Why Should You Conduct A Google Ads Audit?
Key Insights
Keyword Relevance & Performance: A Google Ads audit or Google AdWords audit identifies underperforming keywords and uncovers opportunities for better match types, ensuring your ads target the right audience for higher-quality traffic.
Ad Copy & Landing Page Alignment: Audits ensure that ad copy matches user intent and aligns with optimized landing pages, improving Quality Score and boosting conversion rates by reducing bounce rates.
Budget & Bidding Efficiency: An audit evaluates your budget allocation and bidding strategies, ensuring you’re not overspending or missing opportunities to optimize your spend for maximum ROI.
A Google Ads audit is a thorough evaluation of your brand’s ad account designed to assess its performance, identify gaps, and uncover opportunities for business growth.
By analyzing various key elements such as campaign structure, keyword strategy, and bidding tactics, an audit ensures your account aligns with your marketing objectives.
Conducting regular audits is very essential in digital marketing because even well-performing campaigns can develop inefficiencies over time, with changes in market trends. Without proper reviews, businesses may face issues such as budget drain, poor ad visibility, or inaccurate audience targeting.
For instance, a common problem is spending on irrelevant keywords, that is, where non-converting search terms consume your budget. These might even be the same keywords that performed well before.
Similarly, misconfigured conversion tracking may cause inaccurate performance data, leading to misguided decisions that may negatively impact your sales.
Audits also expose overlapping ad groups, underperforming ads, or inconsistent bidding strategies that hinder ROI.
The key benefits of a well-executed audit include:
- Reduced Waste: Eliminating poor-performing ads and inefficient spend.
- Improved ROI: Focusing resources on high-converting campaigns.
- Better Targeting: Refining audience segmentation to reach ideal customers.
By performing routine audits, businesses can ensure their campaigns remain optimized, cost-effective, and aligned with strategic goals.
Why Perform a Google Ads Audit?
Conducting a Google Ads audit or a Google AdWords audit is vital for improving performance of ads and ensuring efficient budget use. Key reasons to perform an audit include:
- Identifying Wasted Spend: An audit highlights keywords, ads, or placements that consume your budget without delivering meaningful results. Eliminating these negative areas helps maximize returns and minimize unnecessary spends.
- Improving Conversion Rates: By refining ad copy, adjusting targeting, and optimizing landing pages, audits enhance your campaign’s ability to convert visitors into customers.
- Ensuring Accurate Tracking and Reporting: An audit verifies that conversion tracking, Google Analytics, and Google Tag Manager are correctly configured to ensure data accuracy.
- Enhancing Campaign Scalability: Audits uncover high-performing campaigns that can be expanded, allowing you to scale successful strategies for greater reach and ROI.
How to Perform a Google Ads Audit?
Step 1: Define Your Goals
Establishing clear goals is the foundation of a successful Google Ads strategy. Without well-defined objectives, campaigns can result in wasted budget and fail to achieve meaningful results.
- Aligning Campaign Structure with Objectives
Ensure your campaign structure reflects your goals. For instance, an ecommerce business may create separate campaigns for different product categories. On the other hand, a service provider may segment campaigns by service types or target locations. This approach ensures better control over budget and performance tracking. - Understanding Different Goal Types
Identifying your primary objective helps determine bidding strategies, ad formats, and keyword targeting. Key goal types include:- Lead Generation: Focuses on driving form submissions, inquiries, and phone calls.
- Ecommerce Sales: Prioritizes product purchases with a focus on revenue tracking.
- Brand Awareness: Increases reach and visibility for new businesses or even product launches for established businesses.
Selecting the correct goal type ensures your campaign settings align with your desired outcomes.
- Setting Measurable KPIs
Establish clear metrics to measure performance. Here are some key KPIs:- Cost Per Lead (CPL): Tracks how much you’re spending per new inquiry.
- Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): Measures revenue generated versus ad spend.
- Click-Through Rate (CTR): Indicates ad relevance and audience engagement.
- Conversion Rate: Evaluates how effectively your ads turn visitors into customers.
Defining precise KPIs allows you to measure progress, spot issues, and refine your campaigns for better outcomes.
By setting clear objectives, aligning your campaign structure accordingly, and tracking measurable KPIs, you’ll establish a solid foundation for a successful Google Ads audit.
Step 2: Tracking and Analytics
Accurate tracking is essential for evaluating Google Ads performance and making data-driven decisions for improving your sales, and thus, your business.
Ensuring your tracking setup is complete and error-free is crucial to avoid blind spots in your data.
