Frequency Cap
Also known as: Frequency Capping
A frequency cap limits how many times the same person can be shown your ad within a set time period.
What it actually means
A frequency cap is a delivery rule — for example, no more than two impressions per person every seven days — that stops the algorithm from hammering the same individuals. Without one, small audiences absorb impressions rapidly, fatigue sets in, and the same budget buys shrinking returns from increasingly annoyed viewers. On Meta, explicit caps are available in reach-and-frequency and awareness buying, while conversion campaigns manage frequency indirectly, so advertisers watch the frequency metric and rotate creative when it climbs. Caps are most valuable in retargeting, where the audience is tiny and the line between a helpful reminder and stalking is measured in impressions.
When you're retargeting the 400 people who visited your booking page, a frequency cap is the difference between a gentle nudge and being 'that ad' everyone in the neighborhood is sick of seeing.
Related terms
Frequency is the average number of times each person saw your ad, calculated as impressions divided by reach.
Ad fatigue is the decline in ad performance that occurs when an audience has seen the same creative too many times.
Reach is the number of unique people who saw your ad at least once during a given time period.
Retargeting is showing ads to people who have already interacted with your business — visited your site, watched a video, or engaged with your page.
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