Amazon PPC Dayparting: How to Optimize Ad Spend with Time-Based Strategies (2025 Guide)

Imagine being able to show your Amazon ads only when your customers are most likely to buy.
That’s the idea behind Amazon PPC Dayparting — also known as ad scheduling.

In simple terms, dayparting means setting specific times of day, or days of the week, when your ads are eligible to show. Instead of running your ads 24/7, you control when they appear, based on data-driven performance insights.

The goal of dayparting is simple:

Maximize ad spend efficiency
Focus budgets on high-converting hours
Reduce wasted ad spend during low-activity periods
Boost overall campaign performance

The desired outcomes are powerful:

Lower ACOS (Advertising Cost of Sale)
Higher ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)
Improved Conversion Rates
Smarter, more efficient budget allocation

In short, dayparting helps your ads work smarter, not harder, by being visible when it truly matters.

Why Dayparting Matters in Amazon Advertising

Timing is everything in e-commerce

Shoppers don’t behave the same way at all hours. Some browse lazily in the morning while commuting. Others do serious buying late at night after work. And weekends? Those can shift patterns entirely.

Amazon’s competitive landscape only adds more pressure. With CPCs (Cost-Per-Click) steadily rising, advertisers can no longer afford to waste even a few dollars on poorly timed clicks.

Dayparting offers a sharp edge

When done right, it brings several key benefits:

Reduced Budget Waste: By pausing or lowering bids during known “dead zones” where buyers are inactive, you stop paying for empty clicks.
Improved ROAS: Redirect more of your budget to the time slots when your ads deliver the best bang for your buck.
Lower ACOS: Invest in traffic that’s more likely to convert, not just traffic that clicks and leaves.
Beat Competitors: Often, budgets run dry by evening. Dayparting lets your ads shine when others go dark.
Boost Conversions: Aligning ad visibility with shopper behavior naturally lifts conversion rates.

Real-world proof?

A premium supplements brand implemented dayparting and saw their ACOS drop from 26.7% to 18.5% within 60 days.
Meanwhile, a consumer electronics seller reallocated 60% of their daily budget to their top 8 performing hours and enjoyed over 50% more sales month-over-month.

How Amazon PPC Dayparting Works

Dayparting isn’t guesswork. It’s not about feeling like evenings are better.
It’s a methodical, data-backed strategy rooted in real campaign numbers.

Here’s how it generally works:

Analyze Historical Performance

First, you need to analyze your historical performance — ideally from the past 30 to 90 days. Look closely at hourly and daily patterns:

When are you getting clicks?
When are those clicks actually converting into sales?
Where is your ROAS highest?

Spot the Trends

Next, spot the trends.
You may find, for example, that your CTR and CVR spike between 5am and 8am, while evenings deliver clicks but no purchases.

Once you have the patterns mapped out, you can adjust your bids and budgets accordingly.

Lower bids during underperforming hours.
Raise bids or allocate more budget during peak times.

Implement Your Schedules

Finally, implement your schedules.
This can be done manually inside Amazon Seller Central (with some limitations) or through automation tools for more precise, hourly control.

And remember: Dayparting is not “set it and forget it.”
You should monitor the results post-implementation, making refinements as behaviors shift.

The biggest advantage?
Granular control.
Unlike auto-campaigns, dayparting lets you target specific hours with precision.

Data and Metrics for Dayparting Analysis

Before you change anything, you need to understand your data.
These are the core metrics you should study by hour and by day:

Impressions and Clicks
CTR (Click-Through Rate)
CPC (Cost Per Click) — for instance, in one real case, CPC fell from $0.34 to $0.31 after effective dayparting
Sales (Attributed Sales)
Orders and Units Ordered
CVR (Conversion Rate)
ACOS and ROAS
CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)
Placement Types (Top of Search, Product Pages)

What kind of time trends might you find?

Here’s a typical example based on Pacific Time (PST):

Time Slot	Behavior Observed
5am – 8am	Peak CVR (high buying intent)
5am – 7pm	Strong sales across categories
9pm – 1am	Low conversions, browsing only
Weekends	More browsing, lower ROAS

Keep in mind: behavior changes by category.

Supplements often sell best early in the morning.
Electronics may peak in late afternoon and evenings.

If you skip this data review, your dayparting decisions will be blind guesses — and that’s worse than no dayparting at all.

Tools and Technology Enabling Dayparting

There are three main ways sellers implement dayparting today: manually, using Amazon Marketing Stream, or via third-party AI tools.

Traditional Manual Dayparting

Inside Amazon Seller Central, you can set up Campaign Budget Rules based on times or days.
You can also manually pause and reactivate campaigns during selected periods.

However, manual controls are limited.
You can’t set bids hour-by-hour easily without heavy lifting. It’s fine for small catalogues but not scalable.

Amazon Marketing Stream

In 2022, Amazon launched Marketing Stream, which opened a new era for dayparting.

Marketing Stream provides real-time hourly performance data via API pushes.
This allows near-instant optimization, enabling sellers (or their tools) to adjust bids dynamically throughout the day.

If you want true hourly dayparting without guesswork, you need Marketing Stream access — either directly or through a third-party tool integrated with it.

