When to Pause, Scale, or Kill a Paid Search Campaign

Profitable PPC managers make the right decisions - and sometimes that means killing a campaign. Not every campaign deserves to be "fixed." Sometimes the smartest move is stopping what's not working and redirecting that budget toward your winners.

When to Pause Campaigns

Pause campaigns when cost per clicks are too high - and when Quality Scores are consistently low. If you're paying $15 per click for keywords that should cost $5, and your Quality Scores are stuck at 3 or 4, pause the campaign and fix the fundamental issues first.

Pause during seasonal downturns or when external factors hurt performance. If you sell outdoor furniture and it's January, pausing until spring makes sense - otherwise you’re burning budget on low-converting winter traffic.

If a campaign cannibalizes your better-performers, pause it. If a new campaign is stealing traffic from an existing winner without improving overall performance, pause the new one.

When to Scale Winners

Scale campaigns when conversion rates are stable and return on ad spend is profitable - if a campaign consistently delivers 4:1 ROAS with steady conversion rates over 30 days, gradually increase the budget by 20-30% weekly.

Scale when you have room to grow within your target market. If you're only capturing 10% impression share for your best keywords, there's room to increase bids and budgets to capture more traffic.