In digital advertising, reaching the right audience is only the beginning. Even the most well-targeted campaign can underperform if strategy stops at audience segmentation. 

To truly drive results and lower your Cost-Per-Action (CPA), you need to go beyond who you’re reaching and focus on what you’re saying and how often. Here are three, often overlooked, ways to improve digital ad performance:

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1. Frequency: When In Doubt Start Earlier

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Repeated exposure drives memory, recognition, and ultimately conversion. It’s no longer enough for your audience to see your ad once or twice during a campaign. Multiple exposures across channels are what will end up making a real difference.

According to The Trade Desk, the optimal frequency range for performance is 6 to 20 exposures per user per week, depending on your channel mix and goals especially in a crowded digital environment. 

Want your audience to remember you and take action? Start early, advertise consistently, and monitor your frequency cap to avoid burnout.

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2. Personalization and Variation Drive Down Costs

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One message does not fit all. Platform data makes it clear: running multiple ad versions improves performance and lowers costs.

• According to Meta, ad sets with 3–5 creative variations significantly outperform those with fewer creatives. These campaigns experience up to 32% lower cost per result.
  
  
• Google’s internal research shows that advertisers who run 4 or more ad variations in Performance Max campaigns see 20% more conversions and up to 18% lower CPA.

• Internal data from BattlegroundAI also shows that variations and personalizations improved results in two case studies, lowering CPMs between 9% - 18% (and improving Click-Through-Rate by 5%). 

Want to cut costs while boosting results? Personalize messaging, test variations, and let platform algorithms optimize delivery.

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3. Keep Ads Fresh: Fight Fatigue 

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Even the best creative will wear out in a crowded media landscape (like the lead up to Election Day). Digital ads tend to fatigue faster than traditional formats, and while it may vary across platforms it’s best to re-evaluate creative assets within 14 days. This may be seen with increasing costs and decrease in performance. 

To avoid this:

• Refresh your creative assets at least every 2 weeks.
  
  
• Swap in new visuals, headlines, or formats (e.g., from static to GIFs).
  
  
• Use performance data to guide what gets paused or rotated in.
  
  

Consistent creative updates maintain momentum and give you more insights into what truly works.

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Combine All Three 

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These strategies don’t work in isolation. Optimize your entire advertising experience. 

• Creative variation increases relevance and lowers cost.
• High frequency builds memory.
• Regular refresh cycles sustain attention and engagement.

If you want your digital ads to perform at the highest level—especially in crowded, competitive spaces -- focus on personalized messaging,  how often people see your message, and how fresh your content remains throughout the campaign.

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