Frequency Capping
An advertising control that limits the number of times a specific user sees the same ad within a defined time period.
Definition
Frequency capping is a campaign management feature that restricts how many times an individual user is exposed to the same advertisement within a specified timeframe. Advertisers set these limits — such as three impressions per user per day or ten per week — to prevent overexposure that can lead to ad fatigue, negative brand perception, and wasted spend.
Frequency caps can be applied at the campaign level, ad group level, or individual creative level. They are tracked using cookies, device IDs, or logged-in user data to identify unique viewers across browsing sessions.
Why It Matters
Without frequency capping, heavy internet users may see the same ad dozens of times, creating annoyance and diminishing returns. Research consistently shows that ad effectiveness peaks within the first few exposures and declines sharply after that, eventually becoming counterproductive.
Smart frequency management ensures that advertising budgets reach the maximum number of unique users rather than repeatedly targeting the same individuals, improving overall campaign reach and efficiency.
Examples in Practice
A travel company caps their retargeting ads at five impressions per user per week, finding through testing that conversions drop significantly after the fifth exposure while negative feedback increases.
An awareness campaign sets a higher frequency cap of twelve impressions per month because their creative message requires repetition to build familiarity with a new brand name.
A media planner uses cross-platform frequency data to discover that some users are seeing their client ads 40+ times across different channels, and implements unified frequency caps that reduce waste by 20%.