- Ensuring Google Ads Conversion Tracking is Active
Confirm that conversion actions are correctly set up in your Google Ads account. This may include tracking purchases, form submissions, phone calls, newsletter sign-ups, etc. Ensure the relevant conversion tags are active on respective pages, such as “Thank You” on order confirmation pages. - Verifying Google Analytics (GA4) Integration
Link your Google Ads account with GA4 to gain deeper insights into user behavior, as it collects and analyzes data from both apps and websites. This integration allows you to track post-click activities, compare traffic sources, and analyze user journeys. Ensure your GA4 property is collecting data, and confirm your audience lists are syncing with Google Ads for remarketing efforts. - Reviewing Google Tag Manager (GTM) Setup:
Google Tag Manager simplifies managing multiple tracking codes without manual code edits. Check your GTM container for:- Correct installation on your website
- Proper tag triggers for conversions, scroll depth, or video engagement
- Active variables that track key metrics
- Ensuring Accurate Goal Tracking and Event Triggers
Audit your conversion goals in GA4 to ensure they align with your business objectives. Confirm that all triggers fire correctly and measure intended actions, such as form submissions, button clicks, or product purchases.
Testing your setup with tools like Tag Assistant or GA4 DebugView helps verify your data is being recorded correctly. An error-free tracking system ensures campaign adjustments are based on accurate insights, improving overall performance.
Step 3: Account Structure Review
A well-structured Google Ads account ensures better control, improved performance, and easier management.
Evaluating your account structure during a Google Ads audit can help uncover inefficiencies. Provide insights for optimization, and minimize wasted spends.
- Campaign and Ad Group Organization
Structure your account by product categories, services, or target audiences. Each campaign should have a clear focus to simplify budget management and performance tracking. Within campaigns, ad groups should center around tightly themed keywords for improved relevance and Quality Score. - Budget Allocation Across Campaigns
Evaluate how your budget is distributed. High-performing campaigns may require increased spending, while underperforming campaigns might need adjustments or strategic changes. Ensure your budget aligns with key objectives, such as allocating more funds to campaigns driving conversions. - Naming Conventions for Clear Navigation
Create a standardized naming convention for campaigns, ad groups, and ads. This helps you quickly identify themes, objectives, and targeting details. For example, a campaign name like “Search_LeadGen_US_March2025” clearly outlines the channel, goal, location, and timeframe. - Use of Portfolio Bid Strategies
Portfolio bidding strategies allow you to group multiple campaigns under a shared bidding goal. For instance, a portfolio strategy targeting “Maximize Conversions” can improve efficiency across campaigns with similar objectives. Ensure these strategies are used where applicable to streamline management and improve results.
Step 4: Keyword Strategy Review
A thorough keyword strategy audit ensures your campaigns target the right audience while minimizing wasted spend. Reviewing key areas like keyword performance, match types, and exclusions is essential.
- Identifying Underperforming Keywords:
Analyze keywords with low CTR, poor Quality Scores, or high costs with minimal conversions. Pause or refine these terms to improve performance. - Checking Negative Keyword Lists:
Negative keywords prevent ads from appearing in irrelevant searches. Review your existing lists and expand them to block low-intent or unrelated queries. - Ensuring Relevant Match Types:
Evaluate whether keywords use appropriate match types:- Exact Match: Best for precise targeting.
- Phrase Match: Captures relevant variations.
- Broad Match: Expands reach but may increase irrelevant clicks.
Balancing match types can significantly help control traffic quality and volume.
- Reviewing Search Terms Report for Wasted Spend:
The Search Terms report reveals the actual queries triggering your ads. Identify irrelevant terms and add them as negative keywords to prevent waste.
By optimizing your keyword strategy, you can enhance targeting, improve ad relevance, and maximize budget efficiency through a Google AdWords audit.
Keyword Relevance & Performance: A Google Ads audit or Google AdWords audit identifies underperforming keywords and uncovers opportunities for better match types, ensuring your ads target the right audience for higher-quality traffic.
Step 5: Ad Copy and Creative Analysis
A detailed ad copy review ensures your messaging is compelling, relevant, and encourages meaningful engagement.
Effective ad copy is key to driving clicks, improving Quality Score, and boosting conversions. A thorough review ensures your messaging aligns with audience intent and campaign goals.
- Evaluating Headlines and Descriptions for Relevance
Assess your headlines for clarity, value, and keyword relevance. Strong headlines should highlight key benefits, offers, or pain points. Descriptions should provide supporting details and encourage action. - Testing Multiple Ad Variations (A/B Testing)
Running A/B tests helps determine which messaging, offers, or CTAs resonate most with your audience. Experiment with different wording, emotional appeals, or feature highlights. - Reviewing CTAs for Clarity and Effectiveness
Your calls-to-action should be clear, direct, and aligned with your campaign goals. Phrases like “Get Your Free Quote” or “Shop Now” can improve conversion rates as they’re attractive to your target audience. - Ensuring Use of Responsive Search Ads (RSAs)
RSAs dynamically combine multiple headlines and descriptions to create optimized ads. Ensure your RSAs feature varied text combinations that cater to different user intents.
