What you can control
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Days | Turns ads on or off for each day of the week |
| Hours | Limits ads to set time blocks, up to six per day |
| Bid adjustments | Raises or lowers bids during set hours |
| Time zone | Follows the account time zone, set once |
Things that trip people up
A block that crosses midnight needs two entries, one before and one after. A schedule only allows ads, so if nobody searches at 3 a.m., nothing shows. Google also paces monthly spend at about 30.4 times your daily budget, even when ads run only on weekdays.
Schedules and Smart Bidding
Smart Bidding ignores manual bid adjustments by hour, since it sets bids for each auction. It still follows your schedule. With Smart Bidding, use the schedule only to switch ads off when you really cannot take leads.
How to choose your hours
- ReportCheck leads by hour and day of week.
- CompareFind hours with costly leads or none.
- CutPause hours that never produce leads.
- ReviewRecheck the numbers every quarter.
Good example. A dental office runs ads from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Saturday mornings, when staff can book appointments.
Bad example. A dental office runs ads all night. People call, reach voicemail and book with a competitor in the morning.
Read whether to run ads 24/7 or business hours. Our Google Ads management sets schedules from your lead data.