For most local lead-gen campaigns, we recommend running PPC during the hours you can respond fast, then expanding toward 24/7 only if your business can capture and handle leads after hours.
If you rely on phone calls, staffing is the deciding factor. A missed call at 9:30 PM usually goes to the next provider in Google, especially in competitive Orlando categories like dental emergencies, urgent pest control, towing, and HVAC. If you mainly want form fills or online bookings, you can run longer hours as long as your follow-up is immediate (automations, after-hours dispatch, or next-morning callbacks that still convert).
| Schedule option | Best for | Upside | Risk | Typical setup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business hours only | Phone-first service businesses | Higher lead quality and fewer wasted clicks | Misses late-night researchers | Run ads during staffed hours; show call assets only during those same hours |
| 24/7 | eCommerce, 24/7 dispatch, online booking, strong automation | Catches every search and can pick up cheaper off-peak auctions | Unanswered calls and low-intent overnight clicks can drain budget | Run always-on; use time-of-day bid changes only after you have conversion data |
| Hybrid (most common) | Local lead gen with mixed call and form goals | Captures after-hours demand without paying full price all day | Needs clean tracking and a simple workflow | Run ads longer (example: 7 AM to 10 PM); show call assets only when staffed; lower bids for weaker hours |
Here’s the practical way we set this up for Orlando-area service businesses: start with a hybrid schedule, then let data decide. Run search ads during the hours you can answer or return calls quickly. If you want some after-hours coverage, keep ads running but remove the phone option after closing and push people to a fast form or online scheduling page. In Google Ads, you can schedule when your ads run and separately control when your call assets appear, so callers only see a phone button when you’re open.
Once you have a few weeks of conversion volume, refine with Google Ads ad scheduling: pull hour-of-day and day-of-week performance, then raise bids during the windows that produce booked appointments and lower bids when you see low conversion rates. If you’re using Smart Bidding, it already uses auction-time signals, but your ad schedule still acts like a gate for when your ads are eligible to show, so don’t leave overnight hours on if you know you cannot handle them.
If you want help setting the right schedule and tracking for your market, our PPC management process starts with call handling, lead speed, and budget protection, not just clicks. For the reporting side, we like to map schedules back to outcomes using conversion tracking and a short list of KPIs (our approach matches what we outline in what SEO metrics to track, since the measurement mindset is the same). And if you’re unsure whether people search for you late at night, reviewing intent patterns in search intent and its main types helps you decide whether after-hours traffic is truly ready to book or just browsing.
