Dayparting
Scheduling ads to run only during specific times of day or days of the week to optimize performance or comply with regulations.
What Dayparting means
Dayparting (also called ad scheduling) is the practice of configuring campaigns to run only during specific hours or days. While primarily a performance optimization tactic, dayparting has compliance applications in regulated industries. Some jurisdictions restrict gambling advertising during certain hours (e.g., before 9 PM to reduce exposure to children), alcohol advertising may have time restrictions, and emergency-related ads may need to align with business hours. Google Ads offers granular hour-by-hour scheduling, Meta provides limited scheduling options (start/end dates and times), and other platforms offer varying levels of time-based control. From a compliance perspective, dayparting can help ensure ads reach audiences during appropriate times, align with local regulatory requirements, and avoid serving ads when support staff isn't available to handle inquiries generated by the ads.
Related terms
Ad Set
A mid-level organizational unit within ad campaigns that defines targeting, budget, schedule, and placement settings.
Campaign
The top-level organizational unit in ad platforms that defines the advertising objective, budget, and overarching strategy.
Audience Targeting
The process of defining which users will see an ad based on demographics, interests, behaviors, and other criteria.
Frequency
The average number of times a unique user sees a specific ad within a given time period.