Google Ads Account Audit Checklist | Adslytics

Why Every Google Ads Account Needs Regular Audits

Google Ads accounts accumulate inefficiencies over time — campaigns built for old goals, keywords that once performed but no longer do, tracking configurations that quietly broke when a website was redesigned. Without systematic auditing, these inefficiencies compound and budget gets wasted on autopilot.

Our Google Ads management team conducts formal audits when onboarding new clients and quarterly for existing ones. Here is the framework we use — a systematic process that consistently reveals significant optimization opportunities in nearly every account we review.

Phase 1: Conversion Tracking Audit

Start here. Everything else is meaningless if conversion data is wrong.

✅ Is Google Ads conversion tracking set up at all? (Many accounts run on impressions alone)
✅ Is auto-tagging enabled? (Required for GA4 attribution)
✅ Are conversions firing exactly once per conversion event? Check for duplicate tracking (same conversion in GTM and Google Ads direct)
✅ Are primary vs. secondary conversions correctly classified? (Only Primary conversions feed Smart Bidding)
✅ Do conversion action values match actual business value? (Dynamic vs. static)
✅ Is the conversion window appropriate? (90-day window for long sales cycles)

If any of these are wrong, fix them first using our conversion tracking fix service before proceeding. All other optimizations depend on this data.

Phase 2: Account Structure Audit

✅ Are brand and non-brand keywords in separate campaigns?
✅ Is each campaign organized around a single business objective?
✅ Do ad groups have tightly themed keyword sets (7–10 related keywords max)?
✅ Is there a shared negative keyword list applied at account level?
✅ Are geographies separated where performance differs significantly?

Phase 3: Search Terms Audit

The Search Terms report reveals whether your budget is reaching relevant users.

✅ Download 90 days of search term data (minimum)
✅ Sort by cost descending — review every high-spend term for relevance
✅ Identify irrelevant categories: informational, job-seeking, competitor names, wrong industry
✅ Calculate wasted spend on irrelevant terms
✅ Build new negative keyword list from audit findings

In our experience, most inherited accounts have 20–40% of Search spend going to irrelevant queries — this is immediately recoverable without reducing budget.

Phase 4: Quality Score Audit

✅ Download keyword report with QS columns (Expected CTR, Ad Relevance, Landing Page Experience)
✅ Identify all keywords with QS ≤ 5
✅ For low Ad Relevance: check ad group tightness and ad copy alignment
✅ For low Landing Page Experience: check page speed, content relevance, and mobile UX
✅ For low Expected CTR: review ad copy and extension usage

Phase 5: Ad Copy and Extensions Audit

✅ Are RSAs using the full 15 headlines and 4 descriptions?
✅ Is there at least one RSA with "Excellent" ad strength per ad group?
✅ Are sitelinks, callouts, and structured snippets set up at account or campaign level?
✅ Are ads testing different value propositions (price, speed, guarantee, proof)?
✅ Do headlines include target keywords?

Phase 6: Bidding Strategy Audit

✅ Are bidding strategies appropriate to current conversion volume? (Don't use Smart Bidding without 30+ conversions/month)
✅ For tCPA campaigns: is the target CPA realistic vs. historical performance?
✅ Is impression share lost to bid vs. lost to budget for each campaign?
✅ Are device bid adjustments applied based on performance data?

Phase 7: Audience Audit

✅ Are remarketing audiences built and applied to Search campaigns (RLSA)?
✅ Are converters excluded from prospecting campaigns?
✅ Is Customer Match set up and current?
✅ Are in-market and custom intent audiences layered in Observation mode?

Phase 8: Landing Page Audit

✅ Does each campaign have a dedicated landing page (not the homepage)?
✅ Do landing pages achieve Core Web Vitals thresholds?
✅ Does landing page content match the ad message (message match)?
✅ Is there a clear single CTA above the fold?

Audit Output: The Prioritized Action List

After completing all phases, build a prioritized action list by:

Impact: How much budget/performance improvement will this change deliver?
Effort: How long will implementation take?
Risk: Could this change cause short-term performance disruption?

Fix conversion tracking and eliminate negative keyword waste first — these have immediate, material impact. Then address structure and Quality Score issues. Then test ad copy and bidding refinements.

Our Google Ads audits consistently identify opportunities to recover 20–40% of wasted spend within the first month. Ready for an audit of your account? Contact our team — we provide complimentary account audits for qualifying businesses.