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Are your Google Ads missing the mark despite you spending hours optimizing keywords and crafting the perfect copy? If you’re not paying attention to your Google ads schedule, you’re likely losing valuable clicks and wasting money.
Timing can make or break your ad performance, especially if you have a small business with a limited budget.
So, let’s dive into how strategically scheduling your Google Ads can save money and improve results, all without breaking a sweat.
Why Google Ads Scheduling Matters for Small Businesses
If you’ve been running ads without setting up a tailored schedule, you’re leaving your Google ads campaign‘s success to chance.
Many small businesses operate within niche hours, and failing to consider this can result in paying for clicks that don’t convert.
Setting up a smart Google Ads schedule can:
- Increase ad relevance by showing ads when your target audience is most active
- Prevent budget drains by avoiding low-traffic hours
- Help you capitalize on peak conversion times
So, let’s walk you through everything you need to know about creating an optimal ad schedule that aligns with your business goals.
Setting the Foundation: Understanding Google Ads Scheduling
Before you can start optimizing your Google ads schedule, it’s important to understand how it works. Google Ads offers an “Ad Schedule” feature that allows you to set specific days and times when your ads should be shown.
You can tailor this based on your business hours or when your target audience is most likely to be online. For instance, a restaurant might want to run ads during lunch and dinner hours.
Meanwhile, an ecommerce store could find more success running ads during peak shopping periods like evenings and weekends.
Here’s why using this feature is crucial:
- Higher Conversion Rates: Ads appearing at the right time get more clicks and conversions.
- Budget Optimization: Prevent your budget from being wasted on hours when fewer people are likely to convert.
Google estimated that businesses make an average of $8 in profit for every $1 spent on Google Ads. This makes it all the more important to optimize your schedule for maximum ROI.
Instead of letting your ads run 24/7, you can use the data to your advantage and focus your budget where it counts the most.
Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up a Google Ads Schedule
1. Analyze Audience Behavior
Before setting up your Google ads schedule, gather data on when your target audience is most active. Google Analytics and Google Ads Reports are perfect for this. Look at past campaigns and analyze performance data for different days of the week and times of day.
Key Insights to Look For:
- Which days of the week bring the highest conversions?
- What time of day yields the most traffic and engagement?
- Do certain seasons or months impact your audience’s online activity?
Use these insights to start building a preliminary ad schedule. Keep in mind that some industries perform better during certain hours.
For example, B2B businesses might see more conversions during business hours, while retail businesses often thrive in the evenings and on weekends.
2. Set Up a Custom Schedule
Once you’ve gathered the data, it’s time to create a custom Google ads schedule. Here’s how you can do that:
- Navigate to the “Ad Schedule” tab in Google Ads.
- Select the campaign you want to optimize.
- Choose the days and times you want your ads to run based on the data you’ve analyzed.
The beauty of Google Ads is its flexibility—you can choose a broad schedule or drill down into half-hour segments. For instance, if you notice a drop in conversions after 8 p.m., schedule your ads to stop around that time.
3. Consider Time Zones
If you run a local business, you’ll want to focus on your local time zone. However, if you’re advertising nationally or internationally, take different time zones into account.
Finding the peak hours in different time zones can help you get more leads. This is especially important for ecommerce businesses that may get traffic from various regions.
4. Leverage Automated Bid Adjustments
Once your schedule is set, it’s time to fine-tune it using Google Ads’ automated bid adjustments. This feature lets you increase or decrease bids based on the performance of your ads during specific times.
For example, if you see a high click-through rate (CTR) but a low conversion rate between 1-3 p.m., you can reduce your bid for those hours to avoid wasting money.
5. Test and Refine Your Schedule
No Google Ads schedule is perfect from the start. Be prepared to test different days and times to find the sweet spot for your business.
Running A/B tests can help you pinpoint when your ads perform best, and you can adjust accordingly. Monitor your results every few weeks and keep refining your schedule for maximum impact.
Best Practices for Optimizing Your Google Ads Schedule
1. Align Your Ads with Business Hours
For small businesses with physical locations, syncing your ads with business hours can lead to higher foot traffic. For example, a local bakery might want to run ads in the morning and early afternoon when people are looking for coffee and snacks.
2. Don’t Overextend Your Budget
It can be tempting to run your ads all day, every day, but that’s rarely effective—especially if you’re a small business with limited resources. Focus your Google ads schedule on the times that give you the best return on investment (ROI).
3. Use Seasonality to Your Advantage
Certain businesses experience seasonal surges in traffic. Retailers might see increased activity during the holidays, while lawn care services will be busier in the spring and summer. Tailor your Google ads schedule accordingly to capitalize on these trends.
4. Monitor Competitor Activity
If you’re in a competitive industry, keeping an eye on your competitors’ ad schedules can give you a strategic advantage.
Tools like SEMrush or SpyFu can help you identify when your competitors are most active, allowing you to optimize your schedule for maximum visibility when they’re not advertising.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
1. Not Testing Your Schedule Regularly
One of the biggest mistakes small businesses make is setting a schedule once and forgetting about it. Audience behavior can shift over time, so it’s crucial to test your schedule regularly and adjust as needed.
2. Ignoring Weekends
Weekends might seem like off-peak times for some businesses, but they can be golden opportunities for industries like retail, fitness, and leisure. Analyze your data before excluding weekends from your ad schedule.
3. Setting and Forgetting Bid Adjustments
Another common error is not updating bid adjustments after implementing a new Google ads schedule. Regularly review and optimize your bids to ensure you’re maximizing ROI.
The Bottom Line
Scheduling your Google Ads thoughtfully can be the difference between a successful campaign and a budget disaster.
Whether you’re a local café or a growing ecommerce store, your Google ads schedule should align with when your customers are most active.
Don’t set it and forget it—test, adjust, and refine your schedule to keep maximizing your results.
If you’re looking for expert help to manage your Google Ads campaign, 2020 Vision Digital offers comprehensive PPC management services tailored to small businesses.