Ad scheduling in Google Ads – why is it worth it?

What is an ad schedule?

Ad scheduling in Google Ads provides advertisers with the ability to specify the exact times and days when their ads will be displayed. This feature allows for highly targeted ad delivery, ensuring that ads are shown when the target audience is most engaged.

Ad schedule functions

Ad schedules let us:

Specify days and hours - define specific days of the week and times when we want our ads to be active.

Adjust bids - set different bids for different time periods, such as higher bids during peak hours when our competitors are most active or potential customers are more likely to engage with our offer.

Pause ads - completely pause ad display during specific hours or days, such as overnight or on weekends. This is useful when no one from our company is available to respond to emails or calls, preventing situations where a potential customer is unable to contact us despite seeing an active ad.

Ad scheduling - why should you use it?

We've established what an ad schedule in Google Ads is and its capabilities. Let's delve into the reasons why it's beneficial to implement one. By utilizing an ad schedule, we can:

Optimize our budget - focus our spending on the hours and days when ads perform best, and pause them during periods when they are unlikely to reach our target audience, thus preventing wasted ad spend.

Increase campaign efficiency - enhance campaign effectiveness by aligning ad display with times when potential customers are more likely to make a purchase.

Avoid wasting ad spend - prevent wasted ad spend by pausing ads during off-peak hours, when competition is low, or when our business is closed and no one is available to respond to inquiries. This also helps maintain a positive brand image, especially if we emphasize fast response times.

💡 Examples of ad scheduling usage

Online clothing store - if we know our customers typically shop in the evenings after work, we can set higher bids for ads between 6:00 PM and 10:00 PM.

Service-based company - if we offer services that are more in demand on weekends, we can focus our ads on Saturdays and Sundays.

Hotels and accommodations - adjusting to seasonality - for tourist destinations, ads should be more intensive during the summer or winter seasons, and limited during the low season.

Restaurants - it's worth increasing the ad budget during lunch and dinner hours to reach people looking for a place to eat. Additionally, if there are regular events in a given location (e.g., concerts, festivals), restaurants can increase the visibility of their ads during those specific periods.

Fitness industry - gyms and fitness clubs can consider increasing the visibility of their ads during the morning and afternoon hours when people most often exercise.

How to set ad scheduling?

1. Log in to your Google Ads account.
2. Select the campaign you want to adjust.
3. In the upper right corner, click on ⚙️ Campaign settings.
4. Find the Ad schedule option.
5. Set your preferred ad display times. Remember, the ad schedule is based on your account's time zone, so adjust it to match the time zone of your target audience.
6. Save your changes. Your ad schedule is now set.

To sum up, Google Ads' ad scheduling feature is a valuable tool that enables advertisers to optimize their campaigns by tailoring ad display to specific times. This leads to improved campaign performance and a better return on investment.

➡️ Read also: When can a Google Ads account be suspended?