Definition
Dayparting schedules when ads can run (hours/days) to focus spend on higher-performing times, but it can bias learning and measurement.
Example
You pause ads overnight and run only 8am-8pm when sales teams can respond to leads.
How to use it
- Use dayparting only after validating stable time-of-day patterns.
- Consider operations constraints (sales coverage, support) for lead gen.
- Re-check performance after seasonal changes or creative updates.
Common mistakes
- Using dayparting too early and starving the learning phase.
- Assuming historical time-of-day performance will stay stable.
Why this matters
This term matters because it affects how you interpret performance and make budget decisions. If you use inconsistent definitions or windows, ROAS/CPA can look "better" while profit gets worse.
Practical checklist
- Write a 1-line definition for "Dayparting" that your team will use consistently.
- Keep the time window consistent (weekly/monthly/quarterly) when comparing trends.
- Segment results (channel/plan/cohort) before drawing big conclusions from blended averages.
- Sanity-check with a related calculator from the same category on MetricKit.
- Read the related guide (e.g., Paid ads bidding & budgeting hub: max CPC, target CPA, and break-even targets) for context and common pitfalls.
Where to use this on MetricKit
Calculators
- Paid Ads Funnel Calculator: Model CPM -> CTR -> CVR to estimate CPC, CPA, ROAS, and profit per 1,000 impressions (with margin and variable costs).
- ROI Calculator: Calculate Return on Investment (ROI) for a campaign or project.
- Incrementality Lift Calculator: Estimate incremental conversions, incremental ROAS, and incremental profit from a holdout test.
- Marginal ROAS Calculator: Estimate diminishing returns and find the profit-maximizing ad spend from a simple response curve.
- Target CPA from LTV Calculator: Translate LTV and contribution margin into a target CPA (and break-even CPA) for paid acquisition.
Guides
- Paid ads bidding & budgeting hub: max CPC, target CPA, and break-even targets: A practical hub for bidding and budgeting: compute max CPC from CVR and margin, set target CPA using LTV, and use break-even CTR/CVR/CPM targets to guide creative and landing optimizations.