Audits ensure that ad copy matches user intent and aligns with optimized landing pages, improving Quality Score and boosting conversion rates by reducing bounce rates.
Step 6: Bidding Strategies
Choosing the right bidding strategy is crucial for maximizing campaign performance and aligning with your goals. An effective audit reviews bidding tactics to ensure they match your objectives and budget strategy.
- Evaluating Bid Strategy Alignment with Goals:
Ensure your chosen bidding strategy supports your campaign objectives. For example:- Maximize Conversions: Ideal for driving leads or sales.
- Target ROAS: Best for ecommerce campaigns focusing on revenue growth.
- Target CPA: Useful for controlling cost per acquisition in lead generation campaigns.
- Reviewing Automated vs Manual Bidding Tactics:
Automated bidding strategies use machine learning to optimize bids in real-time. They can improve performance but require proper conversion tracking to work effectively. Manual bidding offers greater control but requires more frequent adjustments. Assess which strategy aligns best with your campaign structure and goals. - Checking Budget Distribution and Bid Adjustments:
Review budget allocation to ensure funds are concentrated on high-performing campaigns. Analyze bid adjustments for location, device, audience, or time-of-day settings to enhance efficiency. Overly aggressive adjustments may limit reach, while conservative settings could hinder performance.
Optimizing your bidding strategies ensures your budget is spent effectively, driving better results and improved ROI.
Step 7: Audience Targeting
Effective audience targeting ensures your ads reach the right users, improving engagement and conversions. A detailed audit helps identify gaps and refine your targeting approach.
- Reviewing Audience Segments in GA4:
Examine your GA4 audience lists to ensure they align with campaign goals. Key segments might include returning visitors, high-intent users, or those who abandoned carts. Ensure these lists are linked to your Google Ads account for remarketing opportunities. - Analyzing Demographic and Behavioral Data:
Review performance data by age, gender, income level, and device usage. Identify segments with high conversion rates and consider increasing bids for those groups. Conversely, exclude or downweight underperforming demographics to reduce wasted spend. - Ensuring Remarketing Strategies are Active:
Remarketing campaigns re-engage past visitors who showed interest in your products or services. Confirm that your remarketing tags are properly configured and that dynamic remarketing feeds are active for ecommerce campaigns.
By refining your audience targeting, you can focus your budget on users most likely to convert, improving overall campaign efficiency.
Step 8: Landing Page Analysis
A well-optimized landing page maximizes the value of your paid traffic. By ensuring relevance, speed, and clarity, you can significantly boost conversions.
- Ensuring Relevance Between Ads and Landing Pages:
Ensure your landing page content directly reflects the ad’s messaging. For example, if your ad promotes a “20% off” offer, that promotion should be prominently displayed on the landing page. This improves Quality Score and minimizes bounce rates. - Reviewing Page Speed and Mobile Responsiveness:
Fast-loading pages improve user experience and reduce abandonment rates. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to identify performance issues. Common improvements include:- Compressing large images
- Enabling lazy loading for below-the-fold content
- Reducing server response times
- Leveraging browser caching
Mobile responsiveness is equally crucial. Test landing pages on multiple devices to ensure proper layout, readable text, and easy navigation.
- Checking CTA Clarity and Conversion Optimization:
Your CTA should be prominent, concise, and action-driven. Use contrasting colors, clear wording (e.g., “Get Started” or “Claim Your Offer”), and place CTAs above the fold.
Additionally, simplify forms by reducing unnecessary fields and ensuring error messages are clear.
- A/B Testing for Improved Results:
Test different elements like CTA text, form placement, and visual hierarchy to identify what drives the best engagement. Tools like Google Optimize or VWO can help run effective A/B tests.
Expanding your landing page audit with these strategies can improve engagement, lower bounce rates, and increase overall conversion rates.
Step 9: Performance Trends Analysis
Analyzing performance trends is crucial to understanding campaign behavior and improving long-term results. A thorough review can reveal valuable insights that impact budget allocation, bidding strategies, and creative adjustments.
- Reviewing Data from the Past 30-90 Days:
Analyzing this timeframe helps you spot short-term fluctuations and establish broader performance trends. Focus on key metrics like CTR, conversion rates, and ROAS. Use Google Ads’ “Performance Over Time” charts to visualize patterns. - Identifying Sudden Performance Drops or Growth Trends:
When performance drops suddenly, investigate common causes such as:- Budget exhaustion
- Disapproved ads or policy violations
- Changes in keyword bids or match types
- Technical issues with tracking or landing pages
For unexpected growth, identify what’s working. It could be improved ad copy, seasonal demand, or a successful bid strategy. Amplify these positive elements by increasing budgets or scaling successful campaigns.
