A Google Ads audit is a lot like a mechanic’s inspection: there is little point tuning the engine if the fuel gauge is broken, so the order in which you check things matters as much as the checks themselves. This guide sets out a practical sequence that starts with measurement and works outwards to settings, ads and landing pages.
At a glance
Confirm tracking first, then follow the money through search terms, settings, ads and landing pages, and fix the biggest leaks before the small details.
Each section below builds on the one before it, so it is worth working through them in sequence.
Why an audit needs an order
Google’s automated bidding learns from the conversions you tell it to value. If those conversions are wrong, every other part of the account is being optimised towards the wrong result, and changes to keywords or ads will be judged against misleading numbers. That is why experienced practitioners treat a Google Ads checklist as a sequence rather than a list of unrelated tasks. If you are new to the platform, our complete guide to Google Ads explains how campaigns, keywords and bidding fit together.
Running a Google Ads audit in the right order
Start with conversion tracking. Check which actions are recorded as conversions, whether they reflect genuine business outcomes such as a qualified lead or a sale, and whether they are firing correctly. Google’s guide to conversion tracking explains how actions are set up. A useful test is to compare the conversions reported in Google Ads over a recent period with the leads or sales in your own records. A significant gap in either direction means the tracking needs attention before anything else.
Next, review the search terms report, which shows the actual searches that triggered your ads. Sort it by cost and look for terms that are spending money without producing results, or that are simply irrelevant to what you sell. These become negative keywords. At the same stage, check how much spend comes from broad match and whether your negative keyword lists are applied to every campaign that needs them.
Then look at structure. Each campaign should have a clear purpose and budget, and campaigns should not compete for the same searches. Where Performance Max runs alongside search campaigns, check that it is not quietly absorbing your brand searches.
Settings, ads and landing pages
Campaign settings are a common source of quiet waste. Confirm that location targeting reaches people in your service area rather than people who have only shown interest in it, that the search partner and display networks are switched on only when there is a reason, and that ad schedules reflect when you can actually respond to leads. These settings are easy to overlook because they rarely change once a campaign is live.
After that, review the ads themselves alongside the pages they send people to. The message in the ad should match the landing page closely, the page should load quickly on mobile, and the next step should be obvious. Google’s explanation of Quality Score is a useful diagnostic here, as its components point to weaknesses in ad relevance, expected click through rate and landing page experience. If the pages are the problem, dedicated landing page builds often help more than further changes to the ads.
Common mistakes
The most common mistake is starting with ad copy or bids while tracking is still unreliable. Another is judging performance on clicks or click through rate rather than on cost per lead or sale, which can make a poor account look healthy. Many audits also stop at the account and ignore the website, even though a slow or confusing page undermines every other improvement.
It is equally possible to change too much at once. When several large changes go live together, you cannot tell which one made the difference, and automated bidding may need time to adjust. Treating a Google Ads optimization checklist as a single overhaul rather than a series of measured changes usually leads to confusing results.
After the audit
Once you have a list of issues, rank them by likely impact on cost per result and fix them in that order, starting with tracking. Revisit the account regularly using the approach in our Google Ads optimisation guide, and make sure spend aligns with the targets in your Google Ads budget. Regular Google Ads audits are far easier when the foundations are sound.
If you would prefer an independent review, our marketing audits cover this in depth, and our Google Ads management team can act on the findings. Get in touch or email hello@thedigitalmarketingconsultants.com.au.
