Google appears to have quietly removed the ability to schedule ad delivery for campaigns utilizing Smart Bidding strategies. This change, which has sparked debate within the paid search community, eliminates a crucial control for advertisers who relied on ad scheduling to align their campaigns with business hours or peak performance windows.
Ad scheduling allows marketers to determine when their ads are displayed, enabling them to optimize budgets and ensure relevance. By removing this feature for Smart Bidding campaigns, Google is limiting advertiser control and potentially impacting campaign efficiency.
Reactions from industry professionals are mixed. Some, like Scott Carruthers, a paid search director at Journey Further, strongly oppose the change. He argues that this move further distances advertisers from aligning their campaigns with their business objectives. While acknowledging the complexity of incorporating bid adjustments with ad scheduling, Carruthers emphasizes that advertisers should retain the fundamental ability to choose when their ads are displayed.
Conversely, PPC expert Amalia Fowler expressed a more nuanced perspective. While acknowledging the potential value of the change, she stressed the importance of increased transparency from Google regarding this policy shift. Fowler believes that many businesses may be unnecessarily restricting their ad schedules, and that removing this option could potentially lead to more efficient campaign performance.
This policy change has significant implications for advertisers. By removing the ability to limit ad visibility to specific time frames, businesses may experience wasted spend during non-peak hours. While Smart Bidding algorithms are designed to optimize for performance, this update diminishes advertiser control over ad delivery, potentially hindering efforts to align campaigns with operational hours or staff availability.
The paid search community is closely monitoring this situation, awaiting further clarification from Google regarding this policy change. Many are eager to see if this decision will remain in place or if Google will adjust its stance based on feedback from advertisers.
This change was initially brought to light by Adriaan Dekker on LinkedIn, who questioned whether this was an intentional policy shift or a potential error. A review of the Wayback Machine reveals that the “About ad scheduling” page last appeared on February 28, 2024, stating that ad scheduling was incompatible with Smart Shopping and App campaigns. However, the recent removal of ad scheduling for all Smart Bidding campaigns represents a significant shift in Google’s advertising policies.
This move by Google further underscores its ongoing transition towards an automation-first approach to advertising. This shift continues to challenge traditional PPC strategies, forcing advertisers to adapt and find innovative ways to maintain control and achieve their campaign objectives within the constraints of these evolving policies.