How-to · Updated October 11, 2026
Show your Google ads only during business hours
Updated October 11, 2026
15 minutes
To show your Google ads only during business hours, convert your opening hours into the account's time zone, which may not be yours, then open Campaigns, Ad schedule, click the pencil icon, pick the campaign and set the days and times. To keep after-hours form leads, schedule only the call asset instead.
Before you start
- Standard or Admin access to the Google Ads account. Editing a campaign is beyond Read-only and Billing access.
- The hours someone answers the phone, written down for each day of the week, not just the hours on the door.
- The account's time zone. It was chosen when the account was opened, and Google says ad schedules run in it.
Convert your hours to the account's time zone
Enter the schedule in the account's time zone, not your own, because Google says ad schedules are set based on the account's time zone.
- Compare the two time zones. If they match, use your hours as they are.
- If they differ, shift every opening and closing time by the gap. Worked example: an account set to Eastern Time for a business that answers 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Pacific Time needs a schedule of 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM.
- If the shifted hours cross midnight, split them across two days. Google's example: Monday 11 PM to Tuesday 7 AM is Monday 11 PM to 12 AM plus Tuesday 12 AM to 7 AM.
- Do not plan on changing the account's time zone instead. Google says time zone changes are no longer supported in standard accounts, and moving to a new account to get a different one leaves the history behind.
Set the campaign's ad schedule
Once a schedule is saved, Google says the campaign's ads are eligible to show only during the times listed, and not at all outside them.
- In Google Ads, open Ad schedule within the Campaigns menu.
- Click the pencil icon, then select the campaign to schedule.
- Choose the days and the converted times. Click Add for each extra day or time block; Google allows up to 6 schedules per day for each campaign.
- Click Save, then repeat for each campaign that follows the same hours. Ad scheduling does not work with App campaigns.
A schedule changes when ads show, not necessarily what the month costs. Google says that with ad schedules, campaigns pace toward a monthly spend of 30.4 times the average daily budget, however many days they are active, so lower the budget if the aim is to spend less.
Or schedule only the call button
If the website takes forms or bookings around the clock, keep the ads running and schedule only the call asset, so the call asset's number shows only when someone can answer. A location asset can still show the business's own number, since Google may use the number linked to a location instead.
- Open Assets within the Campaigns menu and go to the Associations tab.
- Click the Call summary card header, tick the box next to the call asset, hover over it and click the pencil icon, then click Edit.
- In the edit panel, set the days and hours the number should show (when creating a call asset, Google puts this under Advanced options). Use the same converted hours as the campaign schedule.
- Click Apply. If call assets exist at the account, campaign and ad group levels, schedule the one that serves: Google uses the most specific level.
Check it worked
After a week, open Ad schedule within the Campaigns menu and click the Hour subtab. The chart shows when ads got clicks, in the account's time zone, so no hour outside the schedule should have any.
If you compare leads with Google Analytics, check that its reporting time zone matches the Google Ads account. If it differs, the same lead can land on different days in the two reports. In Google Analytics, open Admin, then Property details under Property, to see the Reporting time zone. Google says a change there affects only data going forward.
Can bids drop after hours instead of switching ads off?
Yes, with an ad schedule bid adjustment. Open Campaigns, then Audiences, keywords, and content, then Ad schedule, and edit the value in the Bid adj. column for the scheduled hours. Google's page says these adjustments are available for campaigns using Maximize clicks, and that normal bids return when the scheduled period ends.
Why do searches at 2 AM matter if nobody answers?
Google says that if no one searches for your keywords at a scheduled time, the ads do not show, so a 24-hour schedule only costs money when people search and click. The question is whether those clicks turn into leads someone follows up the next morning. A store with online checkout may want them; a law office whose ads ask people to call may not.