When to Stop a Campaign
Stopping too early throws away the data, too late throws away the budget. The criterion belongs before you start.
Almost nobody decides the stopping point in advance. So the campaign runs on inertia until someone checks the total spent, or it's switched off after a bad week that meant nothing.
The two thresholds to write down first
- A spending threshold: beyond this figure with no useful results, stop and rethink.
- A minimum window: below this period nothing gets touched, whatever happens.
Why you need both
The spending threshold alone leads to stopping too early when the budget is small. The time window alone burns budget on something that has already given every indication needed. Together they protect each other.
What isn't a reason to stop
Two bad days, a cost per contact above average in the first week, an unpleasant comment under the ad. These are normal fluctuations, and reacting to each means never letting the campaign settle.
Stopping isn't always switching off
Often the right move is reducing spend and keeping it live while the next version is prepared. Switching off entirely wipes out the accumulated learning, which has to be rebuilt from scratch on restart.
The stopping threshold belongs before the start. Deciding it while looking at results means deciding it by how you feel that day.
Sources and Further Reading
Official documentation and guidelines cited or useful for going deeper.