Frequency Cap

Measured as

Measure Frequency Cap with a fixed attribution window, conversion event, and spend basis before comparing campaigns or creative tests.

Misused when

• Capping too aggressively and starving delivery (performance can look 'stable' but volume collapses).
• Using a cap instead of fixing the root cause (creative/offer mismatch or a too-narrow audience).

Operator takeaway

• Use caps when frequency rises and CTR/CVR decay, especially in small audiences.
• Combine caps with audience expansion and creative refresh to avoid simply throttling delivery.
• Retargeting can tolerate higher frequency than prospecting; cap by funnel stage.
• Use Frequency Cap only inside a stable attribution rule, conversion definition, and time window so campaign comparisons stay honest.
• If performance changes, check whether the metric moved for a real business reason or because the measurement setup changed underneath you.

Next decision

• Read Frequency and creative fatigue: diagnose performance decay and fix it if the decision depends on interpretation, policy, or trade-offs beyond the raw formula.
• Decide which report owns Frequency Cap before comparing campaigns, channels, or creative tests.