The Google Ads Audit Checklist Every Advertiser Should Run

1. Conversion tracking (do this first)

Nothing else matters if conversions are wrong. Broken tracking makes Smart Bidding chase noise, and the reports lie in a way that gets worse the more you optimize.

• Every conversion action fires exactly once per event, verified in Google Tag Assistant.
• Primary conversions are business-meaningful (calls, form fills, purchases) — not page views.
• Enhanced conversions are enabled and passing hashed email/phone.
• GA4 conversions are aligned with Google Ads conversions, not duplicated.
• Offline conversions or CRM imports are running for any lead-gen account.

2. Account structure

The account should mirror how you think about the business — by service line, margin or geography — not by keyword theme. Fewer, tighter campaigns usually outperform sprawling structures because Smart Bidding needs conversion volume per campaign to work.

3. Keywords and match types

• Exact match should be dominant for known winners; broad match is only safe with tCPA or tROAS and rich conversion data.
• Low-volume or 0-impression keywords should be paused or consolidated.
• Branded and non-branded traffic are in separate campaigns.
• Competitor terms, if used, are budgeted separately with a strict CPL cap.

4. Negative keywords

Negative keyword lists are the single fastest way to reduce wasted spend. In most audits the negative list is either missing, outdated or contains everything in one giant list applied nowhere.

• A universal negative list applied to every search campaign.
• Vertical-specific lists for job, freelance, DIY, cheap and educational intent where relevant.
• Search terms reviewed weekly — anything with spend and no conversion after threshold volume gets added.

5. Bidding strategy

Manual CPC is dead for most accounts. The audit question is not which strategy — it is whether you have the conversion volume to support the one you picked. Target CPA needs roughly 30 conversions in 30 days; tROAS needs 50. Below those numbers, Max Conversions with a bid cap usually wins.

6. Ads and creative

• Every ad group has at least 2 responsive search ads.
• RSAs use at least 12 headlines and 4 descriptions, with pinned brand or offer where needed.
• Ad strength is Good or Excellent on the majority of active ads.
• Sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, images and business info assets are all in place.
• Call assets have call tracking numbers, not raw business lines.

7. Landing pages

The ad platform can only send traffic — the landing page decides whether it converts. Message match, load speed on mobile, form length and social proof are the four things we check every time. A slow or off-message page can double CPL on its own.

8. Reporting and pacing

• Monthly budget pacing is on track by day 15 and day 25, not just month-end.
• Reporting ties CPL and CPA to revenue, not clicks and impressions.
• Anomaly alerts are set for spend, CPA and conversion volume changes.

Want us to run this on your account?

We do a free version of this audit on every strategy call. You get a written summary of what is working, what is leaking and the first three fixes to make — with no obligation to hire us afterwards.

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