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For a given media plan, ReachPlanService
generates forecasts of how much it would cost to reach your audience. Media
plans are composed of demographic targeting, campaign duration, device types,
and a set of budgets allocated to various ad formats. The forecast is a curve of
reach and impression levels at increasing budgets. Subsequent pages in this
guide describe how to:
This guide assumes familiarity with Google Ads, media
planning and reach curves. The below list explains certain terms in more detail.
Term
Definition
Census Audience Size
The census size of an audience for your plan's given country, age
range, and gender.
Effective Frequency
The minimum number of times that a user is exposed to a YouTube
ad.
Effective CPM
The CPM for on-target impressions.
Frequency Cap Setting
Limits the number of times that the YouTube ad is served to the same
cookie-identified user during a specified time interval. The frequency
output can sometimes be higher than the frequency cap due to
cross-device and cookie latency.
On Target Impressions
Number of ad impressions. This only includes impressions that
exactly match the targeting.
On Target Reach
Number of unique people who may be reached at least the Effective
Frequency number of times. This only includes people who exactly match
the targeting.
Total Impressions
Number of ad impressions. This includes impressions that may fall
outside the specified Targeting, due to insufficient information on
signed-in users.
Total Reach
Number of unique people who may be reached at least the Effective
Frequency number of times. This includes people who may fall outside the
targeting.
YouTube Audience Size
The total commercially-reachable size of an audience on YouTube for
your plan's given country, age range, and gender.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-20 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThe \u003ccode\u003eReachPlanService\u003c/code\u003e forecasts the cost and reach of your media plan based on demographics, duration, devices, and budgets.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThis feature is currently available to allowlisted accounts only; contact your Google representative for access.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eYou can define your media plan, authenticate with the service, and generate reach curves using the provided resources and guides.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe glossary clarifies terms like 'Census Audience Size', 'Effective Frequency', and 'On Target Impressions' for better understanding.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["| **Important:** This feature is available to allowlisted accounts only. Contact your Google representative if you need access to the feature.\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\nFor a given media plan, [`ReachPlanService`](/google-ads/api/reference/rpc/v20/ReachPlanService)\ngenerates forecasts of how much it would cost to reach your audience. Media\nplans are composed of demographic targeting, campaign duration, device types,\nand a set of budgets allocated to various ad formats. The forecast is a curve of\nreach and impression levels at increasing budgets. Subsequent pages in this\nguide describe how to:\n\n- [Authenticate to the service](/google-ads/api/docs/reach-forecasting/authentication)\n- [Specify a media plan](/google-ads/api/docs/reach-forecasting/media-plan)\n- [Generate a curve](/google-ads/api/docs/reach-forecasting/generate-curve)\n\nGlossary of terms\n\nThis guide assumes familiarity with [Google Ads](https://ads.google.com), media\nplanning and reach curves. The below list explains certain terms in more detail.\n\n| Term | Definition |\n|-----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|\n| Census Audience Size | The census size of an audience for your plan's given country, age range, and gender. |\n| Effective Frequency | The minimum number of times that a user is exposed to a YouTube ad. |\n| Effective CPM | The CPM for on-target impressions. |\n| Frequency Cap Setting | Limits the number of times that the YouTube ad is served to the same cookie-identified user during a specified time interval. The frequency output can sometimes be higher than the frequency cap due to cross-device and cookie latency. |\n| On Target Impressions | Number of ad impressions. This only includes impressions that exactly match the targeting. |\n| On Target Reach | Number of unique people who may be reached at least the Effective Frequency number of times. This only includes people who exactly match the targeting. |\n| Total Impressions | Number of ad impressions. This includes impressions that may fall outside the specified Targeting, due to insufficient information on signed-in users. |\n| Total Reach | Number of unique people who may be reached at least the Effective Frequency number of times. This includes people who may fall outside the targeting. |\n| YouTube Audience Size | The total commercially-reachable size of an audience on YouTube for your plan's given country, age range, and gender. |"]]
