So your Google Ads budget is running a bit wild. Maybe it’s not bringing in the sales you dreamed of. Or maybe you’re just tired of seeing that charge on your credit card statement every month. It happens to the best of us. You set up a campaign with high hopes, and now, for whatever reason, it’s time to pull the plug.
But how do you actually do it?
It seems like it should be easy. A big red “OFF” button, right? Well, not exactly. The Google Ads dashboard can feel like a maze, especially when you’re in a hurry to stop the bleeding. This guide is here to walk you through it for 2025. No confusing talk just a plain and simple map to get you out.
Why Would You Even Want to Stop Google Ads?
There are a bunch of reasons you might be looking to hit the brakes. It is often the case that it’s not just one thing but a combination of factors that leads you here.
Your budget might be the main culprit. Sometimes costs just get out of control before you even realize it. A campaign that seemed affordable at first can suddenly start spending money way too fast.
Maybe the ads just aren’t working. You’re getting clicks, but no one is buying anything. Or maybe you’re not even getting clicks. That’s a real problem.
It could also be a timing thing. If you run a seasonal business, you don’t need to advertise for Christmas in July. It just doesn’t make sense. Pausing is a good move here.
Or you could be redesigning your website. Sending paid traffic to a broken or under-construction site is literally like throwing money away. It’s a bad look.
The Big Decision: Pausing vs. Deleting Your Campaigns
Before you go clicking around, you have a choice to make. Do you want to pause your ads or get rid of them completely? They are two very different things with different outcomes.
The choice you make here really depends on your future plans. Think about if you might ever, ever want to come back to this campaign you’ve built.
When to Hit the Pause Button
Pausing is like putting your ads in hibernation. It’s the most common and normally the safest option. It’s what most people should probably do.
You think you might want to use the campaign again later.
You want to keep all your data and settings saved.
Your business is seasonal and you’ll be back next year.
You just need a break to rethink your strategy.
Pausing stops all spending immediately but saves your work. All the ad groups, keywords, and ads you wrote are kept safe and sound for when you return.
When to Just Delete the Whole Thing
Deleting, or “removing” as Google calls it, is more permanent. This is the move you make when you’re totally done and never want to see that campaign again.
The campaign was a complete failure and you want it gone.
It was a short-term test that you will never repeat.
You want to clean up your account and remove old clutter.
Just know that when you remove a campaign, it’s gone. You can’t just click a button to bring it back. You’d have to build it all over again from scratch. So be pretty sure about this one.
Your Step-by-Step Guide to Pausing a Google Ads Campaign
Okay, let’s get to the main event. You’ve decided to pause things. This is the simple, non-scary way to stop your ads. The process itself is not too hard once you know where to look.
First things first, you need to log in to your Google Ads account. That part’s easy enough, hopefully you remember your password.
Once you’re in, you’ll see a dashboard with a lot of charts and numbers. Don’t get distracted by all of that stuff. You need to look for the menu on the left-hand side of the screen.
In that menu, find and click on “Campaigns.” This will take you to a list of all the campaigns you’ve ever created. It might be one or it might be a hundred.
Next to each campaign name, you’ll see a little colored dot. A green dot means the campaign is on and spending your money. This is what we’re here to fix.
Click on that little green dot. A small menu will pop up with a couple of options. You’ll see “Enabled” (which is currently selected) and “Paused.”
You just need to click “Paused.”
The dot will turn into a grey pause symbol. That’s it! Your campaign is now paused. It will stop showing ads and you won’t be charged for any new clicks from that campaign. It really is that simple.
Okay, How Do I Cancel My Entire Google Ads Account?
Maybe pausing isn’t enough for you. You want out. Completely. This is a bigger step, so make sure you’re ready for it. Canceling the account is the final move.
Before you can do this, you need to make sure you have admin access to the account. If you don’t, you won’t even see the option. You also have to pay off any outstanding balance you owe Google. They won’t let you leave until you’ve settled your bill.
Ready? Head to the top right of your screen and look for a wrench icon labeled “Tools & Settings.” Click on it.
A big menu will appear. Under the “Billing” column, you need to click on “Preferences.” This is where the setting is kind of hidden away.
On the Preferences page, you’ll have to scroll down to the bottom. Look for the “Account Status” section. You’ll see a line that says “Account is active.”
Click on that to expand the section, and there it is. The “Cancel my account” link.
Click it, follow the on-screen prompts, and confirm your decision. Your account will then be scheduled for cancellation. This stops all your ads for good.
Got Questions? Yeah, People Usually Do
What happens to any money left in my account if I cancel?
If you made manual payments and have a credit balance, Google will typically refund it to your payment method within a few weeks. Don’t worry, they don’t just keep it.
Can I ever get my Google Ads account back after I cancel it?
Yes, you can reactivate a canceled account later on. But all your campaigns will still be paused, so you’d have to go back in and re-enable them one by one.
Will stopping my Google Ads hurt my website’s normal search ranking (SEO)?
No. Absolutely not. Paid ads and organic search results are completely separate things. Stopping your ads will have zero effect on your SEO. That’s a common myth.
How quickly do my ads actually stop after I pause them?
It’s almost instant. Once you hit pause, the system stops entering your ads into auctions within a few minutes. You might get a few final clicks trickling in, but the spending stops very fast.
Can I just pause one specific ad instead of the whole campaign?
Yes, you can! You can pause things at the ad group level or even pause individual ads. Just navigate to the ad group or ad you want to stop and use the same green dot method to pause it.
Key Takeaways
There are lots of good reasons to stop your ads, like budget issues or poor performance.
Pausing is your best bet for temporary stops. It saves all your work.
Deleting (or removing) a campaign is for when you’re 100% sure you’re done with it.
Canceling your entire account is the final step and stops everything for good.
Stopping your ads has no impact on your website’s SEO. They are separate worlds.
