An always-on campaign is advertising that keeps running all year, with someone checking and improving it every week. A normal month means small, regular jobs: checking your tracking, blocking wasted searches, testing ad wording and reporting back. Six hours a month can keep one ad platform in good order, but it won’t cover new video, a tracking rebuild or the calls your ads bring in.
What is an always-on campaign?
Most advertising comes in one of two shapes. A burst runs for a set time around a sale, a launch or a season, then stops. An always-on campaign stays live, so you’re there whenever someone needs you. A boiler breaks when it breaks, and people look for a physiotherapist the week their back goes.
It suits businesses with steady demand and room for new work. If you sell for six weeks a year, a shorter burst may suit you better.
The weekly attention matters because an account left alone drifts: searches change, competitors arrive and a form on your website quietly stops working.
What happens in a normal month?
Six hours a month is about an hour and a half a week. This example shows how they might split on Google search ads. It’s a pattern rather than a fixed timetable.
| Week | What gets done | Why it matters | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Check that calls and forms are still being counted. Compare ad spend so far with the plan. Read last week’s searches and block the bad ones. | A broken form or tracking tag can waste a month of ad spend. | 1.5 hours |
| 2 | Review how each ad is doing. Write new wording to test against the weakest one. Check it’s been approved. | Ads improve through small tests, one at a time. | 1.5 hours |
| 3 | Read the searches again. Compare the enquiries with what you’ve told us about their quality. Adjust locations, hours or bids if the evidence supports it. | Good-looking numbers can hide poor enquiries. | 1 hour |
| 4 | Compare the month with your goal. Write the plain-English report. Choose one or two priorities for next month. | You get a clear view of what your money did. | 2 hours |
Two of those jobs need explaining. Google’s search terms report shows the searches that triggered your ad. Negative keywords are words you tell Google to exclude, so a plumber can stop paying for “plumber jobs”.
The tracking check comes first because conversion tracking records when a click becomes a call, form or sale. If it breaks, your reports go wrong and any automated bidding works from bad information.
How is the first month different?
Month one is mostly getting ready. You give us access, we agree what success looks like, and you get a 30-day plan in your account. Set-up is included. Then the ads go through review, and Google says most are checked within one working day.
After that, expect a settling-in period. Google’s automated bidding can show a “Learning” status for up to seven days after a big change, and results can take longer to settle. Your first report is likely to hold more questions than answers.
Does it look the same on Facebook and Instagram?
The rhythm is the same, but the jobs change, because nobody is typing a search. On paid social, the time goes on watching what each result costs and how tired the ads are getting. Meta calls this creative fatigue: people have seen the same ad too often and engage less, which can push up your cost per result.
Meta also advises against editing an ad set (a group of ads with one audience) while it’s still learning, because that can reset the process. So some weeks the right job is to check everything, change nothing and say so in the log. Be wary of anyone who shows you a long list of changes every week.
What can six hours a month realistically cover?
On our one-channel plan, £485 a month buys six hours on one platform and one ad account. That’s enough for a steady account with one clear goal, such as phone calls for a local service. It covers:
- The weekly checks in the table above.
- A small, tidy set of campaigns.
- One proper test at a time.
- A monthly plain-English report, with every hour logged in your account.
It can’t cover:
- A second platform. Running search and paid social together means two channels, which is £779 for 10 hours.
- Building or repairing tracking on your website. That’s separate tracking work.
- Shooting video, taking photos or building new website pages.
- A large product range or lots of locations, because each one adds work.
- A regular strategy call. Our plans include those from three channels upwards.
- Watching your ads hour by hour. We reply within one working day, which isn’t the same as a night shift.
Hours follow how complicated an account is, more than the size of its ad spend. Six hours can look after a tidy account, while one with hundreds of products would need far more. If yours is complicated, look at a bigger plan: £1,169 for three channels and 15 hours, or £1,714 for four channels and 22 hours.
What does the business owner have to do?
No agency can do these for you, and they often decide whether the ads pay off. As a rough guide, allow about half an hour a week, plus the time spent answering enquiries.
- Answer enquiries quickly. An ad can bring someone to your door. Winning them over is down to you.
- Tell us which enquiries were any good. A couple of lines a week is enough.
- Keep your payment method working. You pay the platforms directly, and Google says a declined payment can stop your ads. It recommends adding a backup.
- Tell us what’s changing. Holidays, prices, stock and full diaries all change what the ads should say.
- Send photos, video and offers. Real pictures of your business beat anything we could invent.
- Check that the ads are true. The UK advertising rules cover search ads and promoted posts. Primary responsibility sits with the advertiser, although agencies must follow them too, and you need evidence for your claims.
- Keep your website working. If the form is broken, the click is wasted.
- Decide your ad spend. Only you know what you can afford to test.
- Read the report and ask questions. If something doesn’t make sense, that’s ours to fix.
How can you tell the work is being done?
These checks work with any agency, including us.
- Ask for a log of the hours, with what was done in each. Ours is in your account.
- Open the change history in Google Ads, which lists changes to your account over the past two years.
- Ask which searches were blocked last month.
- Ask what was tested and what you learned.
- Ask what they chose to leave alone, and why.
Questions people ask
How long before an always-on campaign works?
We can’t give you a date or promise a result. Meta says learning usually ends after about 50 results in a week, which many small accounts won’t reach. Our plans have a three-month start, then 30 days’ notice, because one month rarely tells you much.
Can I pause my ads in a quiet month?
Yes. Your ad spend stops while they’re paused, but any agency fee usually carries on, so check your agreement. On Facebook and Instagram, pausing can also restart the learning process.
Do I need always-on at all?
Not always. For a one-off event or a short season, you could buy credits instead, from £85 an hour, and stop when it’s over.
What to do next
Have a look at how we work and our prices. If you’re unsure, Help me choose will suggest a starting point. If you already run ads and want to know how healthy they are first, our Ads health check looks at one ad account.
Related guides
- What should you expect from ads in your first 90 days?
- How to audit your ad account, step by step
- How much does Google Ads cost, and how much should you spend?
This guide is general information based on publicly available sources, correct when written in November 2026. It isn’t legal, financial or tax advice, and ad platforms change their rules and menus often, so check the latest guidance before you act.