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Audit - 10 min read - Updated

Google Ads audit checklist: 55 questions, in order

55 questions to answer yourself, in your own account. The free audit automates 22 checks drawn from them, on your real data.

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01The checklist

55 questions, in 7 parts.

Start with conversion tracking: if what the account counts is wrong, every answer after it is wrong too. Then work down, part by part.

Accounts drift without a sound: settings change, tags stop recording, searches shift. A full pass twice a year and a light one every month keep the drift small.

01Conversion tracking

10 questions

If conversion data is wrong, everything downstream is wrong: Smart Bidding optimizes for fake goals and attribution lies. Start here.

  1. 1.1 Are conversions imported from GA4 (preferred) or set up natively?
  2. 1.2 Are Enhanced Conversions enabled (PII hashed for cookieless)?
  3. 1.3 Are all primary conversions tagged correctly with proper categories?
  4. 1.4 Is server-side tracking active (Google Tag Server-side or alternative)?
  5. 1.5 Cross-domain tracking working (if multiple domains in funnel)?
  6. 1.6 Mobile conversion tracking firing?
  7. 1.7 Phone call conversions tracked?
  8. 1.8 Offline conversion imports configured (CRM to Google Ads)?
  9. 1.9 Consent Mode v2 properly configured (EU compliance)?
  10. 1.10 Duplicate conversions detected and deduplicated?

02Account structure

8 questions

Bad structure spends on the wrong campaigns and makes optimization impossible. Good structure mirrors how your audience actually behaves.

  1. 2.1 Campaigns properly segmented by goal (acquisition, branded, retargeting)?
  2. 2.2 Ad groups themed coherently (one theme per ad group)?
  3. 2.3 Single Keyword Ad Groups (SKAGs) used wisely (not over-fragmented)?
  4. 2.4 Search vs Display vs PMax campaigns properly separated?
  5. 2.5 Performance Max not overlapping standard campaigns (cannibalization check)?
  6. 2.6 Account hierarchy logical (MCC, accounts, campaigns)?
  7. 2.7 Geographic targeting correct (excluding wrong locations)?
  8. 2.8 Network settings optimized (search partners, display network)?

03Keywords and search terms

8 questions

People search for things you did not expect. Catch the bad ones with negatives, double down on the good ones.

  1. 3.1 Negative keyword lists adequate (regularly updated)?
  2. 3.2 Match type strategy correct (mostly phrase + exact, broad with caution)?
  3. 3.3 Search terms report mining done (find waste + opportunities)?
  4. 3.4 Keyword duplicates across ad groups (cannibalization)?
  5. 3.5 Branded vs non-branded mix appropriate (do not over-pay for brand)?
  6. 3.6 Long-tail opportunities captured (high-intent, low CPC)?
  7. 3.7 Low-volume / no-impression keywords removed?
  8. 3.8 Keyword cannibalization between campaigns checked?

04Bidding strategy

6 questions

Smart Bidding works when it has the right data and the right goal. Bad inputs, bad outputs.

  1. 4.1 Bidding strategy aligned with campaign goal (CPA, ROAS, conversions)?
  2. 4.2 Smart Bidding signals properly configured (audiences, locations)?
  3. 4.3 Target CPA / ROAS realistic vs your actual benchmarks?
  4. 4.4 Budget allocation efficient (not capped on top performers)?
  5. 4.5 Day-parting checked (when conversions actually happen)?
  6. 4.6 Device bid adjustments evaluated (mobile vs desktop performance)?

05Ads and Quality Score

8 questions

Google calls Quality Score a diagnostic of how your ad quality compares to other advertisers, not an input in the ad auction. Use it to find the ads, landing pages and keywords worth improving.

  1. 5.1 Quality Score: which keywords have a part rated "Below average" (expected clickthrough rate, ad relevance, landing page experience)?
  2. 5.2 Ad strength rated "Good" or "Excellent" on RSAs?
  3. 5.3 RSA assets count optimal (15 headlines, 4 descriptions)?
  4. 5.4 Sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets used?
  5. 5.5 Disapproved or limited ads identified and fixed?
  6. 5.6 Ad copy variety per ad group (no duplicates)?
  7. 5.7 Landing page experience score (mobile-friendly, fast)?
  8. 5.8 Final URL alignment with ad copy (relevance match)?

06Audiences

5 questions

Audiences feed Smart Bidding signals and enable retargeting. Both are under-used.

  1. 6.1 Remarketing lists created (website visitors, cart abandoners, etc.)?
  2. 6.2 Customer match lists uploaded (existing customers, lost deals)?
  3. 6.3 Lookalike segments built from your customer lists (Demand Gen and video campaigns), where relevant?
  4. 6.4 In-market and affinity audiences layered as observation?
  5. 6.5 Negative audiences set (existing customers excluded from acquisition)?

07Performance analysis

10 questions

Trends matter more than snapshots. CPC creeping up or CTR dropping are leading indicators of a bigger problem.

  1. 7.1 CPC trending up unexpectedly (last 90 days)?
  2. 7.2 CTR vs benchmark by campaign type?
  3. 7.3 Conversion rate by device (mobile vs desktop)?
  4. 7.4 Geographic performance gaps (winners vs losers by region)?
  5. 7.5 Time-of-day performance (peak hours / dead hours)?
  6. 7.6 Wasted impressions on poor placements (Display only)?
  7. 7.7 Budget capped impressions (lost impression share due to budget)?
  8. 7.8 Search impression share lost - by rank vs budget breakdown?
  9. 7.9 Auction insights (competitors, overlap rate, position above rate)?
  10. 7.10 Google's Recommendations tab reviewed (and selectively applied)?

