Does it make sense to show your ads 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? If you set up a campaign in AdWords or AdCenter, they’ll be scheduled to do that by default. This makes sense from their standpoint because they lose money when you aren’t running ads. It’s up to you to determine whether or not it makes sense for your business. Proper reports can give you the insight you need to better target your customers and potentially save money in the process.
Run a Report
Both AdWords and AdCenter offer reports that can tell you how your ads perform each day and even each hour of the day. In AdWords, you can see this reporting in the Campaign tab.
In AdCenter, you can create and download the reports in the Reports tab.
AdCenter does not offer a “Day of the Week” option, so a bit of extra effort would be required if you want a multiple-week report that shows performance that way.
Analyze the Data
Once you have the report, try to find long term trends. Do your ads perform better on weekdays than weekends? Do you see a dropoff in the evening or a spike mid-day? Each piece of information will allow you to carefully schedule your ads for maximum effectiveness.
Schedule your Ads
Once you’ve determined when your ads perform best, you can change your ad schedule to take advantage of your findings. In AdWords, this can be done from the Campaign Settings tab.
AdCenter offers less precise time-of-day settings, but allows you to modify your bids based on your scheduling. You can change these settings on the Campaign Settings tab.
Measure the Results
After you’ve set your scheduling based on the reports, make sure to revisit your campaigns after a week or so to determine how your changes have affected your performance. Make adjustments as necessary, and don’t be afraid to change back to a 24/7 schedule every so often to get new reports on how trends have changed over time.
