Google Ads Audit Checklist

This is the checklist I use when auditing a Google Ads account. It has 30 checks in seven groups, ordered by how much money a failure usually costs. Work through it top to bottom: a broken tracking setup makes every later check less reliable, so tracking comes first.

1. Conversion tracking

• Primary conversions are real business actions. Calls, form submissions, bookings or purchases. Not page views, scrolls or clicks on a button.
• Leads are counted once. Lead actions should use the "One" count setting, so one person submitting a form twice is one lead.
• Calls are tracked. Calls from ads and calls from the website, with a minimum call length so 5-second hang-ups do not count.
• Enhanced conversions are on for forms, so conversions still match when cookies are missing.
• Google Ads numbers roughly match reality. Compare last month's conversions with your CRM, call log or orders. A gap of more than 20% means something is double-counting or missing.

2. Campaign settings

• Location option is "Presence". "Presence or interest" shows ads to people who are only interested in your area, which for local services usually means wasted clicks.
• Search Partners and Display are off in Search campaigns, unless you have tested them and they convert.
• The ad schedule matches when someone can answer the phone, or call assets are scheduled separately.
• Budget goes to the best campaign first. Check that your best-converting campaign is not "Limited by budget" while weaker ones spend freely.
• Excluded locations are set for areas you do not serve inside your radius.
• Auto-applied recommendations are reviewed. Some of them add broad keywords or change bids without anyone noticing.

3. Keywords

• Match types fit your data and bidding. See keyword match types for which to use when.
• No keyword overlap between ad groups, so the right ad and landing page show for each search.
• Shared negative keyword lists are applied to every relevant campaign.
• Keywords with Quality Score of 4 or below are reviewed for relevance, ad match and landing page.
• Dead weight is cleaned up: keywords with no impressions in 90 days add clutter, not reach.

4. Search terms

• The search terms report was reviewed in the last 30 days.
• Wasted spend is measured. Add up spend on terms that will never convert, as a share of total spend.
• Converting search terms are added as keywords where they deserve their own ad or bid.
• Brand and competitor searches are handled on purpose, in their own campaigns or blocked, not mixed into generic ones.

Negatives are the fix for most problems here. The negative keywords guide has starter lists.

5. Ads and assets

• Every ad group has a responsive search ad with at least 8 distinct headlines. Check limits with the ad copy checker.
• Sitelinks, callouts, call assets and structured snippets are in place at campaign or account level.
• Ads repeat the words people searched and match the landing page.
• No disapproved or limited ads and assets are sitting unnoticed.

6. Bidding

• The bid strategy fits your conversion volume. Target CPA and Target ROAS need steady conversion data. With very few conversions, Maximise Clicks with a CPC cap or Manual CPC can be safer.
• Targets come from real numbers. A target CPA should be close to your recent actual CPA, then tightened slowly. Check what you can afford with the ROAS and break-even calculator.
• Strategies are not changed every week. Each change resets learning. Give a change two to four weeks.

7. Landing pages

• The page loads fast on mobile. Test it in PageSpeed Insights. Most ad clicks on local services come from phones.
• The headline matches the ad, and the next step is visible without scrolling.
• The phone number is tap-to-call and the form is short. Name, phone, and what they need is usually enough.

What to fix first

Fix in this order: tracking, then settings, then search terms and negatives, then everything else. Tracking problems poison bidding. Settings and negatives stop the biggest leaks. Ads, bidding and landing pages then improve what is left.