Every November, someone asks me the same thing: "Should we just turn the ads off until spring?" For most businesses I work with, my answer is no. And now I have the numbers to back that up.
The short answer: Most service businesses should not pause Facebook ads in winter. Across our Winnipeg accounts that ran through the cold months, winter cost per lead held steady or even dropped compared to summer, and January CPMs came in lower than November's. Pause only if you have nothing to sell for several months. Never pause for just a few weeks.
I run Adovate out of Winnipeg, managing Meta ads for service businesses across Canada and the US. Manitoba winters are about as harsh a test of seasonality as you'll find, so here's what our real accounts did from November to February.
Only if you physically can't sell or deliver your service for months at a time. Otherwise, keep running.
People don't stop needing things because it's cold outside. Homes still get dirty, clinic appointments still get booked, and people still plan next year's build. So the question isn't "is it winter?" It's "can I make sales right now?"
My rule is simple: if you can sell people in the winter, keep it running. If there's nothing to sell, turn it off. There's no point paying for leads you can't serve. But that's a much smaller group of businesses than most owners assume.
On the accounts we ran straight through last winter, cost per lead was flat or better than in summer.
We track every account's spend, leads, CPM and CPL weekly, so I compared clients that advertised from November 2025 through February 2026 against summer 2026. Names are left out; the numbers are straight from the ad accounts:
Caveat: this is a handful of Winnipeg accounts, not an industry study. But it's real data from a city that hits -30°C, and it doesn't support the idea that ads stop working when the snow falls. If you want to see where these numbers sit against other industries, check our cost per lead benchmarks for service businesses.
Yes, CPMs usually climb in November as retailers flood the auction for Black Friday, then ease off after the holidays.
CPM is what you pay for 1,000 impressions. Every account we ran through last winter had a higher CPM in November than in January:
Here's the counterintuitive part: January is often a cheaper month to buy attention, not a worse one. Ecommerce brands pull back after the holidays and the auction gets less crowded. And a higher November CPM doesn't automatically mean a worse cost per lead. The cleaning company's November CPL was $15.24, right in line with the rest of its year. For a broader look at what drives these numbers, see how much Meta ads cost in 2026.
Most of them, but some need to change the offer, not the budget. Here's how I think about it by industry:
Sell before your season starts, then use the off-season to sell something your customers also need.
One of our Winnipeg snow removal clients is the best example. From September to November 2025, the account brought in 373 leads at about $40 each, because that's when people sign seasonal contracts. By January, once winter was here and everyone had already signed with someone, it took $2,247 to get 17 leads, or $132 per lead. That's the time to stop.
Here's the part I like most. For the summer, they originally wanted to pause entirely. Instead, they realized snow removal customers also need lawn care, so they ran a landscaping offer to the same clientele. In April it brought in 28 leads at $16.28, and they built a second line of business instead of going dark for six months. Then in October 2026 they came back strong for snow season: 120 leads at $24.51.
If your service is seasonal, ask yourself what your customers need in your off-season before you hit pause.
Yes. Every time you turn ads off and back on, Meta has to go through the learning phase again.
Think of it like a truck on a January morning in Winnipeg. Shut it off for five minutes and you waste effort warming it up again. Parking it until April? Shutting it off makes sense.
So here's how I'd decide:
For a business with nothing to sell, there's no "keep the lights on" budget. You're all in or all out.
Yes, but add value instead of cutting your price.
The mistake I see most going into winter is ignoring Black Friday entirely. A lot of people won't buy anything in late November unless there's an offer attached. That doesn't mean you need to discount.
Take our own agency. For a Black Friday offer, we might add more ads per month or extra filming time. Our costs go up a bit, but we're not discounting, so our margins stay better. A cleaner could add a free fridge clean-out; an HVAC company could include a filter with a furnace tune-up. Give people a reason to act now without training them to wait for a sale.
A little. Be aware of the season and film for it.
Our process barely changes. We film indoors more in winter and take advantage of Manitoba summers for outdoor footage when it helps. The exception is snow removal, where you want real winter footage. If you're stuck for ideas, our guide to Facebook ad creative templates that actually work is a good place to start.
Usually, yes. CPMs tend to rise in November as retailers compete for Black Friday and holiday sales. On our Winnipeg accounts, cost per lead often stayed close to normal anyway.
For most service businesses, yes. After the holidays, ecommerce brands pull back and the auction gets less crowded. Every account we ran through last winter had a lower CPM in January than in November.
Turning ads off and back on means Meta has to relearn who to show them to, so you go through the learning phase again. That's why pausing for a few weeks rarely makes sense. For a five- or six-month off-season, though, the savings are usually worth it.
Mostly in the fall, before the snow starts, because that's when people sign seasonal contracts. For one of our Winnipeg clients, cost per lead was about $40 from September to November but $132 in January. In the off-season, a related offer like lawn care keeps the business growing.
Yes, but lead with added value instead of a discount. Extra services, a bonus add-on or more of what clients already buy gives people a reason to act now without hurting your margins or training them to wait for sales.
If you want help planning your winter ads, from switching offers to deciding when to pause, that's exactly what our Facebook ads management for Winnipeg service businesses covers. We'll look at your numbers and tell you honestly whether to keep running. Get in touch with Adovate and let's map out your season.
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