How to use it

Block an afternoon, work down every line and screenshot what you find. Then write what each finding costs where you can measure it, and fix the costly ones first.

Want the link for later? Get it by email.

By industry: See what the audit looks at first in your industry.

Not ready to connect? Scan your site from its URL.

We read your public pages and check whether your Google Ads tracking is in place. No account, no login, 30 seconds. Connecting is what shows the waste inside the account.

No login. No card. 30 seconds.

02Quick pass

Thirty minutes, six stops.

The pass to run before anything else. Open Google Ads in another tab and follow along.

Before you start

  • Access to the Google Ads account: the lowest access level that shows reports is enough.
  • Access to Google Analytics, linked to Google Ads.
  • Somewhere to write down each finding and what it costs.
  • Thirty minutes without interruption.

  1. Minutes 0-5

    Conversion tracking, first

    Where: Goals, then Conversions, then Summary: the table of every conversion action.

    • How many actions count the same sale? Two for one sale is where double counting starts.
    • Which ones are primary? Bidding learns from those, so they should be your real goals, not small steps on the way.
    • Read each action's status. One that stopped recording while the ads kept running is the first thing to fix.
    • Open each action and check its source: the Google tag, an import from Google Analytics, or an import from your CRM.
    • Compare the totals with your CRM or your payments over the same 30 days. A gap you cannot explain is a tracking problem.

    Look out for conversions that do not fire on mobile, Enhanced Conversions switched off, and the same sale counted twice.

    The free audit checks this: C-12 Does the account count sales at all?, C-13 Tags that went quiet, C-16 Counting the same sale twice.

  2. Minutes 5-10

    The search terms report

    Where: Campaigns, then Insights and reports, then Search terms, sorted by cost.

    • Read the terms that cost the most. How many have nothing to do with what you sell?
    • Add up what those terms spent. That is the waste you can already see.
    • Terms that spent and never converted are the ones to add as negative keywords.
    • Look at your brand terms: a competitor bidding on them is normal, you paying twice for them is not.

    Quick win: add the terms that have nothing to do with you as negative keywords today.

    The free audit checks this: C-01 Searches that spend and never sell, C-02 Blocked searches in place, C-03 Broad-match bleed.

  3. Minutes 10-15

    Quality Score

    Where: Campaigns, then Keywords. In the columns menu, add Quality Score, Exp. CTR, Ad relevance and Landing page exp.

    • Sort by Quality Score, lowest first. Google calls the score a diagnostic of how your ad quality compares to other advertisers, not an input in the auction: read a low one as a warning.
    • See how many keywords sit low. When most of them do, the problem is the account's relevance, not one keyword.
    • Read the three parts of each low score: expected clickthrough rate, ad relevance and landing page experience.
    • Find the part that is weakest across the account. That is where to start.

    The free audit checks this: C-04 Overpaying for the same click.

  4. Minutes 15-20

    Performance Max and your brand

    Where: Only if Performance Max and Search campaigns run side by side.

    • Compare your brand campaign's results before and after Performance Max started.
    • If your brand campaign lost clicks from that day, Performance Max is probably taking them, at its own price.
    • Open the Performance Max campaign settings and check its brand exclusions: your brand searches belong in your brand campaign.
    • Read the conversions Performance Max claims with care: it can take credit for sales that would have come anyway.

    The free audit checks this: C-05 Paying twice for your own name.

  5. Minutes 20-25

    Audience lists

    Where: Tools, then Shared library, then Audience manager.

    • Which lists exist: website visitors, customers, people who started a form or a cart?
    • Is a customer list uploaded, with your existing customers and your lost deals?
    • Is each list used in a live campaign? A list that no campaign uses does nothing.
    • B2B: are your existing customers excluded from the campaigns that look for new ones?

    None of the free audit's checks reads this part: it stays a job by hand.

  6. Minutes 25-30

    Trends, and the tally

    Where: the campaigns table over the last 90 days, with the Search lost IS (budget) and Search lost IS (rank) columns added.

    • Cost per click: is it rising, by how much, and since when? Find the reason before you accept it.
    • Conversion rate by device: if mobile is far worse than desktop, suspect the tracking before the traffic.
    • Search lost IS (budget) and Search lost IS (rank): how often your ads did not show, and why.
    • The tally: every issue you found, with what it costs written next to it where you can measure it.

    The free audit checks this: C-19 Visibility lost to budget, C-20 Visibility lost to ad rank, C-21 Hours and devices that buy nothing.

What to do with what you find

Sort by return, not by effort. Easy to fix and costly: today. Hard to fix and costly: this week. Anything you will have to repeat goes into a monthly routine.

03By email

Keep a copy in your inbox.

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04What clients say

In their words.

4.6/5 on Trustpilot Read all 18 reviews

  • "Attilio has been great in managing our Google ads. He is knowledgeable and always answers any questions about our account. He also has this great tool, DigiWise, that helps with report building."
    Kimberly, US - Trustpilot verified
  • "Attilio and DigiWise are fantastic! The personalized help and accurate reporting has been very helpful. Highly recommended."
    Kate, US - Trustpilot verified
  • "Very easy to use. Customization works perfect and automatic reporting saves so much time. Highly recommend!"
    Sara Bianchi, PT - Trustpilot verified

05Read next

Two more guides.

06Free AI Audit

55 questions by hand, or 22 checks in about 30 seconds.

The free audit runs 22 checks drawn from this list on your real account: every leak, the cause and the fix for each one, with what it costs where we can measure it.

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