Is knowledge truly power, as the saying goes? If so, why are you in the dark about when your ads are performing their best? I’m talking about the specific days of the week and times of the day when your impressions, conversions, CPA, or other key metrics are through the roof. If your Google Ads account has been running for a while (think a few months or more), it’s time to get familiar with the Dimensions tab. This feature, one of my personal favorites in Google Ads, lets you pinpoint the times and days that deliver the most bang for your buck. In Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords), this is called dayparting (not to be confused with day partying) or ad scheduling.

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I often recommend dayparting to my clients, but I hear the same objections: Why bother? Isn’t it better to spread out your ads evenly? Don’t conversion times vary? Won’t I lose out on potential customers if I limit my ad schedule? These concerns are valid, and dayparting isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. But when used strategically and monitored closely, it can do wonders for your campaigns. As PPC Hero’s Eric Couch puts it, “PPC is about maximizing what you have … the stakes might be lower when you’re only spending fifteen dollars a day, but that doesn’t make high performance any less important.” Consider a ski and snowboard rental shop. They might notice a surge in desktop and tablet searches on Thursday and Friday nights between 8:00 PM and 12:00 AM as skiers gear up for their weekend trips. Mobile searches, on the other hand, might peak during weekends and weekday mornings from 6:00 AM to 10:00 AM. In these cases, shifting your budget to boost visibility during these high-traffic periods just makes sense. More visibility leads to more rentals, boosting revenue and bringing that dream boat one step closer. Of course, not every business has such clear-cut patterns. For a SaaS company, for instance, pinpointing the most profitable times can be trickier. That’s where the Google Ads Dimensions tab shines. It’s time to stop wasting money on ineffective ad placements and start spending smarter. Here’s what we’ll cover:

• How to navigate the Dimensions tab for ad scheduling.
• Industry insights and data revealing the days and times with the strongest PPC performance.

5 Easy Steps to Set Up Google Ads Scheduling

Looking for the latest ad scheduling strategies? Check out our recent article: How to Set Up Ad Scheduling RIGHT (+ the Finer Details You Need to Know) Follow these five steps to schedule your Google Ads like a pro.

Step 1

Before diving into ad scheduling or excluding certain days, head over to the Dimensions tab within the campaign you want to fine-tune. (You can analyze your entire account if it’s small or has campaigns with similar goals.)

Step 2

In the Dimensions tab, open the “View” drop-down menu and choose “Time.” You’ll see seven options, but I recommend focusing on “Day of the week” and “Hour of the day.”

Step 3

Your mission? Identify the days and times that consistently deliver the best results for your PPC objectives. Remember, analyze a significant timeframe to avoid basing your decisions on random fluctuations. Building an ad schedule on unreliable patterns can harm your account performance.

As nexus-security Paid Search Strategist Mark Irvine points out, “Clients and account managers sometimes fixate on a specific day or time slot they believe is crucial, even when the data doesn’t back it up.”

Step 4

With your analysis complete, it’s time to tailor an ad schedule for your campaign. Go to the “Settings” tab within your chosen campaign and select “Ad Schedule.”

Step 5

Hit that red “+ AD SCHEDULE” button to specify the days, hours, etc., when you want your ads to run. You can also “Set bid adjustments” to increase or decrease bids for specific time slots based on their performance.

Treat ad scheduling as an ongoing experiment. Don’t just set it and forget it. Track your changes, monitor performance on the new schedule, and compare results to previous periods monthly. Remember to account for seasonal variations and monthly trends.

Decoding Ad Scheduling Trends and Data

At nexus-security, we’ve observed consistent trends in CPA (cost-per-acquisition) across different industries. For instance, DIY and home improvement companies often see peak performance on weekends. Conversely, B2B businesses usually thrive Monday through Friday between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM, with lackluster results outside these hours. The following B2B client data, visualized as both a line graph and a heat map, clearly shows a significantly lower CPA Monday through Friday between approximately 7:00 AM and 4:00 PM.

B2B CPA dips during standard business hours

Red zones indicate high CPA for this B2B client However, some industries might not benefit much from dayparting. Consumer shopping clients, for example, often experience consistent performance throughout the day. The data below, from a B2C client, reveals no significant trends to inform a custom ad schedule.

This B2C account shows a stable CPA throughout the day

No discernible patterns in day of week or time of day for CPA This data reinforces that dayparting isn’t universally beneficial. But when data reveals strong trends in specific time slots (like the B2B example above), dayparting can significantly boost Google Ads performance and deliver a much higher ROI on your ad spend. Now that you understand the fundamentals of dayparting, it’s time to take action:

• Reflect: Have you noticed performance patterns in your own campaigns? Do certain hours, days, or periods consistently bring in more form submissions or calls?
• Research: Dive into the Google Ads Dimensions tab, starting with your most profitable campaigns. Segment data by time of day and day of week, analyzing a substantial period.
• Re-adjust: If your research reveals a clear trend (like a significantly lower CPA from 3:00 PM to 11:00 PM on weekends), create an ad schedule that prioritizes these high-performing periods.
• Revisit: Mark your calendar when you implement your new ad schedule. Revisit your campaign performance regularly, focusing on your key metrics, to see how your adjustments are performing. Have you experimented with ad scheduling before? Did you see positive (or negative) results? What interesting dayparting trends have you observed in your industry?