Introduction
Sometimes, you may want to temporarily stop your ads from running—whether it’s to pause a low-performing campaign, stop spending during off-season periods, or re-evaluate your ad strategy. Google Ads gives you complete control over your campaigns, allowing you to pause, resume, or remove them at any time.
Pausing a campaign does not delete it—it simply stops it from showing ads. You can resume it later with all settings, ads, and history intact. Stopping (removing) a campaign is more permanent; the campaign will no longer run and can’t be reactivated, although its performance data will remain accessible.
Here’s how to pause, resume, or remove a campaign step by step.
How to Pause a Campaign in Google Ads
Step 1: Sign In
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Go to Google Ads and log in to your account.
Step 2: Navigate to Campaigns
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From the left-hand side menu, click on “Campaigns” to see a list of all your active and paused campaigns.
Step 3: Select the Campaign You Want to Pause
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Locate the campaign you want to pause in the list.
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Under the “Status” column, it will show “Enabled” if it’s currently running.
Step 4: Pause the Campaign
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Hover over the status icon (green dot) next to the campaign name.
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Click it and select “Pause” from the dropdown menu.
Alternatively:
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Check the checkbox next to the campaign name.
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Click the “Edit” dropdown at the top of the table.
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Select “Pause” from the options.
The status will change to “Paused”, and Google will stop serving ads from that campaign immediately.
How to Resume a Paused Campaign
If you’ve paused a campaign and want to restart it:
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Follow the same steps to go to your Campaigns list.
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Look for the campaign with status “Paused.”
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Click the status icon and select “Enable” or use the Edit > Enable option at the top.
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Your campaign will become active again, and ads will begin running.
How to Stop (Remove) a Campaign
If you want to permanently stop a campaign:
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Select the campaign(s) from the campaign table.
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Click the Edit dropdown.
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Select “Remove”.
Note: A removed campaign cannot be reactivated. However, you can still view its historical data.
Difference Between Pause and Remove
| Action | What It Does | Can Be Reversed? | Keeps Campaign Data? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pause | Temporarily stops ads | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Remove | Permanently stops ads | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
When Should You Pause a Campaign?
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You want to take a break from spending
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The campaign is not performing well and needs re-optimization
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You’re running seasonal ads and the season has ended
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You want to shift budget to another campaign temporarily
When Should You Remove a Campaign?
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The campaign is outdated or irrelevant
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You’ve created a new improved version of the same campaign
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You no longer want the campaign to appear in your active list
Pausing Ad Groups, Ads, or Keywords
You don’t have to pause the entire campaign. You can also pause:
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Ad groups (specific sections within a campaign)
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Individual ads
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Keywords
Go to the relevant tab (Ad groups, Ads & assets, or Keywords), find the item, and change the status from “Enabled” to “Paused.”
Conclusion
Pausing or stopping a campaign in Google Ads is quick and easy. Use Pause when you want a temporary break with the option to resume later, and use Remove for permanent shutdowns. Google Ads also allows pausing individual elements like ad groups or keywords, giving you full control to optimize your ad strategy at any time.
