Are your ads doing more harm than good? If you’ve ever wondered why your campaigns aren’t delivering the results you expected, you’re not alone. The biggest mistakes advertisers make are also the easiest to fix. Today, I’ll show you how to run ads that engage prospects and create sales—not annoy them. You’ll learn why some ads drive prospects away and how to fix it using my 3-7-30 rule. Here’s the kicker: there’s one mistake that could ruin even the best ad strategy. Stick around to find out what it is and how to avoid it.

Think about the last time you were at a party, and someone you just met wouldn’t stop talking to you. They follow you around, repeating the same stories, completely oblivious to your growing irritation.

That’s exactly what most businesses do with their ads, costing them a lot. This idea is backed by research in a paper called Trade-offs in Online Advertising: Advertising Effectiveness and Annoyance Dynamics Across the Purchase Funnel. It tells us what happens when you annoy your customers, why you’re doing it, and what you can do about it.

Here’s a common scenario: you’re running ads, spending good money, but the conversions start dropping. You’re frustrated, wondering why your campaigns aren’t working. The answer might be that you’re showing the same creative too many times, actually pushing potential customers away. Even if you’ve heard of frequency capping, you might be using outdated rules of thumb instead of clear guidelines that research has shown work.

The Research

Researchers studied 5,000 people’s reactions to online ads, discovering how we should approach running our ads. Here’s the first rule: for people just becoming aware of a product, showing the same ad three times made nearly 40% of them annoyed.

… But here’s where it gets interesting: people who have already shown interest—maybe they’ve visited your website or searched for similar items—are way more tolerant. Only about 3% of them get annoyed after three views. However, push it to seven views, and over half of them start getting irritated.

It’s like that TV commercial that plays every single break during your favorite show. It starts out fine, but by the end, you are desperate for something else, telling yourself, “I’ll never buy from that advertiser.”

But there’s nuance based on your audience. If you’re talking to a younger audience, every five-year drop in age can boost annoyance levels by 7.4%. Younger consumers grew up with countless notifications and ads, so they’re wired to tune out repetitive marketing.

On the other hand, wealthier audiences see a 6.1% jump in frustration for every additional $10,000 in income. They have more options and higher expectations, so they have no patience for being bombarded by the same ad. If you’re marketing to the affluent, setting your advertising limits lower pays off.

For more educated demographics, every extra year of schooling increases annoyance by 3%. They tend to be critical thinkers, and if you’re repeating the same message, they’ll notice and won’t be happy about it.

The 3-7-30 Rule

Now, let’s break down the 3-7-30 rule, a framework that can transform your ad strategy.

First, cap the exposure at three views for people at the awareness stage—those just discovering your brand. Why three? Because the majority of them aren’t ready for deeper engagement. Pushing more views too soon irritates them, causing brand damage and usually getting low ROI.

Next, for people who have already shown genuine interest—like those who visited your website or added something to their cart—you can increase the number of ads they see to seven views. At this point, they’re in research mode. Repeated exposure won’t bug them as quickly; in fact, they often welcome extra information. But don’t keep slamming them with the same ad. Use several different ads, each doing one of three things: talking about a different benefit of your product, answering a specific objection, or using testimonials.

Finally, no matter where your prospects are in your funnel, review your creative every 30 days. Consider if it needs a refresh. If any ads are showing fatigue or not performing like they used to, rotate them out. This ensures you’re not showing the same images and copy for too long—even to your loyal fans. People get bored quickly, and fresh angles keep you top of mind without becoming annoying.

When people first encounter your product, they’re passively receiving information. Repeated exposure feels like interruption. But once a prospect shows interest, everything changes. They want to learn more. Think about researching a new phone; you’ll happily look at multiple reviews and comparisons. But if that exact same ad keeps popping up, it becomes annoying. So, apply the 3-7-30 rule and you’ll not only save your ad budget but also scale your business.