How Day Parting Can Affect a Paid Search Campaign

Posted by Isiah Drake, Manager, Bid Strategy Team

Day parting is the method of assigning specific keyword bids to designated sections of the day and days of the week.  Day parting is used to increase or decrease keyword bids for specific time periods because many advertisers believe that there are times of the day in which traffic is higher quality than at other times.

At Performics, we believe that day parting is not necessarily a good strategy because consumers do not necessarily convert directly after a click.   For example, a late-night click may result in a daytime conversion.  Day parting rests on the notion that consumers make purchases directly after a click.  As a result, advertisers want to turn off their programs during times of the day when conversion rates are low.  Based on past research and our own Clickstream Analysis, we have found that the click to conversion path is quite complex.  Many consumers perform extensive online research at various times of the day before making a purchase. In fact, consumers can make up to ten clicks before a final purchase.  By not running ads at particular times of the day, advertisers miss out on traffic that may have ultimately resulted in conversions and fostered positive brand associations.