- Spotting Seasonal or Time-Based Trends:
Seasonal patterns, like holiday peaks or weekend drops, can heavily influence ad performance. Review year-over-year data to predict these trends and adjust campaign strategies accordingly.
For example, ecommerce brands may increase spending before major shopping events, while B2B campaigns may perform better during weekday business hours.
- Adapting Based on Insights:
Once trends are identified, adjust bids, budgets, and creative assets to match performance patterns. For instance, increase bids during peak periods and schedule ads when your audience is most active.
By regularly analyzing performance data through a Google Ads audit, you can improve campaign stability, respond to changes faster, and ensure your budget is spent efficiently.
Step 10: Competitive Analysis
Conducting a competitive analysis helps you identify gaps in your strategy and uncover new opportunities for improvement and growth. By analyzing competitor performance, you can refine your own campaigns to gain a stronger foothold in the ad space.
- Using Tools Like Google Ads Auction Insights:
Auction Insights provides insights into competitors bidding on the same keywords. Key metrics include:- Impression Share: How often your ads appear compared to competitors
- Overlap Rate: How frequently your ads appear alongside a competitor’s ads
- Position Above Rate: How often a competitor’s ad ranks higher than yours
By analyzing these metrics during Google AdWords audit, you can identify strong competitors and assess your positioning.
- Identifying Competitors’ Keyword Strategies:
Tools like SEMrush, SpyFu, or Ahrefs can help reveal competitor keywords, bidding patterns, and top-performing ads. Identify which keywords competitors are focusing on and explore new keyword opportunities they may have overlooked. - Evaluating Competitor Ad Copy:
Examine competitor headlines, descriptions, and offers. Identify what messaging styles perform well — whether they focus on urgency, discounts, or social proof. Use this insight to refine your own ad copy with stronger CTAs, improved value propositions, or better keyword alignment. - Actionable Strategies Based on Insights:
If competitors dominate certain keywords, consider shifting focus to less competitive but equally relevant terms. Alternatively, tailor ad copy to highlight unique selling points that competitors lack.
By consistently monitoring competitor strategies, you can adjust your approach to maintain a competitive edge and improve your Google Ads campaign outcomes.
Step 11: Budget and Spend Efficiency
Managing your Google Ads budget effectively ensures you maximize returns while minimizing wasted spend. A structured budget review helps identify opportunities to improve cost efficiency.
- Identifying Campaigns with Overspending:
Review campaign reports to spot areas consuming excessive budget without delivering results. Focus on metrics like cost-per-click (CPC), cost-per-acquisition (CPA), and low-performing keywords. Campaigns with high spending but low conversions often need adjustments. - Reallocating Budget to High-Performing Areas:
Analyze campaigns that consistently deliver positive ROI. Increase budgets for these campaigns while reducing spend on underperforming ones. For example, if a branded search campaign is driving strong conversions, allocating more budget there can yield better returns. - Reviewing CPA and ROAS:
Evaluate your CPA to ensure you’re acquiring customers at a sustainable cost. Similarly, measure ROAS to confirm your campaigns are generating profitable revenue. Adjust bids, targeting, or ad creatives to improve these metrics where needed.
Budget & Bidding Efficiency: An audit evaluates your budget allocation and bidding strategies, ensuring you’re not overspending or missing opportunities to optimize your spend for maximum ROI.
By monitoring spend patterns regularly, you can direct your budget toward the most impactful campaigns and improve your overall return on investment.
Step 12: Reporting and Documentation
Creating comprehensive reports and documentation ensures your Google Ads audit insights are actionable and accessible for future improvements.
- Creating Detailed Audit Reports:
Structure your report with clear sections for each audit step, outlining key observations, identified issues, and performance data. Visual aids like charts or tables can simplify complex data. - Outlining Clear Action Items:
Include clear recommendations for each identified issue. Prioritize tasks by urgency and potential impact, ensuring teams know where to focus their efforts. - Building a Checklist for Regular Account Maintenance:
Create a structured checklist for ongoing reviews. This should cover budget tracking, keyword updates, ad copy refreshes, and audience adjustments.
With organized documentation, you can ensure consistent campaign improvements and maintain long-term success.
Final Thoughts
A comprehensive Google Ads audit helps identify inefficiencies, improve performance, and align campaigns with business goals.
Key insights from your audit may include issues with tracking, budget misallocation, or weak ad copy. Addressing these areas can lead to improved ROI, better targeting, and reduced wasted spend.
Actionable next steps should prioritize critical fixes like updating negative keyword lists, refining ad copy, and improving conversion tracking.
Establishing an ongoing audit schedule—quarterly or biannually—ensures that your campaigns stay optimized, data remains accurate, and performance trends are consistently evaluated. As a result, your business can improve faster than ever.