What you see
Spend and frequency rise while reported unique reach and verified first orders remain flat.
Check this first
Compare reach, frequency, and first orders over the same reporting window.
Data needed
- Spend, impressions, and source-reported unique reach for each full period
- Verified first orders
- Campaign purpose, audience settings, and ad start dates
Run the check
- #1
Use equal-length periods and the same source reporting grain.
- #2
Trend spend, reach, frequency, and mature first orders.
- #3
Check whether response per impression fell across ads or mainly on older ads.
- #4
Inspect audience changes and test a new audience or message only if the evidence supports it.
Calculate
Use source-reported unique reach for the full selected window. Never add daily unique reach or sum reach across platforms. Compare indexed trends rather than unlike units on one scale.
Compare groups
- Audience
- Campaign purpose
- Creative age as an investigation slice
- Placement and reporting window
What a healthy result looks like
Added spend reaches additional eligible people or improves customer outcomes at acceptable cost. Repeated exposure can be useful.
When to investigate
Use the audience’s own matched-period pattern and economic result. There is no universal unhealthy frequency value.
Possible causes
- The available audience is small relative to spend.
- Response fell mainly on older ads.
Rule out these explanations
- A short planned launch
- Changed reach estimation or reporting windows
- A repeat-purchase campaign with a different goal
What to do next
Test the specific audience or response concern. Use customer outcomes to decide whether to keep the change.
What this check can tell you
Reported reach may be estimated. This comparison doesn't prove that all useful demand has been exhausted.
Use this check with AI
Run a read-only check for: More spend reaches the same people without adding first orders. First confirm the available sources, columns, row grain, date basis, currency, and customer definition. Use only authorized data. Required inputs: Spend, impressions, and source-reported unique reach for each full period; Verified first orders; Campaign purpose, audience settings, and ad start dates. Check: Spend and frequency rise while reported unique reach and verified first orders remain flat. Calculate: Use source-reported unique reach for the full selected window. Never add daily unique reach or sum reach across platforms. Compare indexed trends rather than unlike units on one scale. Slice by: Audience; Campaign purpose; Creative age as an investigation slice; Placement and reporting window. Use this comparison rule: Use the audience’s own matched-period pattern and economic result. There is no universal unhealthy frequency value. Show the source totals, calculation, unknown groups, missing inputs, and result. Don't invent fields, thresholds, customer matches, or causal effects. Rule out: A short planned launch; Changed reach estimation or reporting windows; A repeat-purchase campaign with a different goal. Describe the observed signal separately from possible explanations. If the check is incomplete, state the exact data needed. Make no account or budget changes.