Most digital campaign strategies start with the same question: Who are we trying to reach?

It’s a solid starting point but not the full picture.

Crafting an effective ad targeting strategy isn’t just about identifying your best prospects. It’s also about understanding which segments actively drag down performance. These are the users who ignore your ads, click but never convert, or worse have already taken action and don’t need to see your ad again.

Audience suppression works as a broom for advertisers. It helps you reduce ad waste by excluding the users that inflate impression counts, lower CTRs, and drive up CPAs. Basically, the ones quietly eating up your budget with zero payoff.

It allows your campaigns to stay focused on high-value users — the ones most likely to engage, convert, or drive repeat business.

Many advertisers already have the data they need to suppress these low-value audiences. They’re just not applying it.

So, who exactly should you suppress?

1. Recent Buyers

These users have already converted. Showing them the same offer again isn’t just wasteful, it can feel spammy. Suppressing recent purchasers not only helps reduce ad waste, but it also respects your customers’ journey. Better yet, shift them into a new funnel — maybe for upsell or loyalty instead.

2. Churned or Unengaged Users

Churned customer targeting can be expensive if done without intent signals. Retargeting customers or segments who haven’t engaged in months or show intent signals that indicate they’ve recently purchased your category of product/service doesn’t move the needle; it only drains your budget. Suppressing these users allows you to reinvest in high-intent audiences who are more likely to act now.

3. Low-Intent Browsers

Site visitors who bounce in under 5 seconds or don’t explore beyond a landing page often signal weak interest. Without additional qualifying behavior, retargeting these users can turn into a black hole of spend. Consider deprioritizing or suppressing them until they show clearer intent. Low intent user suppression gives you room to prioritize users who are truly ready to engage.

4. Ineligible Audiences

Legal and compliance concerns matter everywhere, especially in highly regulated industries like healthcare, alcohol, gambling, or finance. Suppression helps you proactively avoid showing ads to users who shouldn’t be seeing them in the first place, whether it’s due to age, geography, compliance or other restrictions.

Your existing data knows who to suppress. You just haven’t used it yet.

Most brands already collect the behavioral, transactional, and CRM data needed to suppress intelligently. They’re just not putting it to work.

Your existing customer data, loyalty program records, lead-scoring models, even unsubscribed lists — these are gold mines for suppression logic. When integrated with your DSP or platform, this data can ensure your ads skip the wrong people and show up where they’ll count.

Audience suppression doesn’t mean “never” — it means “not now”

Here’s the nuance: suppression doesn’t have to be permanent. It’s about ad targeting strategy and timing. A user who’s a poor fit today might become high-value next quarter. With good suppression logic, you’re simply saying: “This audience isn’t right — right now.”

That flexibility is key to smarter budgeting and better campaign control.