach = freq 10
When higher frequency is OK
Retargeting
Hitting warm audiences (cart abandoners, past visitors) intentionally with higher frequency — they need multiple touches to convert.
Brand campaigns
Higher freq for memorability ("Top of mind"). Different optimization goal than direct response.
New product launch
First week of launch, intentionally high freq to seed awareness — then expand audience to dilute.
When lower frequency is required
Top-of-funnel awareness
Maximize reach, minimize freq. Goal: tell as many people as possible at least once.
Sensitive verticals
Health, finance, regulated industries — higher freq risks annoyance + complaints.
High-creative-fatigue verticals
Fashion, lifestyle — creative cycles fast; freq > 3 = stale rapidly.
Cross-platform frequency comparison
Don't compare freq 1:1 across platforms:
- Meta + Google + TikTok have different ad densities
- Same freq = different perceived intensity per platform
Compare within platform across time + audiences.
What you'll see in Wevion
- Single Platform widgets (analytics): frequency column in row-level grids
- Ads Manager: per-row frequency
- Rules: condition on
frequencymetric (see rul-103) - Notifications:
CREATIVE_FATIGUEnotification when threshold crossed (PRD-21)
Common questions
Why does my frequency seem high after only 2 days?
Small audience + high spend = each user gets hit multiple times fast. Either broaden audience OR throttle spend.
Can I cap frequency at the platform level?
Some platforms (Meta) allow per-adset frequency cap setting. Use sparingly — too low cap = under-delivery.
Wevion vs platform UI frequency — why different?
Possibly: postback lag, attribution window, currency conversion (no — currency doesn't affect freq). Most likely: 15-min sync lag.
Does freq apply to video views?
Yes — but compute differently (video view definition per-platform varies).
FAQ
What is a healthy ad frequency in Wevion?
A healthy frequency depends on campaign type: 1.5-3 per week for prospecting (cold audiences), 3-7 for retargeting where you intentionally hit warm users repeatedly, 1.5-2 for brand awareness, and 2-4 for direct response. Frequency is impressions ÷ reach, so Wevion shows the average number of times each unique user saw your ad.
When does frequency signal creative fatigue?
Frequency signals fatigue when it exceeds 5 over the last 7 days combined with a CTR drop greater than 30% from launch — your creative is exhausted. Other signals include CPC rising while spend pacing stays stable, and negative comments or hide-ad reports. The fix is to refresh creative, broaden the audience, or pause the adset.
How do I automate a frequency cap in Wevion?
Use Wevion's Rules Engine: create a rule such as IF frequency > 5 FOR last_7d THEN pause adset with a 720-minute cooldown. This lets Wevion pause saturated adsets automatically instead of you monitoring manually. See rul-116 best practices for the full frequency-cap recipe.
Where does Wevion display the frequency metric?
Frequency appears in several places in Wevion: Single Platform analytics widgets show a frequency column in row-level grids, Ads Manager shows per-row frequency, and the Rules Engine offers a condition on the frequency metric. Wevion also sends a CREATIVE_FATIGUE notification when the threshold is crossed, so you can act before efficiency drops.