Google Releases New Frequency Reporting Metrics for Video Campaigns

Monica Simmons - October 26, 2020

Google recently announced that new reporting metrics are now available within the Google Ads platform to better report on video campaigns; more specifically, to report on video ad frequency. Since serving ads in excess can be a waste of marketing dollars (as well as a frustration to potential clients / customers), it’s important to be able to really understand how many users are seeing ads – and how often.

1. Frequency Distribution

The first new metric available is frequency distribution. Most simply put, frequency distribution breaks down how many people saw your ad a certain number of times over a particular date range of your selection. There are 6 possibilities that each user can fall in: 1+, 2+, 3+, 4+, 5+, and 10+ ads served. For example, if a user has seen your ad 5 times, they will be included in the 1+, 2+, 3+, 4+ and 5+ columns. Note that the 1+ column is equivalent to unique reach. Below is an example of how this is reported within the interface:

In addition, you can hover over the number shown in each of the columns to see more data in a visual format, which also specifies the percentage of users within each range:

With this new approach to frequency reporting, you can now get a more in-depth look at how each campaign ad is being served, and to who, to help with both frequency capping as well as indicating the appropriateness of your target audience size.

2. Average Impression Frequency per User

The next updated metric is average impression frequency per user. This metric will show how often a user saw your ad in either a 7-day or 30-day window within a given time frame of your selection. You can use this metric while your video campaign is still active to see how frequency might change over the length of the flight (comparing 7 days to 30 days), or once your campaign is complete to report on trends throughout the length of the campaign. Below is an example of how this is reported within the interface:

Similar to the frequency distribution metric, when hovering over the average impression frequency, Google provides more information in a visual format to show how the frequency has changed over the given date range:

Again, these new metrics will help to analyze both the need for frequency capping as well as any opportunities to broaden or tighten your targeted audience. To utilize any of these new metrics, simply update your columns at the campaign level to include “frequency distribution”, “avg. impr. freq. / user (7 days)” or “avg. impr. freq. / user (30 days)”.

To learn more about digital advertising opportunities, please reach out to the experts at MoreVisibility.