Third-Party AI-Powered Dayparting Tools

Today’s leading Amazon PPC tools leverage AI and Amazon Marketing Stream data to optimize bids hour-by-hour, automatically.

Some top players include Adbrew, Ad Advance Pulse, Profit Whales, Seller Labs Ad Genius, and Eva Commerce.

Key features typically include:

Real-time hourly bidding
Dynamic campaign grouping and management
Visual heatmaps showing peak hours
Intraday bid adjustments without manual intervention

The big benefit here is automation without losing control. You still define goals — the AI just ensures you hit them smarter and faster.

Measuring the Impact of Dayparting

Once you’ve implemented Amazon PPC dayparting, it’s time to measure its effectiveness. The true value of dayparting comes from tracking the changes it brings to your core key performance indicators (KPIs).

Track Core KPIs

These are the metrics that will give you a clear picture of your campaign’s performance. Focus on:

Click-Through Rate (CTR): If your dayparting strategy is working, you should see an increase in CTR during the times your ads are shown.
Conversion Rate (CVR): Higher conversions during the targeted hours are a key success indicator. Look for patterns and spikes in conversions.
Advertising Cost of Sale (ACOS): The ultimate goal is to reduce ACOS. Dayparting should help reduce wasted ad spend, so you’ll see a noticeable dip in ACOS during the right hours.
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): With better targeting, you should see an increase in ROAS as more of your ad spend is focused on high-converting windows.
Total Orders: Increased orders, particularly during the times when you’ve optimized your bids, signal that your strategy is working.

Before and After Comparison

It’s essential to compare your metrics before and after implementing dayparting. Track the performance over 30, 60, and 90-day periods. You’ll want to spot any patterns that suggest improvement in sales volume, click-throughs, or other key metrics. For example, if you manage to drop your CPC from $0.34 to $0.31 during peak hours, that could be a clear sign that you’re reaching your target audience more effectively.

Ongoing Optimization Best Practices

Amazon PPC campaigns, like any marketing strategy, need constant monitoring and refinement. Dayparting is no exception.

Schedule Regular Reviews

Dayparting is not a “set it and forget it” tactic. You need to check in on your campaigns regularly to ensure they continue to perform at their peak. A minimum review every two weeks is recommended.

Stay Industry-Aware

E-commerce trends fluctuate, and so does customer behavior. Seasonal shifts, holidays, or even new market trends can drastically impact how and when your audience shops. Keep an eye on industry changes and adjust your strategies accordingly.

Refine Bid Strategies

Avoid making extreme changes all at once. Instead, adjust your bids incrementally. For example, if you’re seeing higher conversion rates between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., start by adjusting your bid by 5-10%. Small tweaks can yield big results over time.

Use Tiered Optimization

Rather than treating each hour independently, group time slots into tiers. For example, classify top, medium, and low-performing hours. Then, apply different bidding strategies to each tier. This can help streamline your dayparting strategy and make your ad spend even more efficient.

Testing is Key

Dayparting works best when you test and validate. As you make changes to your ad schedules, monitor the performance closely and adjust your approach based on real-world results. Testing regularly (every 2-4 weeks) ensures that your strategy evolves in line with your audience’s behavior.

Choosing the Right AI-Powered Dayparting Tool

When it comes to implementing AI-driven dayparting, choosing the right tool is crucial. Several solutions offer advanced functionality, but not all of them may be suitable for your needs.

Key Considerations

Ease of Setup: Ideally, your chosen tool should be easy to set up with minimal configuration, especially if you’re new to dayparting.
Scalability: Look for a tool that can grow with your business. If you have a small catalog now but plan to expand, make sure the tool can handle larger campaigns as your business scales.
Data Transparency: The best tools will provide full access to your performance metrics and logs. This will allow you to analyze the data yourself and fine-tune your strategies.
Support and Training: As with any new technology, support is essential. Choose a tool that offers comprehensive customer support and training resources to help you maximize its potential.
Pricing and ROI: Make sure the tool offers clear pricing, and check for reviews to determine whether it delivers a positive ROI within 30 to 60 days.

Top Tools to Consider

Adbrew
Ad Advance Pulse
Profit Whales
Seller Labs Ad Genius
Eva Commerce

These AI-powered solutions can automate your bid adjustments, track real-time data, and even integrate with Amazon Marketing Stream to ensure optimal performance throughout the day.

Unlock the Power of Data with Seller Contacts

As you’ve seen, optimizing your Amazon PPC campaigns with strategies like dayparting can significantly improve your advertising efficiency and ROI. But to truly take your Amazon business to the next level, you need actionable data and insights that go beyond basic PPC tactics.

This is where Seller Contacts can help. With our vast, data-rich database of Amazon and eCommerce sellers, you can gain access to accurate, real-time insights into your competition, trends, and customer behaviors. Whether you’re looking to optimize your ads further, enhance your product listings, or find new growth opportunities, Seller Contacts provides the tools and expertise you need to scale your business.

Ready to leverage the most comprehensive seller database in the industry? Get started today and unlock the data-driven insights that will help you succeed in the competitive world of Amazon PPC and beyond.